Has the In-Person Job Interview Become History? New Research from Checkster Reveals Effectiveness of Remote Hiring Tools

NOVATO, Calif. (May 12, 2020) – A recent survey completed by Checkster, a company driving better business outcomes through better people decisions, revealed hiring trends during the COVID-19 pandemic. While mandatory sheltering-in-place mandates have reduced or slowed in-person interviews by nearly 70 percent, hiring managers reported reliance on other hiring tools as being effective and, in some cases, preferable.

Conducted in April 2020, Checkster’s study surveyed 400 U.S. hiring managers still hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, they reported a significant shift away from in-person interviews, with 43 percent citing a reduction and 25 percent stopping entirely. Checkster surveyed respondents on remote tools that hiring managers rely upon such as phone interviews, video interviews, recorded video interviews, online assessments, reference checks, and background checks. Phone interviews topped the list of tools used most frequently at 69 percent, followed by video interviews (62 percent), assessment testing (53 percent), reference checks (46 percent) and background checks (35 percent).

The age of the hiring manager was a factor in both the reduction of in-person interviews as well as use of fewer remote hiring methods. The former suggests caution due to health vulnerabilities; however, the latter appears to validate that older hiring managers aren’t as comfortable utilizing remote tools during the conditions created by the pandemic. Younger hiring managers might gain advantages given their willingness to use remote tools.

Yves Lermusi, CEO of Checkster, commented, “It’s particularly interesting to note that 37 percent of hiring managers said their turnaround time is actually faster using remote tools. And, among the hiring managers forced to adopt remote methods they didn’t use before, many will keep using them post COVID-19, especially video interviewing and reference checking.”

Madeline Laurano, Founder and Principal Analyst at Aptitude Research, said, “Resiliency is key during these times and hiring without in-person interviews is yet another adjustment. The findings in Checkster’s study are compelling, especially as we collectively plan our return to work strategies.”

To download a complimentary copy of the Checkster study, please visit  https://www.checkster.com/covid-19_hiring_manager_survey 

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Using collective human intelligence, Checkster empowers talent and team leaders to make smarter, faster and more confident talent decisions and build high performing teams that compete to win. More than 500 organizations around the world use Checkster to power their people decisions and improve quality of hire.