How WSP Australia Standardizes and Streamlines Hiring With Spark Hire Video Interviews

WSP Australia looked at Spark Hire as an option, initially for our Graduate Recruitment process. This later turned out quite fortuitous given the restraints of Covid in 2020. When we implemented Spark Hire into our business the three main drivers at the time were, to:

• Review large groups of applicants in a controlled environment within a quick time frame.
• Ability to ask the same questions and then view and assess all interviews under the same parameters.
• National accessibility to candidates regardless of location and also for managers to view their shortlists with ease.

Video interviewing over Skype or Microsoft Teams is nothing new for our processes in the Talent space. However, the ability to request all of our interviews at one time, ask a standard set of questions, and automatically record candidates' answers as part of the selection process was very handy. This format also added credibility to the high-volume screening process undertaken with Graduate Recruitment.

Some key criteria for WSP Australia was:

• Graduate Recruitment enabling one-way interviewing of 2-3 screening questions to be part of our selection process.
• With more senior positions in the business we have been using this to replace the traditional paper version of an Expression of Interest or Key Selection Criteria.
• Ability to download and save a link to each candidates’ online interview and be able to save this as part of the application and candidate profile.

When we were reviewing tools, Spark Hire met our immediate need in our Graduate Recruitment Program and was able to deal with our volume of applicants. Its online functionality and ease of use were also key selling points for us. As we got acclimated to video interviewing, our functionality, use, and confidence increased too.

After the online training session and Q&A with our customer support person, getting started has been incredibly easy. We launched the tool as part of a new revamped Graduate Recruitment Process, and it has had a positive impact in the business. The ability to understand Spark Hire's functionality quickly and have it set up and ready for use has been seamless.

Spark Hire has had a positive impact on our processes beyond just our hiring metrics. At both a Graduate and Senior level in the business the tool has added credibility and a level of objectiveness that wasn’t there before. In our Graduate Program, this can be seen with the consistency of decision making when comparing candidates. This is because video interviewing ensures each interview question is asked under the same conditions. At a senior level Spark Hire has enabled the comparison of internal candidates to move online in the form of one-way interviews through Expression of Interest or Key Selection Criteria questions. This has added another layer of objectivity to the businesses process when reviewing internal applications especially.

Prior to Spark Hire our standard recruitment process didn’t involve a set interviewing process. One-way video interviewing has replaced the phone screening stage for our bulk recruitment. In our senior and mid management level recruitment process the one-way video interviewing replaced paper-based submissions of candidates EOIs’ and selection criteria.

The Talent team saw the value of Spark Hire from the outset and have all participated in testing it from the candidate’s perspective. The Graduate Recruitment process' credibility improved with the use of Spark Hire as a screening tool, and assisted the managers when getting to the final shortlist stages, to decide who to meet face to face.

Regarding Senior level recruitment roles, there was initially some push back from internal candidates, against the new process. However, the one-way interviewing for selection criteria and set EOI questions has won parts of the business over and management sees the benefit in adding this step to the application process.

In the midst of the high volume recruitment process for our Graduate Program, the fact that we could send out to client businesses shortlists with video share links in them. Managers really appreciated getting to review the short one-way interviews as part of the decision making process of who to interview. This not only added another layer of credibility and ease to our screening process but also positively impacted the business.

Video interviewing adds value on several levels in the recruitment process, the one-way video interviewing option is a great tool for both junior roles and senior positions in the form of selection criteria and EOIs.

Streamlined, credible, valuable