This week is one of my favorite times of the year since it is Shark Week on Discovery Channel. As a former shark biologist I love to talk about sharks and allay the many misconceptions that people have about them. As a keystone species in the ecosystem, sharks play a vital role in the health of our world’s oceans. Sharks as apex predators help regulate abundance, distribution, and diversity of species by removing the sick and weak from populations of prey species. When sharks are reduced through overfishing and harvesting, ecosystems can experience a dramatic shift leading to an imbalance in abundance of other species.

Shark Fun Fact: The world’s smallest shark, dwarf lanternshark, is only 8.5 inches in length.

You may be thinking that this is great information and sharks are important, but what does this have to do with video interviewing? We all know how important the recruiting, screening, interviewing, and hiring process is in finding the right candidates for the right positions. Screening and interviewing are critical components of your hiring system (think of your hiring process as an ecosystem with key components that are dependent upon each other for success). Using video interviewing for screening and hiring is a keystone component in your hiring ecosystem. Yes you can interview without using video but you won’t be as efficient and effective to stay one step ahead of your competitors.

Shark Fun Fact: The world’s largest shark, whale shark, grows to over 40 feet in length.

The Return on Investment (ROI) of using video solutions in recruiting and hiring is easy to measure. In the Aberdeen Group’s The Curious Case of Video Interviewing: Reducing Costs and Improving Efficiency (April 2013) 81% of organizations were able to achieve organizational key performance indicators (KPIs). The same organizations were two to three times more likely to improve recruiting (time to fill, cost per hire, hiring managing satisfaction) and business metrics (customer retention and customer satisfaction) after integrating video solutions into their business practices. In addition, 52% of organizations decreased the length of search and 47% improved cost per hire compared to only 17% of companies not utilizing video. As the Aberdeen Group noted, “Clearly, video makes an impact and organizations that implement video interviewing achieve ROI.

Shark Fun Fact: Sharks are fish but do not have any true bones, only cartilage (found in your nose, ears, and between your joints).

According to the Aberdeen Group (April 2013) “as organizations face intense pressure to meet company growth objects and tackle the shortage of critical skills in the market, they need to make leaner and smarter decisions around identifying, attracting, and hiring talent.” “Video solutions can help organizations achieve this goal by improving not only HR performance but also business performance.” In Aberdeen’s 2012 study Hit Play: The Value of Video in Recruitment organizations identified the need to reduce costs (69% of those surveyed), improve time to fill openings (38%), and reach a geographically dispersed population (23%) as the key drivers for investing in video solutions.

Shark Fun Fact: Many shark species can sense one part blood in one million parts of water.

The movie Jaws, released in 1975 and still popular today, was one of the most successful films of all time. We can make some comparisons to video interviewing and recruiting from the story and dialogue.

• “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” ~ Chief Brody. I would say the same to any organization that is currently only doing traditional interviews; “You’re gonna need a better system to outperform your competitors and get access to a bigger, more qualified candidate pool.”
• “You yell shark and we have a panic on our hands” ~Mayor Larry Vaughn of Amity Island. I know that some organizations are skeptical of video interviewing. “You say video interviewing and our hiring managers and candidates run the other way.”
• “I used to hate the water” ~Chief Brody. Once you start using video interviewing it becomes part of your standard process. “I used to be unsure of video interviewing, but now it is the foundation of our hiring process.”

Shark Fun Fact: There are almost 500 species of sharks in the ocean. They live in all the world’s oceans and many rivers and lakes.

Be the shark in your hiring ecosystem

By Dr. Chip Pike, Chief Product Officer of InterviewStream

Dr. Chip Pike has worked in business and education for over 25 years with vast experience in delivering measurable improvements to product development, knowledge management, performance evaluation and technology optimization.

Throughout his career, Chip has served in a variety of leadership roles relating to technology, learning and product development, during which he oversaw day-to-day operations and led significant technological advancements and innovations for the likes of Quality Learning, Community Education Partners (CEP), and Accelerated Learning Solutions (ALS).

In addition to his rich educational background, having received a total of four degrees, including his Ph.D. from The University of Miami, Chip brings a passion for technology and research to his role leading the top product innovations at InterviewStream.