In the staffing industry, technology has become a big part of everyday tasks, especially for Recruiters. Most staffing agencies today have applicant tracking systems that are used to speed up the recruiting process and reduce costs. There are several companies that offer these systems including TargetRecruit and Bullhorn, to name a few. As technology continues to advance, many systems are offering more add-ons such as video interviewing. Video interviewing has become more and more popular as most laptops and desktops come with built in webcams. This feature makes it easy for both the interviewee and interviewer. Typically, the interviewee is only seen from the waist up so they can literally be sitting at home in their pajamas while interviewing. Recruiters often work from home also so they can do the same.
Although this technological trend is the new greatest thing, it is important for companies to be aware of the staffing company they are partnering with using these. I say this because of recent comments by the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). While the EEOC does not have a policy about using video interviews, they have released a discussion letter. “While discussion letters are not the official statements of EEOC policy, they do give an idea of how the EEOC approaches these questions” (WeComply, 2012). Using videos for interviewing gives the interviewer the opportunity to discriminate against the interviewee whether they do it consciously or unconsciously. This can easily reflect negatively on the company and potentially be a law suit. As a consumer of staffing services, you want to make sure that the staffing agency you use is not in the midst of any discriminatory issues around video interviewing or anything else for that matter. It is important that your business partner is on the same page and it is also important that they take the lead in this matter.
Staffing is a business of people so it is important that the agency you work with understands all of the laws that govern the people they interact with. Of course when we have business partnerships we all want a professional and knowledgeable partner. Therefore, make sure that your staffing partner is truly an expert in their field and understands the risks of using video interviewing. Assure that their Recruiters are thoroughly trained to make sure that they are selecting candidates appropriately and that they are assisting your hiring managers with selecting candidates appropriately as well. For example, if a Recruiter is setting up interviews with a hiring manager and the hiring manager states that they only want to interview men, this is not allowed. You should be able to confide in that agency and know that the Recruiter is trained to politely tell your hiring manager that they are not able to discriminate against someone due to their gender by law. The Recruiter should be able to say “I’m sorry I can’t do that” and give an explanation why. After all, you are trusting them to be experts in their field and that’s why you hired them, right?
If you feel that the company you currently work with is not knowledgeable of laws that govern hiring or if you feel that your staff is not knowledgeable as well, click below and get the expertise you need. Also, check out A Few Things Recruiters Should Stop Doing in 2015 to see what else may be going wrong.
WeComply. (2012, January 31). Risk of Using Video Interviews to Screen Job Applicants. Retrieved from http://www.wecomply.com/post/692364-risk-of-using-video-interviews-to.
