How to Implement Interview as a Service in Your Recruitment Process

As the recruitment landscape evolves, "Interview as a Service" (IaaS) has emerged as an innovative solution for organizations looking to streamline their hiring processes. This service leverages freelance interviewers who conduct interviews on behalf of companies, providing an external, unbiased perspective on candidate evaluations. Here's a comprehensive checklist to guide you through the implementation of an IaaS solution.

Understanding Interview as a Service (IaaS)

Interview as a Service is a relatively new category in the recruitment ecosystem, where freelance interviewers are hired to conduct interviews for your company. These interviewers are typically industry professionals or subject matter experts who bring specialized knowledge and impartiality to the interview process. Organizations can tap into a diverse pool of interviewers, ensuring that candidates are assessed by individuals with relevant expertise.

1. Understanding Types of Interviewers 

Begin by understanding the types of interviewers the platform offers. Freelance interviewers can vary widely in their expertise and experience. Some common types include:

Industry Professionals:
Freelance interviewers often come from relevant industries, bringing years of experience and deep knowledge of specific fields. They are ideal for technical roles or niche positions that require specialized skills.

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs):
SMEs are experts in specific domains, such as software development, finance, or marketing. They assess candidates on technical competencies and domain-specific knowledge, ensuring that only the most qualified individuals advance.

Generalist Interviewers:
These interviewers may not be specialized in a particular field but are skilled in evaluating general competencies such as communication, problem-solving, and leadership. They are useful for assessing soft skills and cultural fit.

2. Define the Evaluation Criteria

It's crucial to determine what evaluation criteria the interviewers will use. This step ensures the interviews align with your organization’s needs. Consider the following:

Scoring System:
IaaS platforms typically use a scoring system to evaluate candidates. The score may cover various competencies such as technical skills, communication abilities, and cultural fit. Ensure that the scoring criteria align with your organization's hiring objectives.

Competencies Measured:
Determine the key competencies that the interviewers will assess. These could include technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, teamwork, communication, and adaptability. Clear competency definitions will help standardize the evaluation process across different interviewers.

Subjective Feedback:
In addition to scores, interviewers often provide subjective feedback on candidates. This feedback can offer deeper insights into the candidate's performance, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.

3. Review the Question Types

Examine the types of questions used in the interviews to ensure they match the skills and qualities you're looking to assess. Common examples include:

Technical Questions:
For technical roles, interviewers may ask questions related to specific skills, tools, and methodologies. These questions assess the candidate's ability to perform tasks that are critical to the role.

Behavioral Questions:
Behavioral questions explore how candidates have handled situations in the past, providing insights into their problem-solving skills, teamwork, and leadership potential.

Situational Questions:
Situational questions present hypothetical scenarios to candidates, assessing their ability to think on their feet and make decisions in real-time.

Soft Skill Questions:
These questions evaluate communication, adaptability, and cultural fit, ensuring that candidates can work effectively within your organization.

4. Test with a Pilot Program

Before fully committing to an IaaS platform, it's advisable to conduct a pilot program. This involves scheduling a few interviews with freelance interviewers to evaluate the quality of their assessments. The pilot will give you confidence in the interviewers' expertise and the overall service quality. It also provides an opportunity to gather feedback and make any necessary adjustments before scaling up.

5. Interview Recording Availability

One of the advantages of IaaS is the availability of interview recordings. These recordings allow your internal hiring team to review the interviews, providing transparency and enabling collaborative decision-making. Ensure that the IaaS platform you choose offers this feature and that it complies with any legal or privacy requirements.

6. Ensure Integration and Scheduling Efficiency

Scheduling Flexibility:
Determine how the scheduling of interviews will work. Some IaaS platforms offer flexible scheduling options, allowing candidates and interviewers to select time slots that work best for them.

Fits into your Recruitment Stack:
Ensure that the IaaS platform integrates well with your existing HR technology stack, including your ATS, CRM, and communication tools. Integration is key to maintaining workflow efficiency and ensuring that candidate data flows seamlessly between systems.

Data Security:
Verify that the IaaS platform adheres to industry-standard security protocols to protect sensitive candidate information. This is particularly important if interview recordings and resumes are stored on the platform.

7. Additional Considerations

Cost Structure:
Understand the pricing model of the IaaS platform. Are costs based on the number of interviews conducted, the types of interviewers used, or a subscription model? Clear pricing will help you budget effectively.

Customizable Evaluation Criteria:
Check if the IaaS platform allows you to customize evaluation criteria and interview questions to match your company's specific needs.

Support and Training:
Determine the level of support and training provided by the IaaS platform. This includes onboarding for your internal team and ongoing support to ensure that the service meets your expectations.

Conclusion

By following this checklist, you can implement an Interview as a Service solution that aligns with your organization's hiring goals and enhances the overall recruitment process. This innovative approach can provide your hiring team with additional expertise, improve the quality of candidate assessments, and streamline your interviewing process.