Pre-recorded Video Interview: SoCoo’c's (Fournier Group) Tip for Uncovering the Right Profiles, Beyond the CV

Sector: Furniture / Kitchens
Presence: +200 stores (France)
2022 Revenue: €360M (2023)
Talent Acquisition Objective: 600 hires / year

Challenge: Uncovering motivated personalities without wasting time

For its recruitment, SoCoo’c is primarily interested in the candidate's personality and soft skills. The company has the means to provide job-specific skills through internal trainers and a training center.

This strategy mainly concerns "Manager" positions but also "Kitchener" roles (professionals who welcome customers in stores and help them design their dream kitchen).

"For us, it was important to find a modern and innovative solution that allows us to go beyond the CV. We were looking for a way to open up to different candidates and optimize our time by moving faster with the best candidates," explains Maxence Laboure, Recruitment & Training Project Manager.

The core purpose of SoCoo’c is to "make specialist kitchens accessible to the greatest number." The customer relationship is therefore extremely important, which is why the experts who will interact with them must understand the company's specifics and be extremely motivated to join.

The kitchen designer's objective is therefore to find motivated personalities to build upon by offering training that will help them become true SoCoo’c experts.

But how can you be sure to:

1. Give a chance to motivated profiles even if they don't necessarily have experience in the sector?
2. Avoid recruitment mistakes with profiles for whom you dedicate time and a training budget?
3. Choose candidates who understand the company and will stay longer to avoid having to recruit again?

These three questions are answered by the choice of the pre-recorded video interview solution: the Fournier Group decided to implement it starting in February 2023 in its various SoCoo’c stores and at Fournier Retail.

Since 2024, the Fournier Group has also been using CleverConnect's career site solution for a unified employer brand space!

The Implementation of the Pre-recorded Video Interview: A Valuable Candidate Analysis Tool for the Field

For SoCoo’c, the important thing was to choose a tool that could accelerate the recruitment process and adapt to both franchised and company-owned stores. CleverConnect's video interview solution has the advantage of adapting to all challenges.

The tool was implemented at the very beginning of the interview process: the recruitment team automatically sends a link to the video interview platform to all candidates who apply for "Kitchener" and "Manager" positions.

This choice to use the pre-recorded video interview from the start allows SoCoo’c to identify if candidates are truly motivated. This way, they prioritize quality over quantity.

This is confirmed by Maxence: "Almost all the people we call after the video interview move on to the next stage, which is the interview with the manager. We notice that the candidates are more motivated and, above all, have done their research on the position and the company."

Regarding SoCoo’c's franchise network, the tool is offered as a complement to other stages of the recruitment process and helps teams identify the best profiles.

Pre-recorded Video Interview & Strategy: Choosing the Right Place in the Recruitment Process

The pre-recorded video interview can be used in many ways:

• for pre-selection before or after reviewing the CV,
• as a replacement for the first contact interview,
• at the end of the recruitment process to make the final choice between 2 or 3 candidates,
• to assess skills, especially with situational questions,
• etc.

SoCoo’c is the perfect example of a wise strategic choice regarding the implementation of the pre-recorded video interview. The teams first thought about their needs and chose the best way to use the tool to meet their specific challenges. By offering the asynchronous video interview at the beginning of the process, during pre-selection, they fulfill their objective of minimizing recruitment mistakes.

The advantage of CleverConnect's video interview tool is that it can automate certain actions. Thus, SoCoo’c's strategy is achievable without wasting time, since the invitation to take the asynchronous video interview is sent automatically without the team having to do anything.

👉 How does the video interview work? Request a demo

The Results: "The pre-recorded video interview gives an even more precise vision of the candidate: a real plus to the CV!"

The feedback on the tool is unanimous, including from candidates who participated in the exercise. They describe it as effective, fun, innovative, and see it as a platform for expression that goes beyond classic interviews and cover letters.

"With the pre-recorded video interview, we have modernized our recruitment process by breaking the barrier of the CV to give everyone a chance. It's a considerable time saver in our organization because we move forward with candidates who are more motivated and have a genuine desire to join the company. Concretely, we recruit the right profiles thanks to this tool. It is now part of our daily life, and we can no longer do without it."
Maxence LABOURE, Recruitment & Training Project Manager

A first filter to select only motivated candidates

Out of 3,800 applications received and thus as many invitations sent, 870 videos were recorded. This corresponds to approximately 23% of candidates who are highly motivated to join SoCoo’c.

Moreover, the time saving is very clear: 2,930 fewer phone pre-qualifications (of about 15 min) with unmotivated candidates = 730 hours saved for other tasks.

Goodbye to wasting time interviewing candidates who are not really enthusiastic!

Opening up to high-quality "surprise" applications

The pre-recorded video interview allows you to avoid making mistakes with unmotivated candidates, but it doesn't stop there. Certain candidate profiles now move on to the next stage, which would not have been the case without the asynchronous video.

"Out of 30 actual hires, I would not have called 12 candidates if I had stopped at their CV and had not watched their videos" specifies Maxence.

Goodbye to recruitment mistakes and missing out on rare gems!

The speed of identifying the best candidates with the pre-recorded video interview

20 seconds: that's the time it takes to distinguish if the candidate is comfortable and if their attitude matches what is expected by SoCoo’c's teams regarding their business temperament, their elocution, their posture, their vocabulary, their spontaneity, etc.

In any case, this is the feedback from SoCoo’c's managers who have watched the candidate interviews thanks to the video sharing function that recruiters activate when they need it.

Goodbye to useless interviews with candidates who do not have the necessary soft skills for the position!

Used as a first filter for motivation, the asynchronous video interview is also particularly useful for SoCoo’c in identifying the desired soft skills in candidates and fostering collaborative recruitment between talent acquisition experts, managers, and franchise leaders.

👉 Want to know more about the video interview?

• Discover our guide to the asynchronous video interview for recruiters
• Discover our asynchronous video interview software

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