Video Interviewing Proves Successful Recruitment Method for Adidas

We’ve all heard of Adidas —global manufacturer of sports clothing and accessories, home of Adidas, Reebok, TaylorMade, CCM Hockey and Rockport, and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world. And with more than 46,000 employees in major markets all over the world, you can imagine what an enormous and time-consuming task recruitment is for the company. Yet, Adidas has discovered a way to effectively manage its recruitment challenges while simultaneously saving time and resources—video interviews.

Faced with the challenges of traditional hiring methods, Adidas looked to video interviewing—specifically viaan emerging technology company called Wowzer —which helpedspeed up the recruitment process, increase the candidate quality and up the hiring manager’s level of involvement.

Some of the tool’s impacts on the organization included:

• Complete 140 candidate interviews in just 10 days

• Reduce initial screening times from an average of 50-75 minutes to an average of 10-30 minutes

•  Increase collaboration with hiring managers while finding candidates who better fit with Adidas’ corporate culture

• Video interviewing now adopted by The Adidas Group (Reebok, TaylorMade, CCM Hockey and Rockport)

Recruiter.com had the opportunity to chat with Tauna Dean, senior manager of Talent Acquisition for the Americas Adidas Group. See what she had to say about the increasingly popular and invaluable method of recruitment:

 

Tauna Dean

 

1. What kind of the challenges did Adidas face with the traditional methods of hiring?

Traditional methods of hiring mean sifting through stacks of resume trying to find the perfect candidate for a job. Luckily, at Adidas, we’re dedicated to innovative methods of hiring the best talent, so we rarely rely on traditional methods that have become unreliable and outdated. With that said, we did see an increase of candidates applying for roles that were not necessarily qualified and we wanted to ensure we were screening and assessing our candidates as accurately as possible.  Wowzer helped us “up our game” in this space by allowing us to see more of a candidate than what’s revealed on a piece of paper.

2. What is Wowzer and why was it so pivotal in overcoming your company’s recruitment obstacles?

Wowzer is a branded video interviewing platform that allows Adidas to enhance the phone interview with a more personal experience for both Adidas and the candidate.

3. How long do video interviews last?

The length of the video interview really depends on the position. Interviews can go for as long as the hiring manager would like to keep the candidate on the “line”– similar to a phone interview.

4. What does your company look for in a candidate during a video interview?

Our recruiters look for candidates that want to build their career at Adidas while truly adding value to the growth and health of the organization. We also look for candidates with a passion for sports who embody our brand values. Qualities like honesty, authenticity, commitment and passion are imperative as we evaluate potential talent for Adidas.

5. One of the benefits of your company’s increased recruitment process was interviewing 140 candidates in 10 days. How has this impacted hiring at Adidas?

It’s impacted us positively in the sense that we’re able to save time and deliver a better quality experience to both our candidates and our hiring managers. The tool allows us to keep our candidates “top of mind” while ensuring they’re not left waiting too long as we go through the recruitment process. At the end of the day, we’re here for the people, so having a tool like Wowzer that allows us to reach more people in an effective manner has been a huge win.

6. Do you think companies should adopt the video interview recruitment practice? Why or why not?

I absolutely think that companies should use video interviewing as a part of their recruitment tools. With that said, I also believe companies should be clear on what their strategy is with video interviewing to ensure the tool is used as optimally as possible.