Recruiting Without Boundaries.How Video Can Bridge the Distance Between Your Business and the Talent It Needs to Succeed.

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Why Is It So Hard to Find Talent?IT’S A JOB SEEKER’S MARKET. As the U.S. economy continues to gain momentum, more organizations are adding jobs to meet escalating business demands. However, finding candidates for those roles can be a struggle.

Here are just some of the current market dynamics:

■ One-third of U.S. jobs remain open for at least three months – and the economic cost of unfilled jobs in the United States is nearly $160 billion per year.1

■ The unemployment rate for college-educated workers is well below the national unemployment rate, and has been for some time.2

■ About 10,000 baby boomers are reaching retirement age annually – a pace that is expected to continue through 2020.3

These dynamics are driving many businesses and their HR teams to look well outside of their local markets to recruit the talent they need to succeed, and build a remote workforce.

1. The Economic Cost of Unfilled Jobs in the U.S., Indeed, November 2014: http://800ft41ynk4y2onf3w1heu7m2.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Report-Empty-Desk-Final-.pdf.

2. “Household Data: Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment,” Bureau of Labor Statistics economic news release: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm.

3. “Baby Boomers Retire,” Pew Research Center “Daily Number,” December 29, 2010: http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/baby-boomers-retire/.

*“Sales and Storytelling with Charles Wortmann,” by Charu Sharma, The Huffington Post, Aug. 7, 2014: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-sharma/sales-and-storytelling_b_5653205.html.

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New Pressures for HR – and a SolutionBEING OPEN TO HIRING REMOTE WORKERS means businesses have more opportunity to locate the resources they need to meet the demands of today’s 24/7, global economy.

Another benefit: It can make them more appealing to candidates from Generations Y and Z, who covet flexible work arrangements.

But expanding the remote or virtual workforce has HR teams wondering if they need to rethink their approach to recruiting and other core responsibilities. Three questions on their minds:

1. How can we reach candidates anywhere at a moment’s notice – and ensure those meetings are engaging?

2. How can we shorten the hiring cycle?

3. How can we keep travel costs in check?

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VIDEOCONFERENCINGThe answer to all three questions? Videoconferencing.

With the right platform, HR staff can continue to do what they do best, but also:

■ Meet face-to-face with potential hires anytime, anywhere, using any device.

■ Move faster to evaluate candidates and extend an offer.

■ Enable meetings, large and small, with all employees across the distributed workforce.

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Same Hiring Process, Only DifferentTO BE CLEAR, VIDEOCONFERENCING does not simplify the process of evaluating candidates for remote work arrangements. (Although, it does provide a window into a potential hire’s communication abilities.)

Hiring managers will need to ask many detailed questions – such as these – to make sure the candidate will thrive in a remote work arrangement:

■ Do you have previous experience with remote work or similar flexible work arrangements? Can you tell me about those experiences?

■ How would you structure your daily work routine?

■ How would you describe your communication style? Do you prefer to interact with colleagues through email, phone, video or all of the above?

■ How do you typically track progress on projects?

■ What do you like best about remote working? And least?

How a candidate answers these questions will also provide valuable insight into how this person will fit into the work-place culture – which transcends the physical workplace. This discussion will also give clues as to what type of management style the candidate will likely respond to best.

Onboarding – and BeyondSTARTING A NEW JOB – even if it’s from a home office – can be overwhelming for any professional. A formal onboarding process can help, and through video conferencing, the process can be just as engaging for remote employees as it is for new hires who work on-site.

Here are some strategies for enabling a smooth transition:

■ Provide a warm welcome. On the new hire’s first day: ⊲ Facilitate a video meeting to introduce the new employee to colleagues.

⊲ Give the remote worker a “tour” of the home office using your mobile device.

⊲ Meet one-to-one with the new staff member by video to review company processes and answer questions.

■ Create a solid action plan. Use the plan to: ⊲ Outline what the remote employee will be doing the first 30, 60 or 90 days.

⊲ Define key milestones to be met, and by when, and how management will be notified.

⊲ Inform the performance review process.

Another tip: Arrange for a mentor or a peer to assist the remote employee with getting up to speed and to feel more connected to the core team. Encourage weekly video meetings between these two colleagues for the first 1-3 months, so the pair can build a strong rapport.

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Where the Phone Really Fails: Performance Management and Annual ReviewsHOLDING IN-PERSON MEETINGS with remote workers is not always possible for HR and management. A phone conversation may seem like a logical backup plan, but it can be impersonal. It also can lead to misunderstandings, especially when discussing delicate topics.

Here are three situations where video is a more effective tool than the phone for communicating with remote employees:

■ Discussing performance: Through video, all body language “cards” are on the table and there is little room for misinterpretation of sentiment on either side.

■ Soliciting feedback: Remote workers in a face-to-face meeting may be more inclined to be candid when sharing concerns or offering suggestions.

■ Acknowledging achievements: Showing appreciation to remote employees for their hard work and commitment is even more meaningful when it’s done face to face.

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VIDEO CAN BRIDGE THE DISTANCE between your business and the talent it needs to succeed – provided the right technology is in place to enable effortless face-to-face interactions.

HR managers can help their organization become more effective at recruiting, retaining, and developing employees in every location by using a platform for video, audio, and rich content sharing that is:

■ Interoperable: Look for a solution that is device—and network-agnostic. Meeting is easy if you have technology that can connect popular business communication tools into the same meeting, including Lync, Jabber, room systems, browsers, and mobile devices.

■ Easy to use: HR managers can worry less about missed opportunities to make a great hire in their city, or across the world, if they can enable interviews at a moment’s notice right from their desktop using browser connections.

■ Secure: Choose a solution that provides enterprise-grade security so you are confident meetings and sensitive employee data will be protected.

Video can help HR teams and businesses ensure that all workers in the organization, no matter where they’re located, feel like they’re part of one team.

IN FOCUS: LINARO

Learn how seamless video meetings with people inside and outside the organization are creating benefits for Linaro.

Eliminating Recruiting and Retention Roadblocks With Video

Get Into Blue Jeans: It’s a Great Fit

for HR – and the Virtual Workforce

A more efficient way to evaluate job candidates, near and far, and to help remote workers feel connected to your organization from day one – what’s not to like about Blue Jeans?

Visit www.bluejeans.com/for/video-for-HR to learn more about Blue Jeans, the leader in video as a service, and why some of the best and brightest HR departments rely on us.