Free vs. Paid Video Interviewing: Pros and Cons
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Why Paid Video Hiring Platforms Beat Free Video Conferencing
What are the differences between free video conferencing/meeting software vs paid video interview platforms?
Organizations everywhere look to streamline efficiency, improve the quality of hires and enhance the applicant experience. It’s crystal clear why video interviews are becoming increasingly popular among recruiter circles.
SMBs to large corporations understand how video interviewing technology revolutionizes the way they screen, interview and hire top talent. However, with the introduction of any new operational concept typically comes a barrage of objections.
One of the most common questions we get on product demonstrations as a leading vendor in the video recruiting space is the infamous: Isn’t this just like Skype?
When it comes down to the basics, both services offer a platform that connects users via webcam. But are they the same? No—and let’s break down the differences between VidCruiter and Microsoft Teams.
VidCruiter
- Integrated scheduling, automatic reminders, calendar sync
- User-friendly interface with pre-recorded options, flexible candidate engagement tools
- AI-driven interview analysis, candidate ratings, and built-in evaluation features
- Team collaboration tools for sharing feedback, notes and recorded interviews
- Designed for high-volume recruitment with bulk scheduling and automated workflows
Microsoft Teams
- No built-in scheduling, requires extensive coordination outside of the platform
- Basic video calling without a specific interview flow or flexibility for candidates
- Feedback must be manually recorded
- Lack of built-in collaboration features; sharing feedback is external and less streamlined
- Limited scalability; harder to manage
There are key reasons recruiters should consider a dedicated video interviewing platform like VidCruiter rather than relying on free video conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, Webex Meetings, or Google Meet when it comes to talent acquisition.
Video Interviewing Platform Best Features
1. Ability to Record Live Interviews
With video interviewing platforms, you can have all your live interviews recorded, saved and stored in the cloud. This allows hiring teams to review interviews as needed and share videos and/or candidate profiles with other hiring managers to gather their input.
2. Improved Collaboration
Share video interviews and candidate profiles with other hiring managers to improve collaboration within your team. Get a second opinion on any candidate, as the entire process becomes more fair and objective when you have multiple people scoring and rating answers.
3. Fair, Objective, Standardized Interview Process
Deploy a standardized structured interview process across the entire company with custom interview guides, rating scales and recruiter questionnaires. This ensures all candidates are evaluated on a fair and level playing field and makes identifying front-runners much easier because decisions are made based on concrete data.
4. Customizable Employer Branding
Strong employer branding is essential to creating a positive candidate experience. Free services like Skype offer no branding opportunities. In comparison, video hiring platforms offer various options to promote your brand and set yourself apart as an attractive place to work.
Upload your company logo, add a color scheme, record video questions or include a recruitment video to showcase your company culture.
5. Enhanced Candidate Experience
It’s safe to say that the candidate experience is significantly enhanced by leveraging a platform built for recruiting. The automation of tasks like interview scheduling, applicant updates, reminders and rejection emails make for a seamless and professional applicant experience.
Skype requires its users to create an account with login credentials in order to access the video meeting platform, which can lead to applicants being turned off and dropping out of the interview process completely.
With a dedicated video interviewing platform like VidCruiter, enjoy simplicity, a 24/7 technical support team, and ease of use for a world-class recruitment process. No software downloads or accounts are required from applicants in order to complete applications or interviews.
Nowadays, a positive candidate experience can influence an applicant’s decision to accept a job offer. A negative experience on the other hand can have disastrous effects on the recruitment process and the organization’s reputation as a whole—which can be costly.
Likelihood to Take Actions After Negative Candidate Experience
Source: Software Advice
6. Time-Saving Asynchronous Video Interviews
One-way video interviewing is a relatively new concept in recruiting but it’s completely revolutionizing the way companies screen candidates. This tool enables recruiters to qualify and disqualify applicants much faster in the early stages of the process.
They now spend time reviewing and scoring video answers rather than conduct individual telephone interviews with each applicant. By automating the screening process, hiring teams can speed up time-to-fill by up to 75%.
7. Integration with Existing Systems
A dedicated video interviewing platform often offers various levels of integration with your company’s current HR management tools, which helps improve the user experience on both the employer’s and the candidate’s side of things.
8. 24/7 Support for Both Recruiters and Applicants
Lastly, the most important benefit of investing in a dedicated video interviewing platform is the white-glove service that comes with it. Most leading video interviewing companies on the market today provide a dedicated account manager along with 24/7 client and applicant support for users.
This level of service may not always be included in the contract price for all vendors. Therefore, this is a good question to ask on product demonstrations when shopping around.
On the other hand, if you’re conducting video interviews on a free service like Skype, Google Hangouts or FaceTime and something goes wrong, you have no avenues for technical support. This can severely impact the natural progression of the recruitment process and create unnecessary delays and massive applicant drop-offs.
Recruiting Feature Comparison: Video Chat and Conference Software vs. Paid Video Recruiting Software
Source: Software Advice
When To Switch to a Paid Video Interviewing Platform
While Skype is an amazing way to stay in touch with friends and family who live far away, it was never intended to be used for corporate recruiting. Software Advice’s Brian Westfall explains:
“The added features found in dedicated video recruiting platforms aren’t just bells and whistles. They’re necessary time and money savers in the war for talent.”
Dedicated video interviewing solutions streamline your hiring team’s productivity and help make better use of the resources involved in the hiring process.
Of course, if an organization only hires a few people annually, this type of solution might not be for you. For example, if once in a blue moon, you conduct a video interview because an applicant is located too far away to physically attend the interview in person. In this instance, a Skype interview can be a convenient alternative to travel.
However, when it comes to companies who deal with higher recruitment volumes and more complex hiring processes, hiring teams should consider looking into recruitment software that was designed with that exact purpose in mind.
Engage, interview, and hire top talent faster with VidCruiter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are video interview platforms more secure than free video conferencing software?
Yes, video interview platforms like VidCruiter typically offer enhanced security features, including data encryption, secure data storage, and compliance with industry standards like GDPR and HIPAA. Free video conferencing software may not offer the same level of protection for sensitive candidate information, which makes them significantly less ideal for recruitment purposes.
Are video interview platforms cost-effective for recruiters?
While video interviewing platforms typically come with a subscription cost, they can be cost-effective in the long run by saving time and streamlining the hiring process. Free video conferencing software may seem cheaper upfront, but could lead to inefficiencies, especially with the management of multiple candidates, interviews, and scheduling logistics.
Are video interviews scalable for large recruitment efforts?
Video interviewing platforms are specifically designed to handle large volumes of interviews. They offer features like bulk scheduling, automated follow-ups, and team collaboration options. Free video conferencing tools may not support large-scale hiring as effectively, as they require more manual coordination and organization.