Companies resort to realistic job previews, talent screeners to make hiring processes more efficient

A global trend that is expected to rapidly catch up in India is the practice of providing realistic job previews that demonstrate what a job with the hiring organisation entails. These job previews are provided through multi-media formats such as videos on company websites.

Even before sending an application, a candidate gets a very clear picture about the job and the organisation’s culture to help him decide to apply for or reject an opportunity. Through the realistic job preview, I can also get a sense of the working conditions, thereby helping me decide whether I should apply or refrain from pursuing the job.

Organisations provide job previews to attract the right talent and spend less on recruitment processes such as briefing applicants, interviewing candidates or putting them through assessments. This results in organisations spending less time, energy, effort and money in filtering and sifting through candidate applications right at the beginning of the process. These job previews are also a great way of building an employer brand as an organisation sends a clear signal to the talent market about being open and candid about its job opportunities and work culture.

Another trend that is picking up rapidly is the use of talent screeners on career websites, where applicants are put through a series of questions and situations that can help the recruiting organisation assess and filter the right candidates. These screeners are typically 10-15 minute questionnaires where the candidate is presented with several situations that s/he will likely encounter in the job. At the end of the assessment, the platform tells a candidate whether he or she is ready to get to the next stage or whether the job is not a right fit for him or her.

Through realistic job previews and talent screeners, a recruiting organisation can ensure that the number of irrelevant applications is reduced and the general quality of applicants is better. In addition, a recruiting organisation can also ensure that the hit-rate per recruitment process is much higher compared to traditional channels. Organisations partner with talent consulting organisations to build job previews and talent screeners.

For middle and senior level recruitments, an increasing number of companies are partnering with consulting organisations to conduct personality assessments and objective evaluation of competencies to combine with the interview process. Personality assessments look at an individual’s most natural and preferred style of behaviour at the workplace. They involve an assessment of an individual’s competencies required to deliver superior performance on the job. The consulting partner also helps an organisation identify traits that are needed for success in a middle or senior leadership role.

Y. V. L. Pandit is the Managing Director of SHL India