Virtual recruitment has reduced the rate at which people walk around with resumes in their hand. Because the virtual world allows recruiters to expand their reach to remote locations and particularly look for the right candidates.
What is Virtual Recruitment?
Virtual recruitment is an online hiring process conducted via a virtual platform.
Right from sourcing and screening candidates to interviewing and hiring them, each recruitment stage is virtual, without any face-to-face meeting.
Unlike physical recruitment, the candidates appear online on a laptop screen and connect with a recruiter from anywhere in the world.
We are witnessing a gradual process of face-to-face interaction being replaced by audio/video conferencing software like Zoom or Google Meet.
But there’s more to the picture. Hold tight as we are set to inform and educate you on virtual recruitment.
What are the Benefits and Challenges of Virtual Recruitment?
Pros:
1. Save costs
The costs of hiring are high when done in person. Companies often end up paying for the recruiter’s commute to the place of the interview. But with virtual recruitment, all interview expenses spent on travel or commute amount to zero.
2. Schedule an interview at short notice
Virtual recruitment means that you and the applicant can connect remotely, and logistical issues no longer stand in the way of an obstacle to be crossed before setting up an interview. No more scrambling around meeting rooms for scheduling interviews.
3. Conduct multiple rounds of interviews with ease
You wouldn’t want the candidate to be inconvenienced by traveling multiple times to your office. Virtual interviews solve this conveniently.
Multiple interviews can be scheduled over a few days since the candidates only need to click a button to attend an interview, every single time.
4. Access a wider talent pool
Recruiting virtually opens up access to talent in multiple geographic locations since travel expenses or logistical issues are no longer relevant.
This gives opportunities for you to open up your search criteria while hunting for talent and increases your possibility of finding great talent.
5. Increase productivity
With virtual interviews, it becomes possible to assess multiple candidates on the same day comfortably.
This leads to an increase in the productivity of the overall hiring process and you.
Cons:
1. Difficult to coordinate remotely
Hiring usually involves numerous follow-ups – with the candidates, with the hiring managers, and with the interview panel members.
An increase in the number of candidates through virtual recruiting means the remotely done follow-ups are amplified multiple times but without the comfort of accessing a colleague at their work desk nearby.
2. Insufficiency of current infrastructure
Your company might or might not have invested in tech for HR operations.
If you fall in the latter category, as a recruiter, you would struggle to seamlessly shift your recruiting process virtually.
There’s only so much you can do with spreadsheets and Word documents without better tech solutions before you call it quits.
3. Requires transformation at the org level
It’s important not only for your organization to embrace virtual recruitment but to join forces with the HR team to ensure a smooth transition to the new way of working.
The success of virtual hiring depends on how well it is adopted by your organization.
4. Candidate experience might take a hit
Virtual processes mean that human touch (such as a warm handshake or a pleasant smile) is a missing component since the candidate can definitely not see you smile over a voice call or feel your handshake on video.
Top Strategies for Virtual Recruitment
1. Adopt hiring technologies
Use technological solutions for each step of your virtual hiring process. For talent sourcing, you can use AI to automate the search for potential hires.
For screening potential hires, you can use ATS which can parse resumes instead of reading resumes one by one.
2. Use psychrometrics to gauge culture fit
It’s hard to assess someone’s cultural fit in the company in a virtual hiring process so make sure that you also include a psychometric test in the process to help you determine who shares your company’s values.
3. Use technical assessments
Online tests can also be designed to determine the competence of someone’s skill set. It will also help you to filter the applications much faster.
4. Master video interviewing skills
It’s important to remember that recruitment is a two-way process. So make it a point that the interactions do not feel detached, try to engage your candidates throughout the process as this will also help boost your company’s brand.
Best Practices for Virtual Recruitment
To optimize your virtual recruitment process and ensure its success, consider the following best practices:
- Use video conferencing tools that provide stable connections and clear audio-visual quality to create a seamless interviewing experience.
- Design structured and standardized interview processes to maintain fairness and consistency across candidates.
- Provide clear instructions and guidelines to candidates regarding the virtual recruitment process and the tools they will be using.
- Offer training and support to your hiring managers to familiarize them with the virtual recruitment platform and its functionalities.
- Incorporate interactive and engaging assessments and exercises that accurately gauge candidates’ skills and cultural fit.
The Future of Virtual Recruitment
With the speed at which technology is evolving, virtual recruitment is poised to become an integral part of the hiring landscape.
The ability to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms in candidate screening and assessment will further enhance the efficiency and accuracy of virtual recruitment.
Additionally, virtual reality (VR) technology holds the potential to transform how organizations evaluate candidates’ skills and provide immersive virtual onboarding experiences.
In conclusion, virtual recruitment presents a compelling opportunity for organizations to modernize their hiring processes and connect with a diverse talent pool.
By embracing digital platforms and technologies, you can streamline recruitment, save time and costs, and provide candidates with a convenient and inclusive experience.
With more technological advancement, virtual recruitment will undoubtedly reshape the future of talent acquisition, empowering organizations to build successful teams in a globally connected world.
