Monday 8 a.m., the new job posting “IT administrator” is already released on various job portals. Two hours later the first 40 applications are received. Quickly, the wheat sort from the chaff. Incomplete applications, incorrect motivational letters and incomplete CVs make the screening of many applications easy.
After screening all application documents the HR department decides to have 20 candidates on the shortlist. The profiles of the candidates differ only in nuances. A personal interview would best demonstrate the HR department, who of the candidates is the perfect IT administrator for the company. To coordinate appointments with 20 candidates, in which not only the HR department but also the responsible persons of the department participate, is often not easy. In addition, applicants do not necessarily live close to the company. If the company invites the candidate for an interview, travel expenses will arise. At this point, the use of video conferencing can be a real benefit for companies in order to get to know many of the applicants with high-potential “personally”.
From the private sector, the video calling is already for some years an integral part of our lives. Families and friends, who live very scattered around the globe, make video calls in order to be closer to each other, to see and to have the feeling of being at the same time in the same place. You can see the facial expressions and gestures of the counterpart and you are able react on that.
This USP of video calling has also enormous advantages in the work environment and especially for the work of the Human Resources Department. Many companies shy away from the travel expenses for candidates and therefore limit a priori the number of face-to-face interviews. Using professional video conferencing services that meet the requirements of the business world in terms of sound and image quality and also offers a secure access via any mobile device and web browser, candidates can be quickly and easily invited to a virtual job interview, regardless of whether they live nearby or not. Cloud-based video conferencing are especially for making a preliminary selection of candidates an affordable and fast realizable solution, because in this way many more applicants can be interviewed. A personal interview cannot be replaced by videoconference, but for the first stage of the selection process it is for recruiters an important support for decision-making.
By using videoconferences not only travel costs can be reduced, but also schedule conflicts with candidates and managers of the respective department can be avoided. The rapid realization of job interviews through videoconferencing is just in cases of jobs that are hard to fill because of the shortage of skilled workers, advantageous. Because the sooner the company get in touch with a potential candidate and have him interviewed, the better the competitive advantage over competing companies who has to fill similar job vacancies.
Also in the field of talent management video conferencing, in which the entire screen or only individual selected applications for conference participants can be shared, ensures increased efficiency: individual coaching in the context of a mentoring program or staff training for the entire department can be realized quickly and easily via video conferencing. Confidential individual discussions, for example, with employees in home office or in other locations can be made via videoconferencing instead of impersonal telephone conversations. Videoconferences can, will and should not always replace personal conversations, but they are the next best option – especially for corporations – to communicate.
James Campanini is the managing director of Cisco WebEx. Cisco WebEx, a division of Cisco, develops collaboration services and web conferencing technologies. James is responsible for the business unit’s strategic growth across all routes to market in the region, including direct sales, the channel and new routes to market. James has been in the IT and Networking industry for 17 years after Graduating with a degree in Electronic Engineering. He joined Cisco Systems in 1996, following Cisco’s acquisition of Stratacom.
