As companies vie for talent, a candidate’s initial interaction with a potential employer sets the tone for their entire relationship, both as potential employees and consumers.
Recent research by Sapia.ai, presented at the 2024 SIOP Annual Conference, reveals that candidates prefer Asynchronous Chat Interviews scored by AI. These interviews offer a less stressful and more inclusive alternative to video interviews.
The Importance of a Positive Candidate Experience
A positive candidate experience is not just about making a good first impression; it has tangible business implications. Studies have shown that candidates with a positive experience are more likely to accept job offers, recommend the company to others, and even become loyal customers.
At Sapia.ai, we measure the brand advocacy of every candidate to ensure that their experience translates to positive brand association from both an employer and consumer brand perspective. On average, 84% of candidates applying for roles with a consumer brand are more likely to recommend their products/services due to their Sapia.ai Chat Interview experience.
Conversely, a negative experience can lead to candidates severing ties with the company and spreading negative feedback, harming the employer’s brand and bottom line. We all remember the Virgin Mobile study in which they lost 7,500 customers and approximately $5.4 million in revenue due to dissatisfaction with their candidate experience (Talent Tech Labs, 2017).
Asynchronous Interviews
Many organizations have adopted asynchronous interviews in their volume hiring processes to scale and automate their people processes.
In particular, asynchronous video interviews have gained popularity due to their purported cost savings and ability to streamline recruitment. However, they have received mixed reactions from candidates. While video interviews have been praised for their job-relatedness and ability to showcase skills, some studies suggest that they are perceived as less fair and lacking a personal touch than face-to-face interviews.
AI-scored Chat Interviews
AI-scored Chat Interviews are structured interviews conducted over chat. The candidate is asked several standardized interview questions through a chat interface and writes their responses, which the AI then analyzes and scores.
Sapia.ai’s research reveals that candidates perceive AI Chat Interviews as cutting-edge, empowering, and convenient. The approach aligns with the instrumental-symbolic framework, suggesting that perceived innovativeness is key to employer attractiveness.
Examining Candidate Reactions
This study provides compelling insights into candidate satisfaction and completion rates when comparing both Video Interviews and Chat Interviews for over 1 million job candidates. The data shows that AI Chat Interviews have higher satisfaction ratings than Video Interviews. Additionally, candidates are more likely to start and finish a chat interview, whereas candidates are more hesitant to start a video interview, leading to lower overall completion rates for Video Interviews. In contrast, chat interviews have nearly double the completion rates in the first 24 hours and significantly lower non-starter rates. This suggests that candidates have a higher preference for engaging with and completing chat interviews.
Gender Inclusivity in Interviews
An interesting aspect of the study is the examination of completion rates by gender. The findings indicate that women, in particular, are more likely to complete chat interviews than video interviews. Additionally, while both genders had higher candidate satisfaction scores for Chat Interviews than Video Interviews, this effect was more pronounced for women.
These findings are crucial, considering the potential inclusivity concerns associated with video interviews, such as fear of human bias or discrimination. The higher completion rates and candidate satisfaction for Chat Interviews across genders, with a more pronounced improvement for women, highlight their potential to enhance inclusivity in the recruitment process.
Chat Wins By A Mile
Thematic analysis of the open-ended feedback from candidates is overwhelmingly in favour of chat interviews. Candidates find them less stressful, easier to navigate, and more comfortable.
A staggering 78% of candidates who mentioned a preference for one type of interview over the other expressed a preference for chat over video. This preference is especially pronounced among candidates who may feel self-conscious or anxious in video interviews, such as those with low self-esteem or social anxiety.
Further examining comment topics revealed that the top 3 themes for Chat Interviews were:
- Flexibility and relaxed nature of the interview format with no time limit or pressure;
- Thought-provoking, reflective, interesting, and enjoyable experience;
- Desire and enthusiasm to work for the company and appreciation for the ability to showcase their skills.
Video Interview themes, while the majority were positive, included examples of candidates expressing nervousness and discomfort with the video platform. The theme with the largest difference between Chat Interview and Video Interview was candidates mentioning a preference for face-to-face interviews, with the vast majority of these comments coming from Video Interview candidates, over 3X the prevalence for Chat Interview candidates.
All Asynchronous Interviews are not created equally
The research by Sapia.ai highlights a clear trend: candidates prefer AI-scored chat interviews over video interviews.
Employers can offer a more inclusive, less stressful, and more efficient interview process by adopting asynchronous chat interviews at the start of the hiring process.
While video interviews have a place as a secondary step for shortlisted candidates, the benefits of using chat at the top of the hiring funnel are clear.
Read the full whitepaper here.
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