Disrupting the traditional hiring processes, remotely

With all the gloom that has come with the pandemic, it is easy to focus on the negatives. However, it has brought about opportunities to disrupt traditional practices within certain business verticals - which is a positive thing. Disruption is a critical component of exponential growth. Apple started by disrupting the personal computer market and evolved into the world's most valuable company. Tesla disrupted the automotive industry and recently became the world’s most valuable automaker.

However, disruption must be coupled with innovative solutions.

Within the recruitment space, there are several processes that have changed due to remote working. Many offline aspects have been digitalised with caveats and adjustments as it is impossible and undesirable to try to replicate everything. In many ways, going digital with certain processes is more efficient and scalable which are the fundamental challenges in recruitment. Let’s look at a few of these processes.

Online Interviewing

Not a new trend but have become critical this year. Previously, early-stage interview rounds with talent acquisition and HR teams were generally conducted remotely, with face-to-face interviews happening later with hiring managers and team leads. This worked especially well for technical disciplines that involved multiple interview rounds.

Today, the entire funnel has moved online benefiting everybody involved. Employers can interview many more candidates on a regular basis. Candidates need not worry about travel arrangements.

One argument against online interviews is the loss of physical expression and body language which is fair, but we believe the pros outweigh the cons.

Video CVs

Soft skills are as important as hard skills. However, in most cases, companies must wait for the first interview to assess a candidate’s communication level. Video CVs solve this quite nicely as hiring managers can quickly evaluate and filter. Sure, many people are not very comfortable in front of the camera, but you can always keep resetting until you are satisfied - something you cannot do when face-to-face.

Virtual Career Fairs and Hiring Drives

These events are usually very vibrant networking environments and the loss of the physical experience has been felt. These events have traditionally been good places to pick up quality, eager talent. However, we cannot neglect the high costs and logistical difficulties of putting on an event, whether large or small.

Going the virtual route, again, is more scalable and efficient. Many video conferencing platforms have plug and play solutions to set up an event smoothly and replicate the offline experience. Virtual stages, booths and roundtable discussions are all possible and very simple to pull off. The trend will move toward evolving these aspects using augmented reality versus a basic on-screen experience.

Online Hackathons

Hackathons is a common practice in the software development industry and are a great way to discover talent who can think and act on the spot. Similar to virtual events, these are relatively simple to organise and very scalable. The challenge is making them interactive and collaborative which requires imagination and creativity.

In summary, we have lost a lot due to the pandemic but must march forward, find solutions and make the best of the situation. Recruitment, unlike many industries, has seen many positives and it is our job now to continue the innovation to create the new status quo.

By Vikram Ahuja, Co-founder, Talent500