Diverse Talent Attraction and Improving Social Mobility
Research conducted by Deloitte (2021) highlights that the United Kingdom has a poor rate of social mobility, with those in lower-income families receiving fewer opportunities than others regardless of talent or work. Creating a platform that is readily accessible to candidates remotely eliminates the requirement to pay for transportation and potentially even accommodation within the employer city, ensuring that low-income candidates are not limited by expense. It is also important to note the major advantage of video interviewing which involves the elimination of travel. From an employer perspective, removing the requirement for travel in the recruitment process is both cost and time effective, and allows for the acquisition of exceptional talent located worldwide without the barrier of travel time or price of transportation preventing a candidate from taking part in the recruitment process. As a result, from a candidate perspective, a more diverse range of candidates (such as those restricted by time or travel) have the opportunity to engage in an interview which broadens the scope of work opportunities available to them.
For some applicants, travel costs may also be difficult to cover regardless of geographical location, perhaps based on socio-economic circumstances. The implementation of a platform through which a greater scope of candidates can engage in an interview may ultimately lead to an increase in social mobility.
64% of candidates claim that the diversity and inclusivity of a company is an important factor in their decision to accept a job offer (Sapling HR, 2021). With applicants placing such great value on the diversity of a company and employers striving to bring meaningful change into their recruitment practice, video interviewing is paving the way in the hiring journey to promote diversity in the workplace.
Avoiding Unconscious Bias in Compromising Workplace Equality
In a face-to-face hiring scenario, the risk of an unconscious bias being exerted by the recruiter is always going to be present, even if the recruiter is completely unaware of this themself. Unconscious bias may arise, for example, from small talk taking place within a face to face interview which can ultimately influence the recruiter’s overall decision in the hiring process.
In addition to this, external factors such as the time of day at which the interview takes place, the mood of the interviewer on the day and the interviewer that is available at the time will naturally lead to candidates receiving a different interview experience. Through the pre-recorded delivery of interview questions, employers can ensure that each candidate receives a consistent and uniform delivery of questions, with confidence that the conversation will not be unintentionally guided in a certain direction.
Finally, with the use of video interview software, employers may reach a wider range of candidates whom they would be less able to access if traditional face-to-face interviews were conducted. As a result, the risk of bias is eliminated toward those who demonstrate a lower level of written communication in their CV, or those who are located further away from the location of employment.
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Overall, the potential of video interviewing to pave the way for improving diversity in the recruitment process can transform the way in which the hiring process is undertaken, enabling candidates of all backgrounds to showcase their full potential.
Through use of the Shortlister video interview platform, improving diversity in the recruitment process is more achievable than ever. Having used Shortlister to conduct video interviews for their organisation, 80% of hiring managers reported an increase in candidate quality at the in-person stage and 100% of respondents agreed that Shortlister interviews more accurately predict how a candidate will perform at the in-person stage. Yet in addition to this, Shortlister’s ability to facilitate interviews remotely via the medium of video, increase the social mobility of candidates and reduce the risk of bias in the recruitment process also enables organisations to improve diversity in their recruitment practice. At the same time, from a candidate perspective, video interviewing is viewed favourably with candidates claiming that ‘video interviews give an insight into the [hiring] company and its inclusive nature.
To learn more about the features Shortlister offers, who we work with, our pricing plans and how we can help transform the interview process for your business, contact the Shortlister team to arrange a demo.
