Sync or Async? The Employer’s Guide to One-Way Interviews

When HR leaders think of interviews, they often think of traditional formats: in-person or live on video chat. While those methods can certainly be effective in hiring the right talent, 60% of hiring managers say they've started to pivot to video interviews instead.

In fact, large organizations across the United States use asynchronous video interviewing to streamline and optimize their hiring —  from leading grocers to giants like Walmart, who have been able to use one-way interviews to fill new roles in a matter of days.

In this article, we’ll demystify the async interview, explain the pros and cons, and offer some async interview best practices for easy implementation.

Pros and Cons of One-Way Interviews

The Pros of One-Way Video Interviews

Both candidates and organizations have started to prefer one-way interviews for a few reasons.

One-way interviews facilitate: 

• Scalability and reach: Async interviews allow organizations to interview candidates from different time zones or locations more easily, meaning HR leaders have a larger candidate pool. This also benefits interviewees: Instead of having to travel, candidates can be interviewed from anywhere in the world.
  
• Flexibility: Because async interviews are recorded, software often allows applicants to re-record their responses if they’d like to. Research shows that when presented with the opportunity, 40% of applicants take it. This is great news for candidates: Unlike in-person interviews, async ones are more forgiving. 
  
• Efficient pre-employment screening: Async interviews, which don’t require a lot of heavy lifting from hiring managers, are a great way to quickly assess whether a candidate has the right, basic skills to be a fit at your organization.  
  
• Talent attraction: The workforce wants more flexibility and autonomy, especially the  emerging Gen Z workforce . That’s why async interviews are a great way to attract and impress them; they can interview in a flexible manner, on their own time.
  
• A top-notch hiring process for candidates: The hiring process can make or break whether a candidate wants to work for your organization. In fact, nearly half of candidates have turned down job offers because they had a poor experience during recruiting. Async interviews, which offer time for candidates to think and respond, can keep candidates feeling supported and engaged.

The Cons of One-Way Video Interviews

Of course, when assessing whether any new hiring or interview practice is right for your organization, you’ll also want to consider any downsides.

One-way interviews often have disadvantages when it comes to:

• Lack of face-to-face interaction: Though async interviews can be more efficient, they don’t allow for opportunities for real-time follow-up questions or clarifications. Likewise, they often lack a personal touch, which is often crucial for initial impressions. One-way interviews are best suited for screening candidates, not making final decisions. 
  
• Accessibility or technical issues: Pre-recorded interviews rely on candidates’ ability to use the technology required. Often, this can lead to accessibility issues and discourage specific candidates from applying. Likewise, they might encounter problems with video quality, upload failures, or platform compatibility.

Example One-Way Interview Questions

Async interview questions are often similar to screening questions. Like in-person interviews, they cover a range of topics and assessments.

Some examples might include: 

Introductory questions

• Please introduce yourself and tell us about your professional background.
  
• What attracted you to this position and our company?
  

Experience-based questions

• Describe a challenging project you've worked on and how you overcame obstacles.
  
• Give an example of a time you had to adapt to a significant change at work.
  

Behavioral questions

• Tell us about a situation where you had to resolve a conflict with a coworker.
  
• Describe a time when you had to meet a tight deadline. How did you manage it?
  

Role-specific questions

• What strategies would you use to improve our customer retention rates?
  
• How would you approach learning our software systems?
  

Situational questions

• If a client was unsatisfied with our service, how would you handle the situation?
  
• How would you prioritize tasks if you were suddenly given three urgent projects?
  

Cultural fit questions

• What type of work environment do you thrive in?
  
• How do you prefer to receive feedback from your manager?
  

Achievement-oriented questions

• What's your proudest professional accomplishment and why?
  
• Describe a successful initiative you led from start to finish.
  

Skills assessment

• Explain a complex concept from your field as if you were teaching it to a beginner.
  
• How do you stay updated with the latest trends and developments in your industry?
  

Career goals

• Where do you see yourself professionally in five years?
  
• How does this position align with your long-term career goals?
  

Closing question

• Is there anything else you'd like to share that we haven't covered in the previous questions?

Asynchronous Interview Best Practices

There are plenty of ways to nail the async virtual interview and mitigate some of the potential downsides. With the right investment in the following best practices, your team can implement on-way interviews without any of the cons.

Provide Clear Instructions 

To overcome any technical or accessibility challenges, HR teams must ensure that candidates are given proper instructions. This might include a comprehensive guide for candidates that offers:

• Step-by-step instructions on accessing and using the platform
  
• A list of required equipment (e.g., webcam, microphone)
  
• Recommended environment (quiet, well-lit area)
  
• An FAQ section addressing common concerns
  
• Several contact methods for technical support 
  

Make the Impersonal Personal

HR leaders should make it a point to connect with applicants more personally before and after the async interview. Doing so will solidify the connection between them and the organization and create a better candidate experience overall.

This Might Include Touching Base:

• Before the interview: Record a welcome video from the hiring manager or team lead, or even offer a synchronous welcome in which you meet with the candidate in real-time to say “hello.” 
  
• After the interview: Send an immediate post-interview acknowledgment that provides a definitive timeline for the next steps (e.g., "We'll contact you within 10 business days"). Additionally, invite candidates to share their interview experience so they feel valued, and you can continue to improve.
  

Ensure Fairness and Consistency

Like with any interview practice, biases can appear, even when you least expect it. To mitigate them, be sure to:

• Develop a standardized rubric for evaluating responses.
  
• Train all reviewers on unconscious bias and objective assessment.
  
• Implement a multi-reviewer system for each candidate.
  
• Use blind review features if available on your platform.
  
• Ensure compliance by getting the required consent from the applicant.
  

Invest in the Right Technology

The right recruiting platform streamlines everything—from setting up interview questions to reviewing candidate responses — while ensuring the process remains efficient and hassle-free.

When shopping for one-way interview software, look for the following features:

• Ease of use: The platform should be user-friendly for both recruiters and candidates, minimizing the learning curve and reducing technical issues.
  
• Customizable interview questions: Ability to tailor interview questions to fit specific roles, with options for video, audio, or written responses.
  
• Mobile Accessibility: Ensure the platform works seamlessly across devices, allowing candidates to record interviews from their phones or tablets.
  
• Secure Data Handling: The platform should comply with data protection regulations, ensuring the privacy and security of candidate information.

Take Your Interviewing Practices Into The Modern Age

Ready to get your hiring and interview processes up to speed? From creating a more pleasant interview experience for candidates to expanding your candidate pool, tools like Paylocity can help your organization with every step of the hiring process:

• Interview: Invite candidates to interview through a myriad of methods, such as text to apply or asynchronous or synchronous videos. Leverage pre-employment screening, too, to make the process even more efficient. 
  
• Engage: Conveniently reach candidates by text or email, track all conversations within the platform, and ask for feedback with post-application surveys. 
  
• Succeed: Use templates or configure custom workflows to automate communication and approval processes, get real-time access to candidate information to enable quick decisions, and so much more.

Want to learn more? Request a demo today!