(Continued) I have had a lot of experience of interviewing people myself via Skype so I was used to the tech and knew what to expect. It felt strange that I was interviewing in my living room – but it was good. There is a lot of potential in having first interviews online because it allows candidates to be comfortable in their own environment without the anxiety of transport issues. On boarding process was a bit of a challenge at times because of hardware issues, but we were able to overcome these fairly quickly. For example, uploading right to work documents were a bit tricky due to printer issues. A couple of days before my start date, the university arranged a call with the IT support to ensure that I was all set up and ready to work from home, which really helped. Day one in the new job went as smooth as it could have gone… I had no troubleshooting issues and I was able to access everything I needed across all plat- forms and systems. Usually the opposite happens when you have your first day in a new office. The induction process was really good – a selection of e-learning modules to complete – which I would have had to do anyway. Not having to do building orientation was odd – in fact, I have never stepped foot in the building - but I was taken through the key contacts in and outside of the department, ensuring I was able to meet everyone remotely. Following these team Skype meetings, I then arranged 1-1s with the individuals I will be working with directly, to put a face to a name. Feedback from the team has been really positive, that I have taken the time to meet everyone like this. Face to face time with colleagues would be helpful, I would have preferred to meet everyone in person rather than doing everything via Skype. However, my role is
national, and I would be distance communicating with many of my colleagues anyway. There are other benefits to meeting people face to face but over Skype, I find that I get the most out of the meeting, there are less potential distractions from having other people around. I am still in the on-boarding process, meeting people, getting to know the role – but straight away I have been able to get stuck into projects within my remit. Given the opportunity, I think the on boarding process will go back to face to face. Not actually seeing the physical environment I will be working in, or meeting the individuals I will be working with, is a negative. But until social distancing is lifted, this is the way we have adapted and will continue to work. And for a lot of companies, this will certainly test their business continuity plans. I see value in doing an interview in person; you get a sense of the person and as a candidate you have the experience of visiting the location. Equally, you can get a lot out of a remote interview, you can still get the answers you need. I think the interview process will become a mixture of remote and in-person meetings as a result.”
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