This article presents excerpts from the provider insight report recently published by Talent Tech Labs. The selected portions seen in this blog set the stage for the interview scheduling report by presenting the benefits of efficient interview scheduling, how the functionality exists in ATS and CRMs, and questions an organization should ask itself before automating interview scheduling.
Scheduling interviews may seem like a trivial activity. And yes, to schedule just one interview between a candidate and a hiring manager seems simple enough. However, when you have many candidates, a series of interviews, and people in different time zones, scheduling can rapidly get very complex.
Our full provider insight report looks at why interview scheduling is so difficult and how technology can help. Talent Tech Labs focuses on situations where an organization is using Workday as its core HRMS. However, the lessons are relevant for any organization doing a large number of interviews.
Why Interview Scheduling Matters
Inefficient scheduling processes can negatively impact an organization in several ways:
- A slow hiring process can lead to the loss of talented candidates as they are offered jobs by competitors before your process is finished. In the 2020 Yello Interview Scheduling Survey, 60% of recruiters said that they regularly lose candidates before they’re able to schedule an interview.
- An inefficient process wastes the time of both hiring managers and talent acquisition professionals: 67% of survey respondents said it takes between 30 minutes and 2 hours to schedule a single interview. If a typical employer will interview 6-10 candidates for a job, and candidates will go through at least 2-3 rounds of interviews, then a company with 10,000 employees could be spending as much as $3,045,600 per year on interview scheduling. We based this number on an average U.S. recruiter salary of $58,606, according to Payscale.com, and an assumed annual turnover of 18%, according to information from SHRM.
- An awkward process gives candidates a poor impression of the organization. It’s a job seekers’ market, and candidate expectations are rising because of it.
Of these negative impacts, the loss of talent is the most potent, but we should not overlook the burden of poor scheduling processes on people within the organization. On average, recruiters are spending two-thirds of their overall hiring process on interview scheduling. Managers and talent acquisition professionals are under enough stress as it is, and when a process that should be easy gets difficult, then it is particularly wearing.
What Ideal Scheduling Looks Like
In an ideal world, once a candidate is chosen to be interviewed, an automated scheduler would select mutually suitable times for the candidate, interviewer, and all relevant parties. It is never quite that easy because, for example, there are last-minute changes to interviewer availability. However, keeping the ideal outcome in mind provides guidance as to what technology, data, and processes are needed.
Doesn’t Workday Handle This Already?
Whenever an administrative process is inefficient, the obvious approach is to look for a solution in technology. In the case of an ERP like Workday, the first question that management will ask is, “Doesn’t Workday already handle this?” It’s true that Workday does a lot of things, as the website claims: “Workday Talent Acquisition has you covered every step of the way, from workforce planning to interviewing to onboarding—and everything in between.” But it cannot be expected to handle every process as well as a specific organization may need. In particular, the interviewing scheduling tools within Workday may not be ideal for all organizations.
Existing Functionality in the ATS or CRM
All notable ATSs and most CRMs check the feature box for interview scheduling. One gap in the ATS is that its scheduling functionality can only be used after a candidate applies for a role. To that extent, recruiters don’t have a way to simply send out a scheduling link and execute a screening call as part of the passive candidate engagement process. In the larger picture, organizations, especially those with teams of recruitment coordinators, benefit from having a dedicated, integrated scheduling tool they can log into.
When you have many candidates, a series of interviews, and people in different time zones, scheduling can rapidly get very complex. Learn more about efficient interview scheduling in @TalentTechLabs’ blog: Click To TweetScheduling is a core facet of the recruitment cycle. To that extent, you find this feature in other Sub-verticals such as the ATS and CRM as described previously, but also other point solutions. The problem is that these embedded tools do not work particularly well for general use across the TA function.
For example, you may have a Video Interviewing or Behavioral Assessment tool, but its scheduling functionality is designed only to support its native assessment. We’ve seen large enterprises struggle to use Video Interviewing tools’ scheduling capabilities in an agnostic way. Similarly, many systems cannot handle more sophisticated interview workflows (e.g., round-robin, multi-panel, etc.) and thus leave clients struggling.
Are Your Processes and Data Ready for Interview Scheduling Automation?
Technology can efficiently schedule interviews only if it knows the appropriate processes and has access to the necessary data. If an organization has a standardized interview process, for example, a sequence of a phone interview, a technical interview, and a soft skills interview, then the right scheduling technology can set up all those interviews using workflow automation.
However, if the organization’s interview processes are not standardized, then someone will need to manually intervene each time the technology is used.
Similarly, scheduling technology needs access to data that is accurate and up-to-date. If the interviewers’ calendars are up-to-date, then it can identify and coordinate appropriate times. If those calendars are not up-to-date, then the technology will end up scheduling unavailable times that the interviewer will reject, adding friction to the process and undermining the purpose of using technology.
Technology can be an invaluable asset for streamlining and automating the interview scheduling process, but only if it is properly configured and has access to accurate data. Organizations need to make sure their interview processes are well-defined and standardized, as well as ensure that their systems have up-to-date calendars of interviewers in order to maximize the efficiency of their scheduling technology.
Get access to the full provider insight report, where you’ll receive:
- An introduction to interview scheduling
- What ideal interview scheduling looks like
- How to identify the best scheduling solution for you
- Ways to measure the success of interview scheduling tools
- And much more!
A special thank you goes out to Rooster for assistance with client case study information!
Download the provider insight report here and unlock the secret to an efficient interview scheduling strategy to help candidates and talent leaders alike. Interview scheduling makes all the difference between hiring top talent and losing qualified candidates. Learn more in the latest provider insight report.
