What IT Doesn’t Know CAN Hurt You

Those of you lucky enough to have a robust IT department will understand this headline best, as IT’s presence and skill in a company can be both a blessing and a challenge. Especially when it comes to HR Technology. When it comes to video interviewing, here are the warning signs that the recruiting and talent acquisition leaders need to speak up, quickly:

“We can build that for you.”

“That’s redundant technology. We already have it in place.”

Watch Out

This warning is especially true for video interviewing because it is frequently mistaken for simple video conferencing capabilities. The IT department is going to be focused on the wrong things, and it’s your job to point that out – with the ammunition provided below. To IT, they’ve got the technology covered: “Video, yep, we can check that off the list. We have video capabilities.”  And, they are thinking about the audience within their control – the internal employee population.

The Missing Links You Need

You need this ammunition to prove that IT can’t build it internally, that the video capabilities already in house are absolutely not redundant technology and cannot be used for interviewing. Here’s what IT is missing:

1. Talent acquisition requires a purpose-built video interviewing solution. That means technology that has been built intentionally for hiring. As recruiters, you understand and respect the EEOC and all the details related to data security, especially when encountering the complexity of cross border hiring and data security requirements. Only a few purpose-built video interviewing companies share your attention to these global compliance details.

2. The recruiting team cannot double as tech support.You are the recruiting experts, the foundational people-practice of the company. The wide span of jobs you hire for is incredibly vast and varied. And the hiring managers inside the company may be at novice-level when it comes to technology. With a conferencing tool or home-grown system, who’s going to guide all those people as they learn to connect? With a purpose-built video interviewing solution, like Montage, support is there on every interaction with the technology, 24×7. IT may know how to get video working properly inside your own company’s walls but what about the hundreds of job candidates located everywhere and anywhere? Connecting through who-knows-what quality of Internet connection and with what device?

3. Your recruitment function is a representation of your brand. Does IT realize how many people come through the hiring funnel each year? Your organization likely spends an enormous amount of money on its brand. Savvy companies realize that HR and Marketing need to work more closely together than ever to promote brand consistency. How will this home-grown system or conferencing tool show off your brand? Look to the video interviewing solution experts to visually display your products and services, represent your look-and-feel, and host welcome videos from hiring managers and departments. Ninety-six percent of candidates surveyed by Montage agreed that companies using its video interviewing technology appeared innovative and forward thinking. This perception will not hold true with a tool built for conferencing.

4. Your candidates are future consumers of your products and services. Are you a hospitality company? Healthcare? Manufacturing? Professional Services? No matter what you produce for a living, your company sells to people. Nothing turns away a future consumer faster than horrible treatment. That includes the treatment throughout the hiring process. Superior service and a high quality representation of your brand is essential. Win or lose, every job candidate should exit the hiring process feeling good about the employer.

5. You are not a data warehouse. The full suite of video interviewing products includes recorded video interviews (a likely replacement for the phone screen) and live video interviewing that can be recorded if desired. All are stored in a SaaS platform for ease of access, integration with applicant tracking systems, and sharing with hiring decision makers through a simple link. Think about housing, hosting, sharing, recording when your IT department says they can build it for you or direct you toward an existing web conferencing system.

We all love and appreciate our IT departments, but pay attention when they begin to creep into your territory. Be armed with the facts. It’s your job to think about security, data privacy, EEOC, brand, support, reporting, and the overall hiring experience. And it’s the job of the technology company, purpose-built for video interviewing, to deliver.