In this blog post, we look at remote interviewing software and how much you can save by introducing it into your recruitment process.

What is remote interviewing software?

Interviewing is an essential step in the recruitment process, ensuring candidates are a good fit for the company.

Video interviewing software is used to make this process more efficient. It enables companies to organise their interviews more easily, and remotely. This way, companies can use their resources more efficiently and even facilitate the hiring of remote workers, a fast-growing trend among companies.

How much time is saved by using remote interviewing software?

Remote interviewing software saves time because it is more efficient than in-person interviews.

In-person interviews can often take a considerable amount of time to set up, conduct and analyze. Remote interviews can allow the employer to speak with the candidate through video conferencing in a matter of minutes. This is why so many companies are now making the switch.

Utilising one-way video interviewing can remove hiring managers from the interview. Saving even more time and resources. 

How much money is saved by using remote interviewing software?

Hiring is expensive and can be an overwhelming process. It can cost about $11,000 to hire a new employee and this doesn't take into account the cost of the interview process. The cost of the interview process is often overlooked as it is thought to be an insignificant amount. But, it should be taken into consideration since it costs a lot of time and money. 

Staffing costs for interviews

The role of recruiters includes finding candidates, contacting them, scheduling interviews with them, conducting interviews, evaluating them objectively, and finally deciding who to hire. All this has a significant cost to the business.

Let's give an example of how much remote interviewing can save:

When interviewing for a role there will usually be between 2-3 interviewers. This may consist of the HR manager and department managers.

For the sake of our example, let's say we have the HR Manager, Marketing Manager and Sales Manager on the interview panel. Again for the purposes of this example, let's say they all earn £33 an hour.

The first two stages of the recruitment process can take between 1-2 hours of everyone's time.

So while just one interview is being conducted, the hourly rates of each manager add to £99 (£33 x3= £99). Plus the duration of 2 hours, costs the company £198.00. - For just ONE interview!

Now, if the company has a large candidate pool of around 10-20 people, the minimum cost to interview each candidate based on the hiring panels salaries is £1980.

Therefore, by utilising remote interviewing software, companies can save almost £2000 from each job hire based on the salaries of the recruiters alone!

When the hiring manager/s are conducting the interviews they are absent from their primary role, leaving a temporary hole in the business in their absence. As you can imagine, this also has a knock-on effect on the business. 

Nowadays there are companies that specialize in recruitment services where you can pay an all-inclusive fee for all of these steps.- But these services are expensive!

Luckily, there is another option.

Remote interviewing software can help companies save thousands as they can facilitate interviews from the convenience of their homes or remote office.

What is the cost of travelling to interviews?

The cost of travelling to interviews varies on a number of factors including the length and location of the interview.

Interviewing is a major cost when it comes to finding top talent. The costs that need to be considered include transportation, lodging and even food if employers want to entice desired candidates to their role.

As you can imagine, this cost rises considerably when it comes to hiring the very best talent. Companies that need a new leader or a change in direction will rely entirely on finding experts in their field. This leaves many large recruiters searching the globe looking for the finest candidate for the role.

Talent loss due to missed interviews

Recruiting has become a highly competitive race. Employers are looking for the best talent that the job market has to offer. With top talent being bombarded with interview requests from various companies, it's possible they may miss one or two interviews.

When candidates are unable to attend their in-person interview, the company not only has their time wasted but also lost is the opportunity to offer the position to that person.

To compensate for this loss in real-time interaction, companies have started using video interviewing platforms. 

Video interviewing allows companies to test a candidate's skills and get an idea of who they are without having to leave their office.

Without a system in place for conducting video interviews, a clear opportunity is missed on many potential candidates. Video interviewing allows companies and applicants to communicate from any location and time zone while eliminating the need for in-person interviews.

Who should use remote interviewing?

Interviewing remotely can be beneficial for both the employer and the interviewee.

Employers

By using remote interviewing employers have an opportunity to increase the candidate pool with more qualified applicants.

Remote interviewing is a way to increase the number of applicants for a position without having to recruit in person. This method is less time-consuming and more cost-effective.

Long-distance candidates

Many companies remotely interview candidates who cannot attend a traditional interview due to language barriers, distance from the company office, or other circumstances.

Remote interviewing is convenient for long-distance candidates. It eliminates the high travelling expenses associated with long-distance candidates. Hiring managers often use this method when hiring for entry and mid-level positions.

Candidates can complete interviews from any location and eliminates any travel costs associated with recruiting.

Passive candidates

Remote interviewing has become one of the most popular ways to conduct interviews. Candidates can be interviewed from anywhere in the world, without the worry of trying to make the location on time. For interviewees, it provides a more convenient way of going through this process, without needing to travel and take time off from work.

Remote employees

We are also seeing many remote working roles become available from the effects of Covid-19 and its lockdown restrictions over the past year. Many businesses are making the transition to hiring remote employees. This is as a result of lockdown, where in many cases employee productivity and satisfaction increased.

What type of software should you use for remote interviewing?

When choosing remote interview software, it's important to think about the type of interview you're conducting and what features would be most beneficial. 

You should consider either using synchronous (two-way) or asynchronous (one-way) videos for your interviews.

Two-way video interviews is a conference video set up, where both recruiter and candidate are available to talk to each other live. 

One-way video interviews exclude the recruiter from the video interview. Recruiters send all applicants a link to complete their job interview either on their smartphone, tablet or PC. Then candidates need to set up their device with a camera and record themselves answering each interview question that pops on their screen from their app. 

Which software should I use? 

Remote interviews are becoming more popular for several reasons. One of the most common reasons is that it reduces the time needed to interview people in person.

Companies use different types of software for remote interviews, some basic examples include Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts.

The software you should use will depend on your preference. There is no single software that is the best for everyone. You should consider what type of questions to ask and what features are important to you to help decide which software is the best for you. 

There is plenty of different remote interviewing software out there. With a variety of features depending on your needs and preferences. Some work better for certain types of interviews, while some offer a more diverse range of features than others do.

Technology that can improve remote interviewing

It's only a matter of time before digital interviewing becomes the main medium for interviews.

Remote interviewing is still on the rise as some employers feel it may be hard to conduct. But with the help of technology, this is drastically changing.

Remote interviews are often difficult to conduct. There is no visual interaction that can help the interviewer and interviewee connect more than they would over the phone.

However, new technologies are now available that can make remote interviewing a much better experience for both parties. They can use screen-sharing, chatbots, video-conferencing or a dedicated interview tool in order to get some of those benefits of a face-to-face meeting.

Two-way interviewing using video conferencing

Some two-way video interviewing tools include Skype, Google Hangouts and Zoom

Video conferencing tools such as Skype, Google Hangouts or Zoom are a great way to conduct two-way interviews using technology. 

Recruiters get to have a more personal experience with candidates which can help form a better first impression than a recorded video.

One-way custom remote interviewing software:

Some one-way video interviewing tools include Reworking, Spark Hire and Hire Vue

The other option is to try one-way video interviewing using a dedicated tool designed for remote interviewing. While the candidate records, answer and sends the video all by themselves, it does however save the recruitment time and money as mentioned above.

Interview scheduling with remote interviews

If you decide to use video conferencing, interview scheduling will depend on the availability of both interviewers and candidates simultaneously. This brings about scheduling issues and even no shows. 

Interview scheduling is time-consuming. Contacting candidates and coordinating a time for their interview takes up a large amount of recruiters time

Interview scheduling software eliminates this step in the recruitment process.

Interview scheduling software allows recruiters to track applicants and schedule interviews at any given time. Without having to make an initial phone call or send an email. 

Video interviews are customizable according to your preferences such as availability and preferred communication mediums.

Applicant Tracking System

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is software that allows employers to manage the hiring process. This system also allows recruiters to store resumes and job applications. Employers can then search through this database with keywords to find applicants.

An ATS is an online database of interested candidates. It saves their contact information and their qualifications for that position. The tool effectively sorts through the data into criteria such as desired skills or education level.

The applicant tracking system is the first thing an applicant sees when they apply for a job. It is important to be able to grab their attention and make them want to apply.

ATSs with remote interviews will limit the costs and time investment for HR services. This makes it easier for companies to find suitable candidates.

The advantage of this system is that there is no need for using a hiring service or agency. Costs are saved on hiring fees and interviewing times, which can take up to two hours per candidate.

ATSs also makes it easier for all companies to find suitable candidates without having geographical restrictions.

An STS with remote interviews is a great solution for any company that needs to hire people from all around the world.

How much can you save with remote interviewing software?

Interviewing is a process that requires a lot of time and effort. The process of arranging and conducting interviews as well as the paperwork is overwhelming.

It helps you save time in recruiting by reducing the need for face-to-face interviews. It also saves you time in scheduling interviews by automatically setting up interview times with your candidates for you. This will save you hours on the back end of the recruitment process, without jeopardizing candidate experience on the front end.

The shift to remote interviewing is a growing trend. Remote interviewing software provides a cost-effective way for HR to carry out interviews without the need for hiring and training new staff.

With no travel expenses, no time lost from the business day and more interview slots available, it's clear to see the costs saved with using remote interviewing software.

For more information on video interviewing, take a look at How To Run An On-Demand Video Interview with Reworking.