Monday, 11 may 2020 | Redacción CEU
The way we work, interact and enjoy our free time has changed substantially since the arrival of COVID-19 to our lives. The measures taken by different governments to fight this global pandemic are encouraging our society to maintain an even closer relationship with technology. This practically affects all fields, specifically that of human resources, which had already been undergoing a digitization process for a long time. One of the symptoms of this change is the use of video interviews to meet and assess candidates in the selection processes. But are applicants sufficiently accustomed to dealing with this type of interviews?
In the same way that the lockdown has contributed to companies embracing teleworking, it has also encouraged their respective human resources departments to change some of their working methodologies. A recent study carried out by Adecco revealed that during the months of March and April the number of online interviews increased by 150%. Before this exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 spread, many candidates were already interviewed by video calls, but the percentage was lower. This does not mean that the figure was irrelevant. In the last three years, 40% of candidates were already interviewed remotely.
The boom in video calls
Confinement is helping to change the way we communicate. Wiko's First Study on Technology and Emotions also points out an interesting trend in relation to personal relationships. According to this report conducted by the French smartphone brand, almost 80% of Spaniards have used video calls as a tool to be in touch with their loved ones during quarantine. In particular, the average number of video calls per person in a week is 8. This figure amounts to 13 in the lowest age range (from 18 to 24 years old). Wiko has come to this conclusion based on the results of a survey made by more than 1,000 people aged between 18 and 65.
This same study indicates that 64.54% of the respondents have held events through video calls: birthday celebrations (32.91%), meetings with children of their families and friends (40.55%), calls about the overcoming of a disease (4.21%), welcoming new babies (3.92%), etc. On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that many people are now working remotely and periodically hold meetings through video calls. All this leads us to thinking that this period of learning and pattern changes, albeit exceptional, may have a great impact both on forthcoming personal and professional relationships.