So, here we are in a time where we are told to keep a distance of 1.5 metres between yourself and others, avoid hand shaking and let’s face it, basically do all things necessary to keep the COVID-19 curve as flat as possible for as long as possible.

Our clients are asking whether they should delay recruitment as they are worried they won’t be able to run interviews.  This raises the question whether there’s any differences between face:face and other forms of early screening.

People Recruitment Group and its brands Sportspeople Recruitment and People Recruitment, implemented a remote work policy last week for our staff and Consultants meaning, among other things, we’ve migrated 100% to video or telephone calls for candidates and client management. As an early adopter of technology the truth is we have been using video interviews with great success for a number of years now.

We have worked with a number of employers where, after an extensive search and selection process, a candidate has been appointed with all interviews managed via Skype. And most pleasing of all is that these appointed candidates have been a great success.

While face:face has always been considered the gold standard for job interviews, there’s a mountain of research that also supports the use of video and/or telephone screening as equally effective, subject to a few conditions:

• Speed and stability of the internet connection (all parties). It goes without saying that a slow, jittery connection will be counterproductive for all involved; whereas a fast connection providing clear vision and audio will provide the best result.
• Making sure the interview is conducted with good lighting, minimal background sound and interruption. A candidate sitting in a cafe just won’t work, nor will a room with curtains drawn or constant disruption during the interview. The interviewer needs to be able to pick up the nuances of body language, facial expressions and responses to the questions; so good lighting is an absolute imperative.
• A well structured interview protocol, conversational in its delivery, is really important in any interview, but even more so when the candidate is remote. Questions that provide a yes/no response simply don’t work. Questions should be open or behavioural based to elicit the best response from the candidate.

There’s a lot of upside to remote interviews and social distancing alone should not be a reason to delay your recruitment schedule.

People Recruitment and our brands Sportspeople Recruitment and People Recruitment are available to manage any part of your recruitment program. If you have thought about engaging a recruiter, we’re available to have a 1:1 discussion to show you why we’re the #1 recruiter in Australia and New Zealand including:

• Services to suit your specific needs and budget
• Sourcing the best talent for your job – we’ll find candidates you can’t find
• Managing the candidates and enquiries – we’ll take the time and admin off your hands
• Ways we can offer even greater savings

For more information please email admin@peoplerecruitmentgroup.com or call FREECALL AUSTRALIA 1800 634 388 or FREECALL NZ 0800 634 388.

People Recruitment Group