Conducting an Effective Virtual Interview
Tips you can use when interviewing candidates remotely. As today’s workforce moves from traditional offices to remote work, many businesses are adopting a new way of conducting interviews, and in some cases, even onboarding. While this trend is due in large part to the COVID-19 crisis, there are many positives to moving more of your interview process into a virtual format. Virtual interviews are a great way to work around scheduling conflicts or limit face to face interaction due to social distancing. Did you also know: Five minutes of live video interviewing is considered equal to a 200-question written assessment. Data is suggesting that video interviewing is six times faster and more productive than a phone interview. 93% of communication is non-verbal. 57% of candidates prefer live video interviews. (SOURCE: LinkedIn) We have compiled a few useful tips to help you navigate the process of conducting a virtual interview. 1. Test Your Tech Get familiar with the software you will be utilizing. Test your speaker, microphone, and video. Make sure to close out of other applications to enhance the speed of your operating systems. Conduct a run through with a peer to learn the program capabilities and gain feedback. If you do encounter issues where a glitch occurs and you can’t hear the response, be direct and honest. There could be a connection issue, so wait for the audio to resume and ask them to repeat what they said. It is essential to be upfront and obtain the answers necessary to make a thoughtful employment decision. 2. Create a Neutral Space For a professional atmosphere during the interview, it is vital to find a quiet place, free from distractions. Make sure you choose somewhere that people will not be wandering around in the background. Turn off or mute your phone and silence all notifications to give your full attention. An appropriate background should be neutral but not dull. You can still show some personality outside of a plain white wall by showcasing plants, bookshelves, or diplomas and awards behind you. Depending on the software, you can also choose or create a virtual background that is not distracting. 3. Lighting and Angles For a clear video, it is best to utilize natural lighting— facing you as much as possible. If the natural lighting is not possible, considering adding a lamp to your desk or a ring light to the top of your laptop. A well-lit subject exudes trust and friendliness. Have your computer placed above eye level and tilted slightly down. A quick fix is to use books to elevate your surface. This placement prevents the camera from being directed at your neck and nose and appears more natural like it would in a face to face conversation. As in a regular interview, sit up straight and make eye contact with the camera. Body language still matters to emanate a professional demeanor. 4. Keep Your Candidate Informed Notify your candidate ahead of time that the interview will be virtual. Send a calendar invite with a link to the software you will be using and instructions so they can practice ahead of time and test their tech. In the email, be sure to include who will be involved with the interview, their title, and the role they play so they can research ahead of time to prepare. This will allow candidates to become comfortable with the platform and ensure a smooth interview for both parties. 5. Showcase Your Culture During a virtual interview, candidates are not always able to view the office space and coworkers that they could be working with in the future. Consequently, it may be more difficult for a candidate to get a feel for the company culture. To showcase this, spend more time preparing a presentation to express the company’s mission and vision. You can also send the candidate employee testimonials and links to social media posts that capture the essence and spirit of your company. There are software and video options available for you to provide virtual tours of office and production facilities. This investment usually offers a healthy ROI and help you complete a hiring initiative from start to finish in a virtual format. 6. Remain Positive Virtual interviewing can be a first-time experience for you as well as the candidate, and there may be a few fumbles with the transition from in-person interviews to virtual. You are both working through this together and making the best out of the situation. Remain positive and express appreciation to the candidate. After this experience, you may find you enjoy virtual interviews more than other forms. Whether you utilize Zoom, FaceTime, BlueJeans, Teams, Skype, WhatsApp, or one of a variety of video platforms, find the one that works best for your company and allows you to assess body language and professionalism. Virtual interviews also allow for more flexibility in scheduling across locations and time zones, which can help attract more qualified candidates from a broader region. Along with making the right employment decision in this new era of social distancing and stay in place, virtual meetings also have the benefit of lowering travel and venue costs, all of which are beneficial for your bottom line.
Your People and Planning for the Reset
There is an old African proverb called The Fable of the Lion and the Gazelle. To survive every day, the lion must catch the slowest gazelle. For the gazelle to survive, it must outrun the fastest lion. The message for both, “When the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” Regardless of industry and how positively or negatively positioned a company has been through the COVID-19 crisis, we face a new post-pandemic business normal to varying degrees. We defer to healthcare experts and government leaders as to timing, but as a business leader, you should be planning now for a successful restart of your company when the sun finally comes up. According to a recent article from McKinsey & Company, there are “five horizons” or 5 R’s that leaders and companies need to think about and act upon during this time and beyond: Resolve, Resilience, Return, Reimagination, and Reform. We are going through the Resolve and Resilience stages now (cutting costs, monitoring cash flow, retaining or transitioning employees, preparing to return, and planning to normalize operations). All of us have been inundated with content regarding the current situation. However, what about this new post-pandemic period applies to your people? As business leaders, our task is now to manage an efficient restart, a comeback in stages, and begin running toward a better future. The way to make that happen is to focus on your workforce through planning, communications, and deciding whom to bring back and when since it is your people who will determine the outcome. Planning for the Return In a recent survey by Fishbowl, 80% of workers across the country do not feel safe going back to work if their state were to reopen immediately. While the data varies by area, these are startling numbers that point out that there are still many unknowns relating to widespread testing and a vaccine. Regardless of the size of your company, you could also face litigation if any employment laws are broken. What is an employer to do? Returning after such an abrupt forced shutdown will be challenging, especially with a fearful and reluctant workforce. To overcome these hurdles, three areas of planning will be crucial: business and operational considerations, communications and timeline, and then a plan to return to the workplace. BUSINESS & OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Refer to plans that you may already have in place, such as your original business plan or strategic planning you may have engaged in before the pandemic to serve as a guide. Working with an HR consultant may help in developing Disaster Recovery and Infectious Disease Control Plans, as well as a plan for normalizing operations. Review your financials, develop a 13-week cash flow forecast, and determine your priorities by function and location. You may have previously had an annual 1-3-5 year plan for your business. Now, focus on a 30-60-90 day plan. If your HR Team has been working remotely, they will need to be one of the first back to the office to assist in staging the return of your workforce and ensuring compliance. COMMUNICATION & TIMELINE PLANNING Perhaps noted author, John Maxwell, put it best during a recent webinar addressing leadership during COVID-19: “The best thing we can do right now is not to do business, but just do relationships.” As a leader, continue to stay in touch with your people and keep them focused during this trying time. Communicating the return should be positive, but also respectful. In this phase, determine a timeline for bringing back teams in order of priority. Build a communication plan for employees returning onsite denoting the reasons why, work schedules, expectations, safety measures, and explore options for continued remote work if possible. While portions of your workforce may already be remote, or able to WFH, it will also be essential to address furloughed and laid-off employees. Each is a different category that requires a separate communication plan. Furloughed employees will be more accessible, as they never left your system. Laid-off employees you choose to bring back will have to be rehired, onboarded, and put back into your system. This period is also an excellent opportunity to top-grade your talent (more to follow). RETURN TO THE WORKPLACE & DAILY OPERATIONS Do you have the staffing to handle the process and administrative functions in your operation? This phase is where you can get detailed in terms of how your people will enter and exit the facility, temperature or other testing procedures (many mobile temperature check methods are available), having suitable PPE on hand, signs for social distancing, personal hygiene, and practices for overall facility cleanliness and sanitation. All are to reduce fear and meet new OSHA, CDC, and state requirements. Prior training and instruction on these new procedures will be crucial as your employees return. To assist your business in planning for your return, we have put together a Post-Pandemic Checklist — A Human Resource Guide to Normalization of Business Operations (PDF) for your review and use. Reimagining the Future: Topgrading Your People The COVID-19 crisis will reveal problem areas in your business, but also opportunities to improve. Perhaps the most critical ingredient to a company’s success in this new era will be the people we surround ourselves with as we embark on this journey. Consequently, we have been provided a painful yet unique opportunity to improve the quality of talent driving our business forward. The wife of one of our BEST Stakeholders manages a retail store in a local mall. She had the unfortunate task of laying off her people during the shutdown, but she has kept in touch with her team and intends to bring most of them back when they reopen. However, there is one who will not be invited back due to poor performance and bad behavior. For others, she will promote and increase their hours when they reopen. She has been topgrading her people. Topgrading talent is an interviewing philosophy that seeks out the highest quality workforce by ensuring that acquisition and development
The Rise of the Remote Workforce: Benefits, Behaviors and Best Practices
Once the domain of traveling sales and service people, this space is rapidly changing. In the last (5) years alone, remote work, or allowing professionals to work from home or outside the traditional office, has increased by 44% and shows no signs of slowing, especially in light of recent events. Currently, the number of remote workers is rising out of necessity, whether it be temporary or permanent decisions by companies to support a virtual workforce. With technology allowing us to take our lives with us anywhere we go, more people are requesting flexible working spaces. There are many reasons why remote working is increasing in popularity with both business leaders and their pool of labor. Not every company wants to allow employees to work from home. However, there are benefits of having a remote workforce. Not every person should work from home, thus, we will review the personal behaviors that best apply to this style of work and best practices for being a remote workforce manager and an efficient employee. The Benefits There are (4) key benefits to having a remote workforce: talent pool, cost reduction, happier work life, and health. Your talent pool becomes limitless. Hiring the right person comes with many challenges. The company needs to find a person with the right background, customer knowledge, behaviors, and nearby. By limiting the talent pool to around a 25-mile radius (about a 45-minute commute) a company is missing out on top talent. With remote workers, the world now becomes your talent pool. It saves the company and employees money. According to a ConnectSolutions survey, the average remote worker saves a company approximately $4,600 per year. Fuel, car maintenance, commuting time, parking, childcare, lunches are top employee considerations, and this is a good chunk of change most people would like to keep in their wallets. Having remote workers also reduces the amount of money the company has to spend on computers, phones, utilities, office supplies, and on real estate and office leases. A happier work-life balance leads to employee retention. According to Global Workplace Analytics, 72% of employers say remote work has a high impact on employee retention, and 90% of employees feel flexible work arrangements increase employee morale. It is no wonder then that 45% of remote workers have been in the same position for (5) years or more. Remote Workers are healthy. Even before many schools, companies, and even whole countries were put on lockdown in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, research showed that remote workers on average take fewer sick days and can stay productive longer. It has become a lifestyle, with many companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon encouraging work from home– as well as many others who are less tech-centered. Plus, in this new age of social distancing, it is much less likely that an employee will come in contact with any germs around the office. The Behaviors While remote work provides many benefits, both to the company and the employee, it doesn’t mean everyone in your company is ready for this lifestyle. On the contrary, this new work arrangement takes a person with a particular set of skills and behaviors. As we conduct candidate interviews for remote positions, we assess the following behaviors that make for a successful and productive remote worker. These are: Strong Connector and Communicator Enjoys sharing expertise and ideas proactively with other professionals. Prefers and enjoys team projects. Proactively taps into all available knowledge and support resources. A Go-Getter Confident and self-assured. Seeks independence and enjoys due recognition. Driven to high levels of accomplishment. Passionate High stamina and endurance— one who doesn’t count hours on the job. Maintains focus during work activities. Active hobbies and involvement. Integrity Honesty and integrity are hallmarks of how they conduct themselves in all they do. Refuses to cut corners or over-promise. Represents their company judiciously. Astute Skilled in self-appraisal. Quickly sorts the critical from the superfluous in prioritizing – street smart! Acts appropriately— is tactful and knows what NOT to say. The Best Practices As with any mode of work, there are managerial and work practices that lead to success. We have identified six key best practices for remote work: Communicate early and often. Because an employee is not working in the office, communication is one of the essential tools they can use. In a traditional office setting, it is easy to talk to an associate in person if questions or concerns arise. Efficient telecommunicators understand the importance of this trait and use it to work effectively with the rest of the team. Be proactive in your communication with your coworkers and clients. Managers also need to communicate effectively with daily calls or video chats. Daily routine and consistency are a big part of working from home. When working in a traditional office setting, this routine could consist of waking up around the same time each day, taking a shower, making coffee, and commuting to the office. A person who is taken out of the office should still try to do these same things each morning and to keep their regular office hours. This will set the tone for the day. Instead of feeling like you are just staying home, it will make it feel like you are getting ready for work. Managers should also set up routines and consistent check-ins (phone or video) with their remote teams. Set schedule and prioritize. Remote work provides more flexibility but has the potential for a lot less structure. Set a plan of action to make sure that time is productive. When working from home, utilize company calendars to stay updated on office events and meetings. Keep to your regular work schedule hours and agenda while holding yourself accountable to these, as your manager would. Create a separate workspace free from distraction. It is almost impossible to produce high-quality while household distractions abound. TV, walking the dog, and the laundry can wait until after work. Create a separate office area or room, similar to if you were working in an
