Video conferencing has been used to reduce travel time and costs in a number of sectors. Perhaps nowhere, however, are the benefits of video conferencing as obvious and massive as in the recruitment sector.

On a day-to-day basis a recruiter spends their time sifting through potential candidate CVs, headhunting through LinkedIn and job boards, and networking as much as possible. The edge in recruitment these days comes from being able to reach and assess the best candidates faster and more professionally than anyone else. This means becoming great at building relationships. In the past relationships were built by going out and seeing candidates, and going out and seeing clients. This was a time-consuming business and, although very good for relationship building, reduced margins and productive time on the phones.

Video conferencing provides the opportunity to schedule multiple calls per day from one’s office. In so doing, it is possible to speak to people conveniently throughout the day and build relationships with people that are geographically out of one’s physical reach.

Sure, companies have been doing telephone interviews for many years, and the telephone is still vital in recruitment. However, video-based communication offers a different level of interaction. A recruiter can judge the nuances of a candidate’s body language, and, if skilled enough, read micro-expressions to support their assessment. They can also engage with clients more effectively.

As well as being a richer media of communication, reducing travel costs, increasing productivity, and dramatically expanding a recruiter’s geographical sphere of influence, video conferencing enables multi-location, multi-stakeholder meetings. Recruiters and clients can jointly interview candidates, and then can do a post interview review once the candidate has left.

Stakeholders from all over the world can collaborate together in a panel interview. The quality of process jumps up a few levels when using professional video conferencing technology. There really are a huge number of benefits of video conferencing to recruitment companies and recruitment departments within organisations.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways that recruiters are using video conferencing to facilitate better interactions, greater productivity and ultimately superior hiring results.

Henderson Scott

Henderson Scott recruits across the full range of roles in the technical, commercial, and administrative and management functions in the UK and around the world. With many of their clients being high-tech, they have had to adapt to new ways of doing things, and that has included incorporating video conferencing into their business processes.

Working with multinational companies often means multi-location interviews. This has required video conferencing to take a role at the centre of the interview processes in many projects. In addition, Henderson Scott use the technology to liaise with senior executives and other companies to ensure that they are well briefed on the exact competencies and traits required for a specific role.

Comfortable use of technology has meant that Henderson Scott consultants are more able to win and keep business than many of their competitors in the industry.

EDT Global

EDT Global is a successful recruitment agency, which has grown into new markets, including banking and finance, sales and marketing, and engineering and construction, after initial specialisation in IT and telecommunications.

The company was pushed towards video conferencing by a problem. They were recruiting for some large telecommunication and infrastructure projects over in Australia, but were struggling to place candidates because many of them were from overseas. Clients wanted to see potential recruits face-to-face and therein lay a problem; the best candidates for the job were not getting hired.

The company purchased a Lifesize video conferencing unit, offering high-definition Internet-based communication in their boardroom. They are now able to communicate with candidates via Skype and invite clients in to do interviews. A bonus competitive advantage of the system is that their employees are also able to collaborate with other people around the world too.

EDT have been using the system for quite a while now. It allows them to vet and interview candidates and creates a truly professional image. This has transformed their conversion rates and meant more of the right people are getting jobs. Edward Bradbury, founder of EDT Global states that “frankly, I don’t think our business would function the same without it.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

PricewaterhouseCoopers became carbon neutral in May 2007. They achieved this in no small part due to their increased focus on, and investment in, audio, telesuites and video conferencing. The firm’s video conferencing facilities have reduced air travel by over 1,000,000 miles.

The UK student recruitment teams have transformed the way they work by using video conferencing as much as possible, dramatically reducing their carbon footprint by adapting the way they work. In the process they have also become more efficient and productive in the way they do things, spending less time travelling to events and interviews, and interfacing personally with more people on a daily basis. Implementation and incorporation of video conferencing solutions into the PricewaterhouseCoopers recruitment system has been great for the bottom line, and for the planet.

Recruitment is a key function for any business. Seeing and speaking with the best talent at the right time can be a challenge due to the time it takes to arrange and get to meetings. Recruitment companies and departments that are embracing video conferencing are more agile, and better positioned to thrive in an ever more competitive marketplace. As PricewaterhouseCoopers have demonstrated, deployment of this technology can also be great for a company’s reputation and for the environment.

About Videonations

Videonations is a leading video conferencing and audio visual integrator, committed to providing solutions to help improve collaboration in the workplace and reduce costs. Speak to us about your video requirements. Freephone 0800 1 124 124.