Much has been discussed lately about automated video interviewing and its quiver of benefits designed to improve the hiring experience for both the recruiter and job candidate. Video interviews, as some 
studies suggest, reduce time-to-fill, cost-per-hire and improve hiring manager satisfaction. However, as with phone screens or the face-to-face interview, the virtual interview process can be less effective if not properly evaluated. Hiring managers should be cautioned not to go with their gut when evaluating video interviews but rather employ a sound process that allows the hiring manager and other decision makers to assess their prospects.
In 2015 I/O psychologist Allen Gorman, in cooperation with Hire-Intelligence, conducted a study to determine if online virtual interviews could be used to predict a candidate’s success on the job. To properly rate the seventy-five individuals who took part in the study he used the following five measures to evaluate each respondent:
· Mental capability,
· Knowledge and skills,
· Basic personality tendencies,
· Applied social skills, and
· Conscientiousness.
The interview evaluators provided a rating for each construct on a scale of one to five with one meaning poor and five meaning, superior. Additionally, the evaluators rated the quality of each candidate’s response on a scale of one to seven. In summary each candidate was rated according to five specific criteria as well as being rated for overall quality as a candidate.
Dr. Gorman and his researchers predicted that video interviews would be valid predictors of job performance and relevant work outcomes. Their findings revealed that the evaluators’ ratings of the candidates’ video interviews did indeed correlate with job performance, promotions and tenure.
While this study is a great feather in the cap for the power of video interviewing, the take home message for video interviewing patrons is that the technology’s power is highly predictive if proper evaluation methods are used. Using improper evaluation techniques, hiring managers risk wasting time interviewing candidates face-to-face who should not make it to that stage or worse they reject a good candidate who should have been given personal consideration.
Most video interviewing solutions permit recruiters/hiring managers to share recorded candidate interviews with colleagues so more informed hiring decisions can be made. If the hiring manager and/or other decision makers exercise discipline to follow a sound rating system they can certainly reduce their time-to-fill, cost-per-hire and improve employee quality.