Video Recruiting on the increase say UK HR Directors (Guest Blog)

With candidate shortages and recruitment challenges reportedly plaguing UK organisations, increasingly HR directors are relying on the advancement in technology to support their wider recruitment drive.

In our latest research, more than four in 10 UK HR directors stated that, compared to three years ago, they have increased their use of video conferencing to conduct interviews, presenting a radical shift in the overall hiring process.

The rise in video recruitment can be attributed to a number of factors; with the most prominent amongst the 200 HR directors surveyed being that they now have access to better quality video conferencing tools (56%). Hiring managers can take advantage of the advancement in technology to improve the efficiency of the recruitment process allowing them to conduct visual and verbal assessments prior to an in-person meeting.

The lack of skilled professionals in the market, highlighted by the fact that nearly nine in 10 (89%) senior executives across UK businesses report it challenging to find skilled professionals, also has an effect on the usage of video recruitment.

Video conferencing helps alleviate some of this recruitment pain by allowing organisations to source candidates from further afield. When asked why their company increased the use of video conferencing to conduct interviews four in ten (41%) cite an increase in the recruitment of domestic, out-of-town candidates as one of the main reasons, whilst a third (32%) of HR directors said that video interviews had risen in the past three years because of increased recruitment of international candidates.

Despite this trend towards video recruitment, it will not and should not replace traditional means of assessing and hiring a candidate, which can only be gleaned from an in-person meeting. That said it is very important that candidates treat video interviews as they would a normal face-to-face interview. Hiring managers will still be assessing physical attributes such as non-verbal communication, professional attire and confidence when being interviewed on screen.

Phil Sheridan is the UK Managing Director for OfficeTeam. OfficeTeam is the world's leading staffing service specialising in the placement of highly skilled office and administrative support professionals on a temporary and permanent basis. A division of Robert Half, the company leverages over 60 years of experience in providing recruitment solutions for companies across the UK and worldwide. For more information visit officeteamuk.com and twitter.com/officeteamuk.