Video interview — and the companies who found its place in their recruitment process
When Indivizo started out, we felt like we knew exactly what problem we wanted to use it for. We were curious whether our expectations were met — so we asked our users about how they used our product. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our video interview application solves problems we never even thought of.
Time saver
Big companies’ HR departments often look for applicants for 10–20 open positions simultaneously. Erste Bank Hungary Zrt.’s priority during the recruitment process, other than professional requirements, is that applicants should communicate well within a banking environment — that is why they decided to pre-select candidates with a video interview round.
“We have multiple positions open at the same time, so introducing new methods to raise our effectiveness is a priority. Our managers are part of our recruitment process, they meet multiple candidates personally. The video interview helps us set up personal interviews with only those candidates who fulfil not only professional requirements, but their communication and persuasion skills are also advanced. This helps us help our managers manage their time more effectively.
— Erste Bank Hungary Zrt.
At Patika Menedzsment, they put a number on how much time their recruitement process saved by using Indivizo:
“It takes half us much time — and we are able to “see” more people this way. Yes. from the moment we knew we had an open position until they accepted, it took exactly half the time it would have without Indivizo.
— Patika Management
Telenor also emphasised that video interviews save time for everyone: for the applicant, HR, and the management.
“Considering time management, this is the best possible solution. Our phone pre-selection process has been completely replaced by video interview. It is so much more effective for everyone: we don’t need to coordinate separately with the applicant when would be a good time for a call. They can record the video independently, whenever they want, and us, as well as the managers, can watch the videos whenever we want.
— Telenor
As a startup, we have also experienced that resources are being wasted when all parties need to be at the same place at the same time, and how much simpler it is when all can have their own moment to think about the candidate. As the example of Telenor shows, this issue is independent of size!
Brand-building
The competition for great applicants is growing by the day — we compete in compensation, workplace, how great responsibility they get. Telenor raised a point of advantage we never thought of: once we ask our candidate for a video interview, we don’t just show that we use modern methods. We also let the candidate know that their time is respected — they don’t need to come in, and they can record their video interview anytime. The company thus becomes more attractive even during the recruitment process.
“We imagine our future in a digital world, and a video interview application fits in perfectly with that. This is a great opportunity for the candidates to experience the high-tech environment they would be a part of here.
— Telenor
Language pre-selection
Pre-selection for a foreign language-speaking position means that other than the applicant, the manager, and HR, another person — speaking the given language — needs to be present at the interview. It is not only HR that will end up with a carpel tunnel writing emails until an appointment acceptable for everyone is set up, but yet another person will be missing work to be present at the interview. Hungarocontrol Zrt replaced this step with video interview:
We have a selection process made up of multiple rounds, which requires applicants come to the office a lot. We did not want them to have to come in just for language pre-selection. As the AC had open slots, we could fill those usefully, without us having to be present. It helped tremendously with time management. We don’t need to ask applicants to come in at impossible times (like 6 in the morning or 8 at night), but we can watch the videos at those times.
— Hungarocontrol Zrt
Managerial integration
Managers often complain that the professional skills are not measured adequately, as candidates fail at these questions. But if managers were asked to be present at every interview, no work would get done at big companies. With Indivizo, the pre-selection can already test professional skills — as the manager can check the answers anytime by playing back the video. Not to mention, if the manager is part of the recruitment process at this early a stage, the new hire will become part of the team much earlier — as their future boss didn’t see them the first time a week before they started.
“When we first started talking about video interviews, our management has just recently doubled. They were very interested in becoming part of the recruitment process. We could involve them much easier by giving them the possibility to ask questions at the pre-selection phase.
— Patika Menedzsment
Patika Menedzsment also told us that it was during the video interviews that they could actually gauge whom they really needed — HR could fine tune the job postings by talking to the managers after they watched the videos.
More applicants + deeper pre-selection = would be ideal, but how?
For ICTs and other companies, it is getting more frequent that it’s the competences that matter, rather than the CV. It is more about the test tasks the candidates solve today — but until now, only those whose CVs were selected got to that round.
But with a video interview, applicants can show much more of themselves than they could via a CV or a phone interview. They can show off their professional knowledge independently of their degrees. Telenor found the following:
“With the video interview, we can provide more applicants with the opportunity to introduce themselves. Managers also praise the fact that they can now get an impression of the candidate before they decide whether they want to meet them. Pre-selection is thus well-researched and effective, and it’s not during the personal interview that we find out that while their CV is stellar, their interpersonal skills are less so. This obviously can’t be gauged by a CV. After a video interview, there is sometimes a significant drop in the number of candidates we would want to meet personally.
— Telenor
+1 it’s a user friendly system
We tried numerous HR softwares while developing Indivizo — we know they are sometimes hard to work. We tried to make our own app to be different — and we are very happy that our clients seem to agree!
“I really liked that it has a simple, easy-to-use dashboard, no unnecessary buttons, it is just minimal enough.”
— Patika Menedzsment
We thank our clients for their answers!