Virtual Hiring Catching On Quickly

Virtual Hiring Catching On Quickly

In every crisis, people find opportunities to improve. This is proving to be true in how the most innovative companies are responding to remote work and hiring in a virtual environment. 

Rather than sit on their hands and wait for a return to normal that may never come, we’ve seen leading companies evolve to create new practices that are replacing standard operating procedures.

Jobs are returning and the demand for top talent in fields such as data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer engineering, and software development remains strong. In terms of industries, e-commerce, video collaboration, and cybersecurity can’t hire fast enough right now.

Forced to evaluate candidates remotely, companies in these sectors are transforming their hiring workflows and finding that it’s actually working well!

This is what we’re seeing:

  • Tests: I’ve advocated for years on the importance of intuitive assessments during the interview process. Now these “tests” are being readily adopted.
  • Video culture interviews: The last step of the interview process usually is an on-site interview to gauge “culture” fit. Now that’s being done by video including all the steps leading up to it.
  • Offers: Companies are emailing job offers, and candidates are accepting via DocuSign. It’s relatively frictionless.
  • Onboarding: Companies mail home office equipment and information with setup instructions to candidates. Then the virtual onboarding begins.

In my opinion, virtual hiring is the most significant change that we’ve seen in the interview process since the use of fax machines. Yes, you read that correctly. I remember when candidates would fax their resumes to hiring managers, and that was revolutionary compared to mailing hard copies of resumes.

The speed and efficiency that companies can move at now is a game-changer. The in-person back-and-forth interview process is inefficient. What once took a month can now be completed in a week.

Onboarding carries some unique challenges, but companies are figuring it out using Webinars and video features (share screen, conference room chats). This will only improve over time. The ideas keep flowing, and I’d love to hear anything that you’re doing that we can learn from!

Because of virtual interviewing and onboarding, companies are becoming more open to the idea of virtual teams. We have several engagements where we’re building dev teams and looking for people that can be based anywhere in the U.S., but they report to a VP based in Austin or San Francisco. Five months ago, these same companies spent money on relocation packages for candidates. So not only has the candidate talent pool opened up to a national base, but the cost savings are significant as well. Plus, companies may be able to lower the salaries they pay for candidates who are located in less expensive areas of the country. 

Once again, this proves true the axiom that life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react to it. The smart companies are responding the right way, and they’re seeing the benefits.

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Curious about how to optimize your virtual hiring process? Contact us at sales@recruitability.ai.