In spring of 2020, many organizations sent their employees to work from home. 2 weeks of remote work stretched to 2 months. Many companies paused their recruitment efforts, waiting to see how everything would shake out. But throughout the summer of 2020, hiring freezes began to thaw as businesses adjusted to the remote environment. However, offices stayed empty to keep people safe. As a result, hiring managers had to adapt their hiring process. In 2020, video interviewing took center stage as a key solution in the remote hiring environment.
With most companies still remote in 2021, the use of video interviewing has stayed popular after its 2020 spike. In 2019, only 22% of hiring professionals were conducting video interviews. Usage jumped almost 160% in 2020, with 58% of companies using video interviewing. Recent data from our 2021 Hiring Benchmark Report shows that video interview use has remained steady, with 54% of hiring professionals reporting it as part of their hiring process this year.
Video interviewing has proven its staying power. Their use has increased flexibility for both hiring managers and candidates, and allowed people to conduct their interviews from anywhere. Asynchronous virtual interviewing adds an even greater degree of flexibility. It allows candidates to take interviews at times that work well for their schedule and for hiring managers to review many candidate interviews back-to-back.
Our research shows that of the organizations that conduct video interviews, the overwhelming majority (93%) use general built-in video tools. These include services like Zoom, Teams, or Skype. Only 5% of organizations use a dedicated video interviewing tool. But with video interviewing here to stay, it’s expected that more organizations will invest in specialized tools over the next few years.
If you’re interested in learning more trends in hiring for 2021 and beyond, download your own copy of the 2021 Hiring Benchmark Report.