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Countdown to the HR Technology Conference: Interviewing and Assessments

Yello and WayUp Merger: A New Look at Early Talent
Yello and WayUp Merger: A New Look at Early Talent

Only seven more weeks until the HR Technology Conference, I am finalizing my presentation and thinking through the constant change in our industry. Over the past year, one trend that has emerged is the increased investment in hiring experience platforms (interviewing and assessment). This category has exploded over the past few years- partly because of the push for remote work and the need to reduce bias and improve decision-making. Companies spend millions of dollars on recruitment marketing and EVP strategies and often neglect interviews. Our latest interview study found that 1 in 2 companies lost quality talent due to poor interview processes.

Providers such as Modern Hire, HireVue, and Outmatch helped to define this category by offering a suite of solutions (through some acquisitions) that include everything from first interview to assessment to offer. Some of these providers are even expanding into onboarding. But, over the past few years, this category has been growing as companies recognize hiring decisions will not come from an ATS. Providers such as Sapia, Humanly, Wedge, CodeSignal, Talview, and Vervoe provide companies with interviewing and assessment solutions that improve experience, quality, and efficiency. Paradox (through the acquisition of Traitify) offers capabilities to schedule interviews and provide a validated, candidate-friendly assessment all through conversational AI.

Although every provider seems to call the interview to assessment offering something different, hiring experience is a category to watch.

Here are a few trends I will cover:

One in four candidates drops off at the interview stage. Companies that improve candidate engagement and the application process will still see candidates drop off if hiring is a negative experience. Companies must provide consistency, transparency, and fairness throughout the hiring process to ensure that candidates are not dropping off at this stage. Delays and poor communication can result in companies losing quality talent. Aptitude Research found that 52% of companies have an interview process that lasts four to six weeks.

Companies do not trust the data to inform hiring. Companies are dissatisfied with their data’s quality, accuracy, and integrity. One reason is that companies are not starting with the right data and rely solely on resumes or candidate profiles to inform decisions. Fifty-seven percent (57%) do not have the data they need to decide on talent. They need a consistent process and quality data to gain deeper insights into candidates and make smarter, confident, and bias-free talent decisions. Data to drive hiring decisions will come from interviewing and assessment providers.

Companies use too many systems: Most companies leverage multiple solutions to support hiring activities, and 62% use two or more assessment providers. These systems provide different experiences and data management. Companies cannot make decisions on talent when they do not have consistent data to support those decisions.

The ATS is not enough. Companies are looking outside of their ATS for hiring support. Traditional recruitment technology focuses on compliance and applicant workflow. It does not always support hiring activities. As a result, companies invest in several solutions to support hiring or rely on a manual process to make hiring and selection decisions. Companies identified lack of integration, issues with data quality, and lack of candidate insights as the top frustrations with technology that supports hiring.

Companies are relying on interview and assessment data more this year. Companies are using interview and assessment data to inform decisions more in 2022 than in 2020. Unfortunately, this data is often inconsistent or only available for some candidates. Companies rely less on the resume as the primary data source but must continue to draw deeper insights and more consistent data.

AI is changing hiring. AI is fundamentally changing every aspect of HR, and there is growing curiosity and appetite to understand it. According to Aptitude Research, 63% of companies are investing or planning to invest in AI solutions this year, compared to 42% in 2020.AI can play a critical role in helping companies use data to inform decision-making and even humanize the process. Recruiters and candidates are becoming more comfortable using AI in talent acquisition and the impact on hiring.

As companies look at their TA tech stack, hiring experience platforms are becoming a core investment area along with an ATS and CRM. I look forward to meeting with some of these providers at the HR Technology Conference.

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New Research: Key Trends in Interviewing

For most companies, interviewing is still broken. According to our latest research report, one in three companies are not confident in their interview process today and one in two companies have lost quality hires due to a poor interview process this year. Companies face several challenges with interviews, including a lengthy process, too many interviews, inconsistency, lack of objective data, and bias. These challenges not only impact the efficiency of talent acquisition efforts but the overall candidate experience. As a result, only 24% of candidates are happy with the interview process. The challenges with interviewing are not new and the pandemic did not bring much change.

Here are some findings about what goes wrong and how technology can help.

Where Does the Interview Process Go Wrong?

Interview Process Is Too Long: The interview process can be frustrating for both employers and candidates. Companies that create lengthy interview processes do not necessarily collect data that can inform decision making. A longer interview process does not equate to more effective hiring. It puts a company at risk for losing talent. Forty percent (40%) of candidates stated that it was over two weeks since they heard anything from an employer after their first interview, and 52% of companies state that the interview process lasts four to six weeks.

Too Many Interviews: Over half of companies make candidates go through four or more interviews. For companies looking to reduce time to fill, too many interviews can impact efficiency as well as experience. Companies are at risk of losing quality talent when the interview process is delayed or too many interviewers are introduced.

Inconsistent Interviews: When companies lack a strategy for interviews, hiring managers and recruiters often go rogue and ask questions or conduct interviews with little guidance. Inconsistency in the interview process can create inequity and damage the employer brand.

Data-Driven Decisions: Organizations feel pressure to act quickly and may make decisions based on gut. Companies are not relying on data and insights to drive these decisions because they don’t have information beyond the resume, which only provides a limited, often biased view of a candidate.

Bias in the Interview: Companies must recognize and acknowledge bias in the hiring process. Only 30% of companies identified bias as a top challenge in talent acquisition, yet one in three candidates have experienced bias in the interview process. Relying only on human interviews creates inconsistent hiring standards and introduces bias. 

How Can Smart Technology and AI Help?

The right technology can help companies address the challenges they face with interviewing to:

  • Empower recruiters and hiring managers to make smarter decisions
  • Improve recruiter productivity
  • Improve hiring diversity by using blind smart interview technology from the start
  • Create consumer-grade candidate experiences through the convenience of a smart interviewer

The pandemic accelerated the investment in digital interview solutions. In February 2020, less than 60% of companies were using or planning to use video interview providers. One year later, over 80% of companies were using or planning to use a broader set of intelligent interview platforms. Video was the tool of choice at the beginning of the pandemic for asynchronous hiring. The problem was that many of these solutions merely replaced face-to-face interactions, with a less human way of interviewing. Many candidates do not feel comfortable with the format of a video interview, especially if they are timed. For many companies, abandonment rates are high on video.

Today, there are technology choices available that remove that cognitive load and deliver on candidate expectations. AI is fundamentally changing every aspect of HR and there is growing curiosity and appetite to understand it. According to Aptitude Research, 63% of companies are investing or planning to invest in AI solutions this year, compared to 42% in 2020. This study found that 39% of companies believe it brings positive benefits, and 32% of companies are starting to leverage AI in interviewing.

If you are interested in the full report (sponsored by Sapia), you can download it for free here.

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Modern Hire Acquires Sonru and Expands Its Global Reach

compass with the arrow pointing towards the word talent

Modern Hire announced the acquisition of Sonru, a global video interview provider based in Ireland. This acquisition further demonstrates Modern Hire’s commitment to improving talent acquisition through technology, science, and insights. While some HR technology providers are slowing down this year, Modern Hire is ramping up to build a more comprehensive solution and expand globally.

According to our latest research, interview management (52%) and selection (42%) are the most impacted by COVID-19. As companies transform their talent acquisition functions this year, the value proposition for these capabilities has never been more significant.

I have spent time with both companies (and their customers), and below are my thoughts on this latest announcement.

A Shared Commitment

As most talent acquisition technology providers were scrambling to build recruitment marketing capabilities over the past decade, Modern Hire and Sonru remained focused on interviewing, assessments, and hiring.

When Montage and Shaker International merged to form Modern Hire in 2019, the goal was to help companies improve efficiencies and provide a better experience through deep functionality and science. As competitors (including video interviewing and some traditional assessment providers) lost favor in the market, Modern Hire maintained and strengthened its reputation and customer retention.

We interviewed P&G last year, and it was able to achieve the following results through a partnership with Modern Hire.

Expand the funnel of diverse and highly qualified talent by 7%.

Shorten the interview process by ~2.5 months

Cost savings of 80% per assessment

Sonru has had similar success with steady growth and over 400 customers globally, including a strong presence in Europe and APAC. I met with Sonru in Dublin in 2018, and the cultures of both companies align in, and the way they approach client success is similar.  They have built expertise and improved customer experience in critical areas of talent acquisition.

A Look to the Future:

Science: Modern Hire is built on data and science. It has over 15 million candidates and enables over 1 million hires in over 20 languages in 200 countries and territories. The acquisition of Sonru expands its reach and strengthens its commitment to insights.

Global Footprint: Sonru has a strong presence in EMEA and APAC. Customers come from various industries, including several Fortune Global 500 companies such as DHL, Nestlé, Qatar Airways, Rolls-Royce, UBS, and Westpac.

Comprehensive Solution: We see companies shift courses rapidly from a stand-alone interview and assessment tools to more comprehensive solutions to improve quality of hire and the overall experience. Bringing Sonru under the Modern Hire brand greatly expands Modern Hire’s reach and market share while signaling high demand for the talent acquisition industry.

Over the next year, Modern Hire will be focused on integration and client success. This announcement is more than acquiring new technology. It is an acquisition that will expand its reach while strengthening its client support model and operational model.

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People Not Paper: Children’s Mercy Hospital Disrupts Talent Acquisition

Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinic of Kansas City logo

Last week, I attended HireVue’s Digital Disruption event in Park City, Utah. This conference is one that stands out from the rest- not just because of the incredible venue but because of the content, partners, and customers. These attendees are not HR generalists or entry level recruiters. They are senior talent acquisition leaders from companies such as The Estee Lauder Companies, JPMorgan Chase, Unilever, and UnitedHealth Group. For many of these leaders, this event is the only one they attend all year.

I learned a lot. I learned how these companies view the current talent acquisition technology market. I learned that what’s important is finding a partner not a provider. I learned that the talent acquisition technology buyer is becoming more sophisticated than ever before and I learned that when we talk about “disruption”, it begins with these companies.

Children’s Mercy Hospital is a perfect example of this disruption. They are flipping the recruitment model to interview candidates before they even apply for a job. Through HireVue’s “Introduce Yourself” product, Children’s Mercy invites anyone interested to interview right on the career page. Candidates are then interviewed by the children at the hospital- instead of hiring managers or recruiters. Candidates immediately build a connection with the hospital and get a sense of the company culture. Over the past year, Children’s Mercy achieved the following results:

• Improved Candidate Experience: Candidates have more fun during the interview process and the experience is more personal and meaningful. The experience of including children in the videos is extended beyond the interview process into the offer messaging and onboarding phases.
• Increased Diversity Efforts: One unexpected outcome of flipping the recruitment model is the increase in diversity hires. Since using “Introduce Yourself”, Children’s Mercy has 28% diverse hires.
• Increased Number of Hires: Children’s Mercy was able to significantly increase the number of hires they made using “Introduce Yourself” to 285 hires last year.

Molly Weaver, Talent Acquisition Director at Mercy Hospital, shared the following recommendations for any organization looking to disrupt talent acquisition and become more creative in the way they engage candidates:

• Embed culture in the interview process: Children’s Mercy connects with candidates by showcasing the company culture and providing transparency into the key values of the organization.
• Get ready to talk about “people not paper”: Recruiters at Children’s Mercy do not talk about applications. They talk about people and make a connection with the individual.
• Try a video first strategy: Children’s Mercy recommends that companies try a day, a week, or a month if they are hesitant to commit to a new model for recruitment.
• Track your results: In order to gain buy-in, companies must be able to measure their results and share them with key stakeholders.
• Be a superhero to hiring managers: Children’s Mercy was able to improve hiring manager satisfaction by finding people that they don’t even need.

As talent acquisition departments mature, they are rethinking traditional strategies and technology options. Children’s Mercy is one example of a company that is connecting with candidates and driving results. Check out their career page and see some of the “Introduce Yourself” videos. I promise you will be inspired.

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