Transport for London — Pioneering use of video in recruitment

Written by Mandy Porter, Transport for London

We had noticed that video interviewing was being used across recruitment and was especially effective for high volume campaigns such as graduate recruitment. Introducing video interviewing has enabled TfL to move with the times and to connect with a forever growing on-line and mobile population. It was hugely appealing to enable TfL candidates to choose when and where they completed their video interview — at a time of their convenience and in the comfort of their own home, using a laptop, mobile or other device. The flexibility in being able to review the interviews in and around busy schedules was appealing to our hiring managers.

Implementation

Communication was essential to ensure this project launch was successful so introduction videos were developed in-house to ensure candidates fully understood the exciting scale, scope and opportunities that TfL offer. Clear guidance and instructions scripts were also developed to ensure candidates knew what to expect, and to put them at ease.

Full integration of the Sonru video interview application with Oracle Taleo, our application tracking system, was imperative to ensure a seamless on-line process which is fully reportable.

This creative project was managed and delivered entirely in-house within 4 weeks, from the full application tracking integration, to the creation and development of the introduction videos.

Candidate Experience

Since the launch in October 2015, almost 3,400 video interviews have been completed on the Sonru system. With a response rate of 85%, video interviewing has shown itself to be a creative way of engaging with our candidate population. The TfL branded introduction videos have ensured positive and clear engagement with our candidates, which is evident through the high response rates and positive feedback we continually receive.

Sample comments from TfL candidates:

“Much better than other video interview platforms. Seamless experience.”

“Very positive. The guidance before the interview was very helpful, especially in video format because I got a feel for what the actual interview would be like.”

“It is very convenient and it’s easy to access at any location.”

“Very good. I have never taken part in anything like it before. I felt it was efficient and quick. Furthermore, the flexibility with when I could complete it was brilliant. “

“It was very good, explained well and I had no problems when completing my video interview.”

“I thought it was really well set out, with very clear instructions.”

“It was simple and easy to follow and was not as scary as I thought it would be.”

Benefits

Video interviewing at TfL has made a positive impact:

Reduced costs and time to hire
Great results in high volume campaigns but also proved useful in recruiting technology and other hard to fill roles
Screening and filtering out unsuitable candidates during the early stages
Better quality candidates going through to the next stage of the recruitment process
Overall improvements to the process.

Video interviewing has had a direct impact on the time, cost and quality of hires, whilst ensuring our candidate and hiring manager experience is at the forefront of our recruitment practices, in an ever demanding and competitive sector.

See some videos below:

Originally published at digileaders.com on April 28, 2016.