A few weeks ago, I began publishing a 4-part article series on video interviewing and recruiting.  The previous 3 articles are:

1. The Power of Video Interviewing
2. The Benefits & ROI of Video Interviews
3. Advantages of Video Interviewing

This is the 4th and final article in the series, where we’ll explore how you know if the solution is right for you. I want to provide additional information to help you determine if this is a solution you should explore. Video interviewing can be used both at corporations and recruiting agencies / search firms.  Consider the following:

• Are you losing candidates to other opportunities because of internal bureaucracy that can delay hiring?
• Are cultural fit and interpersonal skills important in your application assessment process?
• Would a reduction in candidate interview travel costs benefit your organization?
• Are hiring stakeholders in more than one location?
• Are qualified candidates hard to find in the geography where you’re hiring?
• Are recruiter responsibilities growing faster than recruiter resources?

As detailed in my previous posts, firms using video-enabled talent acquisition will find that it provides a positive answer to all of these questions. When used right, users enjoy a low cost of ownership and low risk. This is particularly true when you select a solution provider that has invested in its technology and offers a 100 percent browser-based application that frees you from downloads and virtually eliminates any burden on your IT department. A SaaS solution hosts all your information, and makes it as easily accessible as your LinkedIn or Gmail accounts. Just as your legal risk is low (as detailed in my first post on this topic) the technological risk is also minimal. With the right vendor, your company won’t have any interference in its systems. Everything should be able to integrate with Taleo, Kenexa and most applicant tracking systems.

I’m all too familiar with HR systems that bring with them hefty implementation costs, lengthy set-up times and painful trainings. Not here. A browser-based solution is up and running in a short period of time. Even for a Fortune 500 company, the set-up costs are minimal with a single-instance, multi-tenant architecture. For practitioners, a webcam and internet connection are needed – that’s all. Established providers have webcam delivery functions for late adopters.

The bottom-line summary of these four posts: Video-enabled talent acquisition provides a number of core opportunities that will greatly benefit our profession:

• Engagement. One-way and one-sided interviewing, while once standard practice, are the SOPs of losers: losers in the war for talent, losers in brand enhancement and losers in generating buzz for their companies. We’re entering unprecedented times in the world of recruiting. Winners will have the wherewithal and astuteness to connect with candidates in new ways.
• Collaboration. Recruiters and hiring managers working in harmony? It’s still a pipe dream, but this moves us closer. Objective, instant information shortens the process to the benefit of all stakeholders. Collaboration isn’t just for harmony among hirers, either. It’s a means to an end that fuels earlier decisions with better results.
• Return on investment. Low upfront costs. Immediate, significant results. This is an equation for a high return on investment, an action that recruiters can own and can drive. Instead of a cost center, talent acquisition becomes a value center that slashes expenses in exchange for better results. Too good to be true? Game-changing technology thoughtfully integrated often hypes more than it delivers; but I don’t see any significant downside to this, yet.

As you review the information presented in these posts, consider the cost of inaction. When your competitors start using this process, what candidates will you drive to them because of your dated methods? What damage will be done to your brand as you lag? On the flip side, what great hires can you make as a result of this strategic decision? What advantage and expertise can you build while competitors neglect this opportunity?

Video interviewing is here to stay, as both Aberdeen Group and Bersin have attested.  The winners will be those that embrace, understand it and deploy.