And your nod toward creating a timeline is great too. Always know when you need someone hired.

@ Paul,I agree with you regarding video interviewing not being the norm in the next few years. This prediction about becoming the “norm” is very similar to what was being hyped about “video resumes” a few years ago.

I remember hearing how “video resumes” were going to become the “be all end all”, and “written resumes” would be obsolute and a waste of time. Any candiate not utilizing this technology was wasting his/her time and would be placing himself/herself out of the job market.

Video interviews have the potential for becoming a tool–but definitely not a solution.

Merlynn

@Morgan, @Paul – We in no way intend for video interviewing to take the place of an in person interview rather see it as replacing the phone screen. One could easily say that in many hiring processes, phone screens are the norm. However phone screens present problems such as scheduling hassles and often the candidate has to sneak away from work or conduct the phone screen at a time of day inconvenient to either them or the hiring manager. Video is more revealing than a phone screen and automated interviews allow the candidate to conduct the interview at a time of day convenient to them and allows the hiring manager to quickly review the video interview on their time. Also because the interview is recorded, the interviews for all the candidates can be compared to one another so a more informed decision can be made on who to bring in or even fly in which of course saves on travel costs not to mention the hiring manager’s time.

How much valuable time do hiring managers waste interviewing candidates they decide are not a fit within the first 5 minutes of meeting them? Video interviewing eliminates this wasted time. Plus because each candidate answers the same questions, the video interview is more structured and thus eliminates many of the biases mentioned above that occur in live formats when interviewers are allowed to stray off script.

Video interviewing aside, I think the dangers of “Gut reaction” hiring is one of the most serious issues with hiring today and I appreciate the continued discussion on this topic.

Some common interview biases we should alert interviewers to (aka, teaching them to NOT rely on their “gut”):

Central tendency bias – here an interviewer leans towards the middle ground when rating the individual’s answers on all performance factors.

Leniency/ strictness bias – an interviewer consistently giving either only high or only low ratings.

Halo effect bias – allowing the rating of one performance factor to influence the ratings given to other performance factors.

Similarity bias – assessing applicants that are like your-self more favourably. Like usually hires like – diversity in the workplace is good.

Contrast effect – assessing applicant in relation to the applicants previously interviewed – mentally ranking the overall candidate experience based on the previous one(s).

First impression – making a decision in the first few minutes of the interview. Just because this person dresses well, talks and present professionally, does not mean they can perform on the job well.

Biases and stereotypes – allowing personal biases (generalisations) to influence ratings of applicants – i.e. certain ethnicities are lazy, women with young children are unreliable etc.

Overly sensitive to negative information. Many interviewers look for reasons to reject rather than a reason to hire.

……………………………………

This is an example of Behavioral Recruiting- dealing with interviewers as they are, instead of how we wish them to be.

Cheers,

Keith “Ask Me More About Behavioral Recruiting” Halperin

Unfortunately, Ryder, that is not true. The technology/means/ability to video interview has been around for a long time and it won’t be adopted as a positive solution any more than social media has become the end all and be all of recruiting.

I have used video interviewing in the past on a limited basis and I don’t see it as a substitute to having someone in the room with me or one of the executives I support even when we decide the candidate is not worthwhile.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure Interview4 is a great product. In my experience, though, I think that video interviewing is just another recruiting fad similar to “talent communities”.

The only thing I am not sold on is video interviewing. I am still big with the human element and not sure if I will ever catch on with it.

But, for both predictive validity and regulatory compliance, employers must choose the right combination of assessments, from a well qualified test publisher. Ask to see technical manuals that document that each test measures what it purports to measure.

“Behavioral” or “Personality” assessments, especially the most popular, self-reporting type lack predictive validity and are fakeable (Morgeson, et al http://bit.ly/H2mKTZ ).

The best approach starts with assessing general mental ability (GMA or g) in combination with integrity testing. On average, this combination predicts 65% of the variation in job performance and 67% of job learning (Schmidt and Hunter http://bit.ly/R3LTTz ). In contrast, most ad hoc (typical) selection processes operate with predictive validity r < 0.35 (i.e. more than 65% of variation left unexplained). Structured interviews, job knowledge tests and work samples further enhance predictive validity.

Employee selection process improvements consistently deliver the best ROI and IRR available to most businesses.

Moreover best practice selection (using valid, job-related measures, from multiple domains) also provides the most direct path to regulatory compliance (Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures http://1.usa.gov/HSCFZi )

As Peter Drucker wrote (referring to people decisions): "In no other area of management would we put up with such miserable performance." He also wrote: "What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that's another matter."

r.melrose@vision21.us

Thanks Mark, for your positive feedback as well!

And finally , you’re so right! HR usually gets blamed for a “bad hire” even though we have far less to do with this than the impact of the hiring manager. So get them involved early and often!
Only the best,
Ron