John Sumser, Principal Analyst, HRxAnalysts

I really, really, really wanted to call this article “The Future of Voodoo in Recruiting.” Every economic cycle, entrepreneurs from all over the economy (but only rarely from the industry) descend on the trade shows with the latest shiny toys for recruiters. One thousand noble princes, who are sure that the industry will succumb to their logic, loudly proclaim that this is the year that Recruiting will be transformed.

It’s Voodoo.

The word voodoo comes from the word vudu, an invisible mysterious force that can intervene in human affairs. The core beliefs of Louisiana Voodoo include the recognition of one God who does not interfere in people’s daily lives and spirits that preside over daily life. Spiritual forces, which can be kind or mischievous, shape daily life through and intercede in the lives of their followers. Connection with these spirits can be achieved through dance, music, singing, and the use of snakes. The main focus of Louisiana Voodoo today is to serve others and influence the outcome of life events through the connection with nature, spirits, and ancestors. Voodoo methods include readings, spiritual baths, specially devised diets, prayer, and personal ceremony. Voodoo is often used to cure anxiety, addictions, depression, loneliness, and other ailments.
- Wikipedia

In other words, Voodoo and HR Technology purchases often cure the same problems. That’s why there is always so much of one in the other. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the parishes of New Orleans are lining up to become HRIS customers. But, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of our snakes slithered right out of the Bayou.

Today, there isn’t anyone who can use video in Recruiting who isn’t using video in Recruiting.

Between Skype, FaceTime, GoToMeeting, WebEx, and a host of other completely adequate video teleconferencing suppliers, successful use of video is limited only by platform (it’s harder in Windows) and policy (some companies are very scared). Like mobile recruiting (which everyone is also already using), what’s missing from the market isn’t use cases or willing participants. The only people who think of the Recruiting marketplace as virgin territory for video products are the suppliers of those products.

The question about the future of video in Recruiting isn’t about whether it will be a part of the landscape. The adoption of video as a central tool in Recruiting will happen as quickly as corporate lawyers can be trained to be a little less scared. Some corporations operate from the mistaken view that video somehow discloses information that can’t be gleaned from the rest of the hiring process and that the ability to discriminate is the same as the actuality of discrimination. That’s the sort of voodoo that lawyers sell.

No, the question is about the role of providers of Recruiting video technology. In and of itself, the use of video in recruiting is pretty obvious. Good video interviews can cut travel costs and streamline hiring cycles. Recordings of interviews can be consumed at convenient times allowing the hiring process to move around hiring team schedules. That’s the value that comes from having a webcam on your desk and an account with Skype.

Currently, the major problem with video is that it has to be consumed in a linear way. There is nothing about current approaches to video that shorten the actual time it takes to interview people. Instead, an hour of interview is an hour you have to spend watching it. In call screening, on the other hand, companies like Saygent are actively moving towards the automated evaluation of sentiment. The Saygent solution can be used to completely automate bulk screening by phone. So far, no one is offering automated video screening. It will come.

Here are the things that will make Video vendors a Recruiting necessity. In general, it’s less about video itself and more about managing the process to gain efficiency and effectiveness.

• Interview Process Management
• Storage and Retrieval of Interviews
• Notes and Annotation
• Time Splitting (allowing the viewer to consume the same single question from all candidates)
• Interview Design (making the most out of the questions you ask)
• Effectiveness Training (from logistics to evaluation of interviews)
• Employment Branding add-ons
• Camera Distribution (until cameras are standard on Windows machines)

It’s easy to predict that the market will have a couple of high end, enterprise providers, a couple of mid-level providers, and a flock of SaaS companies that work the low end of the game.

Here are current providers:

• Asynch Interview
• CareerCam
• GreenJobInterview
• HealthCareSource
• HireVue
• Interview4
• InterviewStream
• InterviewStudio
• Montage
• OrangeHRM
• Ovia
• Refrek
• TakeTheInterview
• TalentRooster
• Vidcruiter
• Wowser