Sorry, could you repeat the question? Exploring video‐interview recruitment practice in HRM

• Author: Rod McColl,Marco Michelotti
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12249
• Date: 01 November 2019
• Published date: 01 November 2019

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Sorry, could you repeat the question? Exploring

video-interview recruitment practice in HRM

Rod McColl

1

| Marco Michelotti

2

1

Department of Marketing, Rennes School of

Business, Rennes, France

2

Department of Management and Innovation,

Rennes School of Business, Rennes, France

Correspondence

Professor Rod McColl, Department of

Marketing, Rennes School of Business, 2 Rue

Robert d'Arbrissel, CS 76522, 35065 Rennes,

France.

Email: rod.mccoll@rennes-sb.com

Abstract

HRM has embraced video interviewing through verbal

computer-mediated communication (VCMC) technology.

However, empirical research in recruitment remains scant.

Drawing on communication theories to analyse data from

three studies, we present a conceptual framework

explaining VCMC adoption and practice. We argue that

VCMC technology has a larger effect on recruitment and

selection outcomes than presumed. We broaden signalling

theory to video recruitment and posit that interaction

effects due to characteristics of the technology and a candi-

date's personality may affect recruitment outcomes. We

also broaden media richness theory by uncovering memory

effects arising from multiple interview modes. HR managers

should be mindful of these and others limitations highlighted

in the study before fully embracing this technology.

KEYWORDS

HRM, observation research, qualitative research methods,

recruitment, selection, verbal computer-mediated

communication (VCMC)

1|INTRODUCTION

Recruitment and selection are key HRM activities, as failure to recruit suitable employees can have enduring nega-

tive effects on productivity, human capital, and organisational skill level (Hsu & Leat, 2000; Iles, Chuai, & Preece,

2010). Although organisations have traditionally used face-to-face (FTF) interviews to screen candidates and conduct

psychometric analyses, over the past decade, these have increasingly been supplemented by verbal computer-

mediated communication (VCMC) through web-based video interviews (Kiviat, 2009; Strohmeier, 2009; Van

Gramberg, Teicher, & O'Rourke, 2014).

Received: 30 January 2017 Revised: 25 April 2019 Accepted: 10 June 2019

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12249

Hum Resour Manag J. 2019;29:637–656. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 637

Within the field of recruitment, limited research in web-based technology has largely focused on website inter-

face, addressing how firm reputation affects recruitment website effectiveness (Cable & Turban, 2001), the extent to

which candidates use initial web-based recruitment messages to self-evaluate and self-screen (Dineen & Williamson,

2012; Williamson, Lepak, & King, 2003), the effects of corporate social responsibility statements on candidate inter-

est (Luce, Barber, & Hillman, 2001), and ways to design websites to generate larger candidate pools (Allen, Mahto, &

Otondo, 2007; Parry & Tyson, 2008; Ployhart, 2006). Surprisingly, there is not an extensive body of empirical

research in HRM investigating the increased use of VCMC. To address this knowledge gap, our first research ques-

tion attempts to understand recruiters' expectations from VCMC to identify the factors that have driven the wide-

spread adoption of VCMC technology within HRM.

Although research in HRM is negligible, other academic disciplines have investigated VCMC, especially its conse-

quences on communications. Research in psychology and technology argues that VCMC may distort communications

(Kock, 2005, 2009; Sun & Jeyaraj, 2013; Vlahovic, Roberts, & Dunbar, 2012). Compared with FTF interviews, candi-

dates interviewed through VCMC assess recruiters to be less friendly (Straus, Miles, & Levesque, 2001), consider

firms as less attractive, and judge interviews to be less fair (Chapman & Rowe, 2002). FTF interviews also have a

higher employment acceptance rate than VCMC (Chapman, Uggerslev, & Webster, 2003). Despite these valuable

empirical contributions, this research remains incomplete as it largely considers recruitment from the candidate's per-

spective rather than the organisation and relies heavily on student samples as opposed to field studies or data from

HR professionals.

Although video interviewing shares many communication properties of an FTF conversation, prior research sug-

gests that its lack of physical interaction may distort communication signals and affect the recruitment outcome.

Today, we know very little about the nature of this signal distortion in a recruitment context or how it may impact

recruitment outcomes. Accordingly, our second research question investigates how VCMC technology impacts com-

munications during video recruitment interviews, especially the interpretation of verbal and non-verbal communica-

tions. VCMC is being integrated into daily life to allow audio and video conversations through mobile devices leading

to increased comfort with the technology. Although its application in recruitment is still relatively new, we are inter-

ested in exploring how HR managers incorporate VCMC into the recruitment process, whether the technology

impacts the way they conduct interviews, and how their behaviour has been adapted to overcome the technology's

limits. Consequently, our third research question investigates how HR managers' experiences with VCMC have

affected recruitment and interview practice.

To address our research questions, we analyse data from three empirically related studies. Study 1 comprises

FTF interviews with HRM professionals experienced in using both video and FTF interviewing to examine thefactors

accounting for VCMC's adoption (Study 1). In Study 2, we observe HR professionals conducting video interviews

with real candidates in order to analyse relevant verbal and non-verbal behaviour and assess signal distortion. To

fully understand the implications of our observations, we conduct in-depth interviews with members of the selection

panels immediately following observation of recruitment interviews, as outlined in Study 3. To provide a context for

interpreting our findings, this study draws predominantly on associated communication theories—media richness,

media naturalness, and signalling theory that are reviewed in the section following.

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to examine actual video-recruitment practice and inter-

view professional HR managers about their experiences. Our study therefore makes a number of contributions to

the HRM literature. We argue that the effects of VCMC technology on employee selection outcomes may be

greater than presumed. To support this thesis, we present a multidimensional, integrative framework to explain

VCMC adoption and its impact on recruitment practice. We found that although economic rationalisation largely

drives VCMC adoption, its continued use is dependent on recruiters' abilities to assess a candidate's personality,

character, and organisational fit. Assessing a candidate is considered by recruiters to be more challenging in a

video interview compared with FTF due to signal distortion created by the technology. These challenges are

manifested in technical problems, interview setting issues, and difficulties in interpreting verbal and non-verbal

communications. We posit that signal distortion is moderated by personal characteristics of applicants (experience

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