Dive Brief:

• Employers can now host virtual hiring events on Indeed, the company announced July 30.
• The feature builds off Indeed's hiring event product that it released earlier this year. Events include the ability to pre-screen candidates and manage RSVPs automatically. The virtual format "builds an extra layer of safety and flexibility" for employers and candidates, Indeed said, combining virtual interviewing tech via video conferencing with a virtual "lobby" or "waiting room" that mimics an in-person interview experience.
• Indeed's virtual hiring events do not require downloads or licensing software, and employers can use their own video conferencing tools with "waiting room" capabilities instead, the company said.

Dive Insight:

Office and business closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have forced recruiters to adapt. In short order, vendors are following suit.

Indeed's virtual hiring event product isn't the only solution moving to meet the demand brought on by the decline of business travel and the rise of virtual conferencing interviews. LinkedIn, for example, has a virtual event product that it says can be used to host Q&A sessions with hiring managers and take audiences on an office tour. The industry appears to be keen on taking advantage of using these tools: 86% of HR professionals surveyed recently by Gartner said they planned to conduct virtual interviews more often.

Observers have also noted there are clear instances in which virtual conferencing is most helpful. Sources who spoke to HR Dive in June said that while the pandemic has led to increased adoption of recruiting technology across the board, software and automation tools have mostly been used to assist with the initial steps of the hiring process. Video calls can be used in later stages, but other solutions, like virtual job tryouts, are also gaining traction for tackling the rest of the process.

CVS provides one case study for virtual transitioning: The company said in March that it planned to use virtual interviews, job fairs and tryouts to hire for some 50,000 positions across the U.S. In subsequent interviews, CVS officials told HR Dive that the company transitioned to virtual processes "almost overnight," leveraging relationships with technology partners to rapidly construct a virtual infrastructure.

The move to virtual interviews and recruiting processes is likely to put off some job candidates; before the pandemic, a survey of U.S. adults by The Harris Poll found 62% of respondents said they preferred in-person job interviews to virtual ones, and more than half said in-person interviews "would be the only way to truly judge a new job opportunity." Proponents of virtual processes cite benefits for candidates, however, like the inclusivity the technology can offer candidates with disabilities.