Podcast: myInterview’s Ben Gillman on Why Video Works

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Mark:

Welcome to People Tech, the podcast of the HCM Technology Report. I’m Mark Feffer.

Mark:

Today, I talk with Ben Gilman, CEO, and co-founder of My Interview. They help candidates present themselves through video so that employers can more accurately identify the best hires. We’ll talk about new technology and talent acquisition and how it works in this crazy world on this edition of People Tech.

Mark:

Hey Ben, thanks for being here. Can you briefly tell me about My Interview?

Ben:

Yes, absolutely. My Interview is a video screening solution. We enable employers to prescreen their candidates using video. We developed this product pretty much from a candidate’s perspective. So their experience has really been at the heart of the platform. And that means that there’s very little friction to completion. We give candidates a ton of different tools and elements to be able to help them and assist them through the process. And the results that we provide to the employers are generated with the candidate’s success in mind. And that’s the real thesis behind what we’re doing.

Mark:

Now, what’s your sense of hiring right now? The word is companies can’t find candidates, but I know of a number of qualified candidates who aren’t getting offers. And I’m hearing that from a number of people. What do you think is going on?

Ben:

I think that COVID is going on. I think that we’re in a state of flux at the moment where there is different pockets of hiring and we’re feeling quite a lot of turbulence within the space and I think within the world, at the moment. And there’s definitely a trend where there’s a candidate shortage, particularly in frontline work and front of house and retail hospitality roles. But there are many candidates who are out there and looking for jobs. And because of the constraints that we have at the moment with accessibility and connectivity and everything that’s going on, tools are becoming more and more required to assist with hiring processes.

Mark:

Now, did COVID change the way talent acquisition looks at and uses technology?

Ben:

I believe it’s accelerated our use of technology quite a few years. People are technologies as really, as it should be, which is an assist and to help with creating efficiencies within the processes and account for gaps or holes that were created as a result of COVID. And a very obvious one is that we were pushed to flexible work because of the environment which was created by COVID. Now, flexible work was a trend that was happening, but now we’ve really been accelerated into that. So even when offices and businesses start opening up, people are beginning to expect from the employers that they have the ability to work some days from home, some days from the office, and to have that flexibility.

Ben:

And I think that’s also been the… We’ve seen that ricochet into the candidate shortages as candidates are seeing work, at least at the moment, as something which they control instead of work controlling them. I think this has also been a bit of an accelerator to that, but I’m not sure. I think the jury is still out, whether that will continue or whether once this really blows over, we will get back to the dynamics which we saw, of course, pre-COVID.

Mark:

And when we talk about employers, probably naturally talking about talent acquisition, but how about company management? They’re a pretty important voice in this whole discussion. Are they looking at technology differently? Or are they relying on technology more in terms of talent acquisition?

Ben:

Yes, definitely. Definitely. Management are putting technology into their budgets because of a necessity, which is always the key driver when we’re looking at free-market economics. And how things generally work is, there’s a very big need which arised, and managers need to fill that need so that they can be efficient and they can provide the necessary resources for their hiring teams. And there’s definitely an openness from management to the adoption of technologies. We get very little pushback in the adoption of the product by managers and purchasing offices. And I think the need for technology like ours is coming more and more obvious to companies and less of a nice to have or perceived nice to have.

Mark:

And last question is, where do you think we’re going to go from here? Are some of these changes to technology or to how companies view technology, are they going to stick even after COVID is done?

Ben:

Look, I believe so. And as discussed previously, I think it’s an acceleration more than a fad or a trend and the technologies that have been adopted and that we are using. Anecdotally, I’m hearing more and more that as… I’m based in Tel Aviv, so we’ve been back to work for some time. And people are saying, “You know what? Sometimes I’m missing a Zoom because I’m having to travel from meeting to meeting. And there’s certain elements, which are very beneficial from this use of technology. And I don’t see those going away. We’ve definitely seen in our product a continued growth of adoption. We had a definite acceleration at the beginning of COVID. We grew 300% last year but we’re not slowing down this year either.

Ben:

So as we come out of our isolation bubbles, and return back into them, we’re continuing to grow because people are seeing the real benefit to having, particularly, video technology within their processes. And we’re working on more and more features and functionality to be able to assist the employers, as well, as they get back to the office. And I think that collaboration is one that is becoming more and more of a given. People expect to be collaborating and the ability to collaborate. People expect to be collaborating, not just within their current position pods, but within the greater company. People want to be able to have their say as early as possible and be heard as early as possible with the hiring process, which is a very good thing. And technology has really enabled that.

Ben:

Where the more manual analog process demands time, technology can be flexible with time. And that is something that the people are very poor in at is time. So when technology can help to plug gaps and free up other holes, it’s a very good thing. And we’re not going to see a decline in usage of technology there.

Mark:

Well, Benjamin, thanks very much for talking with me today.

Ben:

Thank you, Mark.

Mark:

My guest today has been Ben Gilman, CEO, and co-founder of My Interview. And this has been People Tech, the podcast of the HCM Technology Report. We’re a publication of Recruiting Daily. We’re also a part of Evergreen Podcasts. To see all of their programs visit www.evergreenpodcasts.com. And to keep up with HR technology, visit the HCM Technology Report every day. We’re the most trusted source of news in the HR tech industry. Find us at www.hcmtechnologyreport.com. I’m Mark Feffer.

Image: iStock

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