Wipro launches video interviews to save cost, time, impersonations

The next time you get that interview call from India's third largest IT services provider, Wipro Ltd, you will probably be asked to do it via video.

Wipro has already screened hundreds of applicants through video kiosks it has set up at three of its campuses "" two in Bangalore and one in Chennai. The company shortly plans to extend this concept, and install over 1,000 video phones at all its 20-odd campuses across the country. Each campus accommodates over 2,000 people.

The process is simple, according to Dhananjay Ganjoo, vice-president (enterprise), Nortel India. The kiosk comprises a video phone, provided by Nortel Networks, with a 4x4 inch screen. The cost of each phone is around $250.

The candidate walks into a video kiosk and dials a pre-determined number at the given time. The human resources (HR) person or panelist at the other end picks up the phone and the interview starts.

"We implemented this to save on costs, time and eliminate impersonations, given that we recruit nearly 5,000 candidates every quarter," explains Jethin Chandran, GM (IT Planning & PMO), Wipro.

The Gartner Group estimates the procedure can reduce companies' travel costs for recruitment by 15 to 20 per cent.

Video phones also appear to solve the problem of impersonation or fake resumes that have plagued the IT industry in particular, which loses crores of rupees in the bargain.

Last year, IT majors like IBM India, Wipro, Satyam, Infosys and TCS had to terminate the employment of thousands of such candidates. And a 2006 KPMG study revealed that 15 to 24 per cent of resumes in India are fake and one out of three resumes mis-represents facts. The study noted that the IT, financial, entertainment and telecom sectors face the highest risk.

"To avoid impersonation, the video phone is equipped with a memory card that can capture the photograph of the interviewee," explains Chandran. The photo of the candidate and the interview results are then digitally sent to a central database.

Technology, note analysts, has been providing firms with innovative ways to cut hiring costs, and save time. Take, for instance, the video resumes from Reliance World and Monster.

Reliance World, in association with Ilaza VDO, has VDO Resume "" an online system that integrates a video file into the candidate's resume. RWorld has over 240 outlets across the company.

Then we have video conferencing, which is done by companies like IBM, HP, Cisco, Nortel and Nike the world over.

"At Cisco, we use a lot of technology including TelePresence, IP phones, video conferencing, wikis, blogs, etc. to increase employee productivity," said Subash Rao, Director, HR, Cisco India.

He added that, till date, over 37,000 meetings were held, out of which nearly 8,000 meetings included participants who avoided travel by attending meetings over TelePresence, which meant savings of $62 million in travel avoidance.