Tag Archive: Harver

  1. HR’s Digital Transformation is Happening: How to Lean In

    Transformation is a funny thing.

    Leading up to crisis, business leaders across the world were talking about transformation. Planning for transformation. Ready to invest trillions in transformation. Until transformation was thrust upon us.

    It’s unfortunate that we lost control of the timeline, but the upside is, transformation – namely, digital transformation – is happening. Right in front of our eyes. And we’re realizing, as leaders from the NBA, Nextdoor, United Health, and more pointed out in a Bersin webinar, we didn’t need multi-year initiatives to get it done.

    Tripti Jha, Global Head of People Solutions at Novartis summed it up well, saying, “We had a two year roll out for Microsoft Teams that was accelerated to two weeks.”

    So here we are. Being transformed in ways we did and didn’t plan for, and accomplishing impressive feats in record time.

    In HR, things were already digital.

    Applicant tracking, learning management, payroll, benefits (the list goes on). The focus at the onset of 2020 was digitizing “the experience.” In other words, designing processes and tools that not only make HR more efficient, but create connective tissue between HR, employees, and potential employees.

    While most things that were important at the beginning of the year pale in comparison to a global pandemic, this hasn’t changed. In fact, being forced apart has brought more attention to the experiences and interactions between us.

    Learning and development experiences still matter. Hiring experiences still matter. What’s changed is our collective comfort level and reliance on technology to deliver these experiences.

    Pre-crisis, digital experiences were on the rise for many reasons. They’re fast, cost-efficient, and give employees direct access to the information they need, eliminating much of HR’s administrative hangover. All good things, and HR teams were eager to move in that direction. But crisis forced everyone into “early adoption.”

    Digital experiences are no longer nice to have.

    They’re must-haves, as companies fundamentally shift their work environments and people practices in a post-coronavirus world.

    Meanwhile, talent acquisition teams are facing the challenge of a lifetime, having to hire in an unemployment market that rivals the Great Depression. As companies build back their workforces, they’ll be flooded with applications, making it impossible to follow a process that was designed for hiring in a low unemployment market.

    That’s why companies are modeling a new process – and new strategy – around digital hiring.

    Digital hiring is here to stay.

    Recruiting teams have been sourcing, reviewing resumes, and assessing candidates online for years. But most aren’t equipped for digital interviewing or digital onboarding.

    To effectively hire in a future where remote work is the norm, recruiting efforts are lean, and teams are assembled by skill set and compatibility, not physical location, companies need a complete digital hiring process, not a partial one. Just as important is the ability to connect everyone, including candidates, interviewers, and hiring managers in one seamless experience from start to finish.

    This is what’s required to get hiring “up to speed” with HR transformation and the strategy that business leaders are building for the future.

    Ready to make your move?

    Outmatch’s digital hiring solutions remove barriers and make it possible for companies to:

    If this sounds like the direction your business is headed in, we invite to try our digital hiring platform, which includes full access to our online assessment + video interviewing software.

  2. How to Use Video for Hiring, Training, and More: 5 Best Practices

    During social distancing, you likely discovered a new appreciation for video. If they weren’t already, virtual happy hours, video chats, and meetings on webcam quickly became the norm. Now that we’ve seen how easy it is stay connected on a human level – no matter the distance – video technology will continue to power our work and personal lives.

    Companies like Twitter shifting to permanent remote work will rely on video to connect, collaborate, and keep productivity high. Even if your workforce isn’t remote, there are so many benefits to using video that with a bit of creative thinking, you can transform anything from a candidate phone screen to an employee engagement survey into something interactive, efficient, and fun.

    To help get your creative juices flowing, here are just a few of the ways companies are using video in talent selection, learning and development, and more.

    Candidate marketing

    Company culture and “day in the life” videos are a great way to show (vs. tell) candidates why your company is a great place to work. Whether funny or heartfelt, polished or shot on an iPhone, videos give candidates a feel for the vibe of your company so they can imagine themselves working there.

    Check out this funny video “Another Day in the Office” from our friends at Specialized Bicycles.

    Video interviewing

    While video calls and video conferencing have existed for years, the recent shift to remote work has made these tools more popular than ever. Video is the glue that keeps teams connected across distance. It’s also become the interview method of choice for companies that have high candidate volume and/or need to hire virtually – especially when career fairs and on-site interviews aren’t an option. Live video interviews make it possible to meet with candidates anywhere in the world, and pre-recorded interviews allow hiring teams to see skills and personalities in a process that’s much faster than phone screening.

    Learn more about pre-recorded and live video interviewing.

    Leadership programs

    Because video interviewing can be just as effective for internal selection, companies are beginning to think outside the recruitment box to make greater use of tools that might already be in place. Leadership programs are a great example. Use video interviewing to ask and capture answers to a consistent set of questions in your leadership program selection process. Videos can be easily shared with decision makers without having to set up multiple interviews, and employees appreciate the opportunity to pitch themselves for a spot in the program.

    Best practices:

    • Record a welcome video from your CEO.
    • Include situational leadership questions geared toward the role.

    Training and knowledge sharing

    Other creative uses of video interviewing don’t have to do with interviewing or selection at all. On the L&D side of the house, if you want to test knowledge retained from training, video interviewing is a fun and effective way for employees demonstrate what they’ve learned. You can also use video interviewing to gather and share knowledge across your organization, ensuring that information is easily accessible and not stored only in someone’s head.

    Examples:

    • Record your company’s elevator pitch, mission, and core values.
    • Use video to capture competitive intelligence or a 5-minute sales pitch.

    Employee engagement

    Looking for a scalable way to collect feedback and ideas from employees that’s not OMG, another survey we have to take? Make employee engagement more engaging using video interviewing to record video introductions of your executive team, get employee’s reactions to initiatives, pitch and vote on ideas to drive company culture, and gather feedback on roles and responsibilities. Those are just a few ways we’re seeing companies use video interviewing software, but there’s no limit to how creative you can be!

    To learn more about different types of video interviews, when to use them, and how to create great video interview experiences, download the The Ultimate Guide to Video Interviewing.

  4. How Crisis Has Shifted Hiring in 4 Big Industries

    After years of growth and low unemployment rates, there’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the hiring landscape almost overnight. By mid-April, the number of unemployed reached 22 million, wiping out a decade of gains in just four weeks.

    At the same time, the crisis created a boom in certain pockets of the economy, including essential businesses and businesses that had (or were able to quickly pivot to) an online model.

    Since the crisis began, our data shows a spike in the number of companies using video interviewing software. This tells us two things: that hiring is still happening, and that video is key in supporting the shift to a digital model, one that may stick around long after the outbreak ends.

    Leading the shift to digital hiring are these four industries:

    1. HR and staffing
    2. Manufacturing
    3. Health and medial
    4. Retail

    Graph of video interview adoption by industryOther early adopters include baking and financial services, education, sports, and IT. Here’s a look at what’s happening in the top 4 industries: 

    HR and staffing

    It seems only logical that HR and staffing would be among the first to adopt video interviewing, as they represent a cross-section of industries. Outside of specialized staffing where demand has fallen, companies continue to rely on these services during the pandemic.

    While the staffing industry has shown it’s ability adapt to a digital model, there’s concern about hiring managers, who are in uncharted territory. As Human Resource Executive magazine points out, “Managers typically receive training in the basics, but now, we’re in a whole new world. How do we help them through the nuances of video interviewing, virtually onboarding new hires, building a virtual team?” 

    Getting the right tools in place makes this transition easier, especially as hiring slows in some industries and picks up in others. And should remote work become more popular on the other side, the organizations that took the time to prepare will be well-positioned when the hiring resurgence happens. 

    Manufacturing

    In manufacturing, supply chain disruptions have some companies ramping up production to meet increased demand. Similar to HR and staffing, manufacturing touches multiple sectors, including many on the frontlines.

    Reports USA Today, GE Healthcare is hiring additional manufacturing employees to help meet the need for personal protective equipment like face masks as well as ventilators, CT machines, ultrasound devices, mobile X-ray systems and patient monitors. The same is true of cleaning supply manufacturers and others creating newly necessary items.

    The only problem is, as MarketWatch shares, “In the manufacturing industry, many employers are actually struggling to fill openings because the positions have become more technically sophisticated than they were in past decades.” 

    Here’s where the right recruiting technology solutions can help these organizations source, screen, and assess potential candidates, working to make sure reqs are filled with the right people, even when in-person interviews aren’t an option.

    Health and medical

    Since the U.S. declared a public health emergency at the end of January, health and medical organizations have been working around the clock to find workers to take care of patients.

    The Office of Personnel Management even implemented new guidelines as part of its COVID-19 Excepted Service Hiring Authority initiative to expedite the hiring process. States like California have changed the rules to “free up more doctors and nurses,” contacting those already retired and relying on the support of advanced students.

    The health and medical arena are also in the midst of digital disruption, as telehealth becomes increasingly useful. 

    Between the need for qualified talent and a call to move patient interactions online, video is apt to serve a larger number of organizations in the coming days, weeks, and months. No surprise that a quick Indeed.com search for “healthcare” in the U.S. yielded close to 65,000 openings, ranging from medical assistants to patient care specialists. 

    Retail

    Though retail as a whole isn’t doing too well, with temporary and permanent closures across the country, there are pockets of hiring going on. Most of this activity is taking place in grocery and hardware stores, both of which are considered essential in most states, including the hardest-hit like New York and New Jersey. 

    Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is hiring 20,000 for positions across the U.S. The parent company of Safeway and Acme is looking to hire 30,000 new associates. In March, Kroger was planning to hire 10,000 new workers but ended up hiring more than double that. Tractor Supply Co. and Ace Hardware are following suit, while online retailers like Amazon continue adding to their workforce, hiring 100,000 in March and another 75,000 in April.

    Even for temporary roles, high-volume scenarios necessitate a structured approach to hiring, one that makes it possible to interview multiple candidates in a short time frame. 

    When the pandemic ends…

    It will have changed recruiting and talent selection as we know it. If you’re considering making digital hiring part of your strategy, you’re in good company. No matter what industry you’re in, digital hiring will provide a way for you to continue operating in crisis, or support you on the road to recovery.

    Learn more about the benefits of digital hiring, or use our digital hiring solutions free for 60 days.

  5. How to Improve Candidate Experience in a Tight Talent Market

    Engaging top candidates today isn’t easy. Blame Millennials or Gen Z if you like, but the fact is, the candidate market is completely different than is was 10 years ago. All of us (yes, you included) now have incredibly high standards for the experience we have when doing something, be it streaming TV or applying for a job.

    Whether your candidates are ‘digital natives’ or ‘digital immigrants,’ everyone in today’s workforce expects and appreciates a simple, personalized hiring experience. If you want to be a competitive employer, you need to give them that.

    Your next challenge is to find a way to get the data you need for sharp, unbiased decision-making without sacrificing the experience. Do that, and you create a win-win for everyone. Here’s how:

    Tell a good story

    You can’t expect candidates – who enjoy rich, vibrant experiences online and nearly everywhere they go – to raise their hand for a less-than-exciting job opportunity. Generalities, like saying, “This is a great place to work!” won’t cut it anymore. (Did it ever?) To get candidates to click APPLY, you must first give them a taste of your company, the job, and the team they might be working with. Do this by telling stories.

    First, craft a narrative about your company’s history, vision, or culture, and weave it into every experience through the hiring process. Then, look for ways to spotlight company wins and employee success stories. A video about an employee’s growth within the company, a great relationship with a client, or a community outreach event are just a few ideas. Whatever it is that makes your company interesting or unique, that’s the story you should tell.

    Make it feel easy

    Because everything is on-demand, the days of applying and waiting are nearing their end. Candidates need to be nurtured, gratified, and kindly escorted from one step in the process to the next. Your job is to make the job of applying for a job easier than ever.

    That means all the great storytelling videos you create should be accessible and easy to find up-front. After than, think about how to architect a seamless workflow that will keep candidates engaged and moving forward – such as, auto-launching an assessment at the end of the application, or providing the option to schedule a video interview immediately after the assessment.

    It goes without saying that everything should be mobile-optimized. And, the more flexibility you give candidates to complete steps when it’s convenient for them, the better.

    Improve your interviews

    Interviews are your chance to get to know candidates on a deeper, more personal level. They’re also a chance for candidates to get to know YOU. So make sure your interviews give back to the candidate as much as they take – which can be easy to forget when using technology.

    For example, if you use pre-recorded video interviews, you can help make the experience feel two-way by having real employees on screen, introducing themselves before asking an interview question. This way, candidates will have ‘met’ a handful of team members in your company, and will be able to put faces to names.

    Ask the right questions

    Candidates can tell the difference when hiring managers are prepared with questions, and when they’re winging it. By providing on-demand interview guides with questions that are tailored to the candidate and job, you ensure the interview is a good experience for busy managers and potential hires.

    Ideally, you want interview guides to be structured and align with your company’s core values, and at the same time, be relevant and personalized to the candidate. Asking the right questions leads great job-related conversations, and makes the most of everyone’s time.

    Add a personal touch

    If you’ve implemented a good hiring workflow, then you’re nurturing candidates throughout the process. It’s important to have built-in touch points to let candidates know they’ve successful completed a step and what’s coming next. Much of this can be automated. But, you don’t want your process to be completely robotic.

    Make sure at least some of your candidate outreach or follow up comes from a real recruiter or hiring manager. Savvy candidates know the difference and will appreciate a little undivided attention. Your goal should be to automate the mundane, repetitive tasks so that hiring teams have more time to personally connect with candidates.

    To learn more about innovative recruitment…

    See how Verisk, a Forbes’ Best Employer, is attracting and engaging top college grads.

  6. How to Check References

    The reference check: this vital step in the hiring process isn’t as easy as it used to be. Previous employers are legally obligated to disclose only the bare-minimum on hopeful candidates. Some businesses have even faced litigations for disclosing too much, or too little, information about a former worker, which makes the phone-call reference check a little tricky. And with social media checks, pointed interview questions, and running backgrounds, there’s a lot of other points to cover to ensure you’re hiring the right person. (more…)

  7. AI – What’s Next for Video Interviewing Software?

    Video interviewing software has taken Talent Acquisition by storm, and the market is buzzing with excitement about future capabilities.

    Early adopters of specialized recruiting tech found a secret weapon in video interviewing software. Finally! Interviews could be done in a structured and scalable way, in less time, across a broader and more diverse candidate pool.

    Today, more than 60% of companies use video interviewing, according to an OfficeTeam survey, and adoption is on the rise. Hiring teams are jumping at the chance to connect with more candidates, and put the more time-consuming, monotonous screening methods behind them.

    Jose Alcantara, HR Manager at MSX International, says thanks to video interviewing,

    “We’ve found the solution to our high-volume recruitment challenges!”

    Rosie Alonso, Director of Talent Acquisition at Tech Data, echoes this excitement, saying,

    “I could not imagine recruiting in today’s environment without it!”

    While video chat and video conferencing make it easy to meet virtually, even more powerful is the ability to do pre-recorded video interviews. Hiring teams can review at least 3 pre-recorded interviews in the time it would take to conduct one 30-minute phone screen.

    That’s an efficiency boost of 3X! But, employers know that today’s technology can do more than boost efficiency.

    Enter AI

    Technology that can accelerate outcomes is good. Technology that can anticipate and influence outcomes is even better. That’s what makes AI such a powerful tool.

    So what’s the future for AI and video interviewing?

    According to a Harvard Business Review article, AI algorithms are being used to mine data – including tone of voice, gestures, and facial expressions – from video interviews to make predictions about a candidate’s job potential.

    Humans are constantly interpreting body language and social cues, and in just a few seconds, we can learn a lot about a person’s communication style. AI is taking it even further in an attempt to tie these cues to other aspects of job performance.

    The goal of using AI in this way is to solve the age-old struggle of talent identification, which continues to be a challenge for organizations everywhere. Just ask Amazon: they tried to solve this problem with an AI recruiting tool that turned out to be biased against women.

    Critical questions

    Before employers allow voice and facial recognition in their talent selection tools, there are three critical questions to answer.

    1. What’s the connection to job success?

    Experts can train algorithms to recognize anything, including voices, gestures, and facial expressions. In doing so, they have to train the algorithms on what these cues mean, either explicitly or by letting the AI learn through data sets that are fed in.

    Here’s the problem: the market does not have a shared understanding, or even a hypothesis about how these cues are connected to job success. What does it mean if someone looks down, speaks quickly, or pauses to think? Do these behaviors make someone more or less capable of doing the job?

    What if, due to a disability, a candidate doesn’t emote like others do? And what about candidates from different cultural backgrounds, where different expressions mean different things?

    Using AI to help answer these questions is fine, but until there’s a clear job-relatedness link, we’re not ready to deploy algorithms that evaluate candidates in this way.

    2. Will AI reduce bias in hiring, or perpetuate it?

    It’s true that AI does not have an ego or agenda, but that doesn’t make it error-proof. In fact, the biggest advantage of AI – that it’s not influenced by human moods or emotional whims – is also its biggest weakness. Humans, at least, can gut-check each other. AI is completely unaware when outcomes are unfair.

    Also, for AI to learn, it needs humans to tell it what to learn from. We feed data in, and our human biases go in with it. If a training set includes mostly white male faces and voices, for example, then the algorithm will likely favor this demographic. Which could be why Google’s speech recognition is 13% more accurate for men than it is for women.

    So scratch the assumption that AI will free us from bias. Without careful oversight, AI will be just as biased as humans, and on a frighteningly larger scale.

    3. How will candidates react to us data-mining their expressions?

    The best HR tech on the market is not only transformative for internal teams, but it also makes the company look great to the outside world. Sleek, beautifully branded experiences say to the  candidate, “We care about you and want you to feel at ease.”

    This is where video interviewing software shines. Through video, candidates get to showcase themselves in a way that’s not possible on paper or over the phone. And with each interaction, they get to connect with the people and teams they might soon be working with.

    But what happens when candidates find out they’re being evaluated by AI, not on the content of their answers, but on how well they speak and what their faces look like? You can bet this will create more nerves and awkwardness on camera. Some candidates may try to beat the algorithm by playing to what they think the AI is looking for.

    For candidates who agree to complete this type of video interview (because opt-outs will soon become a requirement), they probably won’t show their real, authentic selves. And what good is that in your screening process?

    The right solution

    The HR tech market will continue pushing the bounds, and AI will surely be a player in solving the talent identification problem. But, is voice and facial recognition the right solution?

    It depends on how you plan to use it. If you allow AI to screen out candidates based on a black-box analysis of voice, gestures, and facial expressions, then you could have a moral dilemma on your hands. Do you know how the AI is making decisions and what the adverse impact is?

    While AI may be able to place your next grocery order or recommend a show you’ll love on Netflix, job decisions are a high stakes game. A flaw in the underlying logic of a talent selection tool could derail countless lives, preventing qualified people from getting jobs they deserve.

    Wherever AI takes us, humans will still play an important role in the evaluation of candidates. After all, interviewing exists so that people can get to know each other before working together. AI, then, shouldn’t replace us, but be used to sharpen our skills, scale our efforts, and make our interactions more productive.

  8. How to Deal With Fake References

    Fake job references. They’re a natural part of the hiring process and, just like inflated resumes and far-fetched claims during the interview, need to be identified.

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  9. How to Structure Reference Checks

    Checking candidate references is crucial for verifying their fitness for your open job, but when is the right time in the job search to check candidate references?

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