How Lambert Smith Hampton are using Jobatar Video Interviewing to find top Graduates
key advantages
Shortlist candidates far more accurately
Screen high volumes of applications faster
Competitive advantage
About Lambert Smith Hampton
Lambert Smith Hampton are on a mission to become Britain’s most progressive commercial property consultancy with a large network of offices and over 1,300 staff across the United Kingdom and Ireland. LSH work with investors, developers and occupiers in both the public and private sector, managing some of the country’s most complex commercial property portfolios.

From Amazon to Zurich: LSH have partnerships with a complete A to Z of the best businesses in Britain and Ireland. Transport to telecoms: LHS are active in every sector. Capital markets to construction consultancy: LSH serve an incredibly diverse range of commercial property disciplines. LSH’s footprint covers every facet of the commercial property marketplace.
What they think about Video Interviewing
Video interviewing gives us a competitive edge when hiring the best talent as it is something not many of our competitors do. Our challenge is finding a quick and accurate way to screen high volumes of applications. Previously we based our decisions solely on the strength of their CV, which is OK up to a point but you get no idea of the applicant’s personality. For candidates with little or no work experience it can be difficult to distinguish one from another based on CVs alone. Now with video interviewing we can actually see the candidates before we invite them for their first face-to-face interview. It gives us that extra dimension and has enabled us to shortlist candidates far more accurately than we could before, so we know that the candidates we select for first interview will be of a high standard.
The Challenges
What challenges have you encountered as part of your recruitment process?
The key challenges are in screening high volumes of applicants many of whom can look very similar on paper. It can be very challenging to accurately shortlist candidates based purely on a CV. This is especially the case with graduate applicants who typically have limited experience, meaning it’s sometimes hard to differentiate one candidate from another.
What was the average number of applications received per job posting?
Each year we get around 206 applications from students wishing to join our graduate scheme. The number of graduate vacancies each year varies but is typically 20-25 nationwide. The shortlisting process was therefore quite a long and laborious process for a relatively small team.
The Solution
Why did you decide to start using Jobatar Video Interviewing in your screening process?
We wanted to find a solution that would speed up the shortlisting process and ultimately increase the quality of the candidates we were selecting for interview. We also wanted to find a unique and innovative solution to recruitment which would create a positive perception of our brand and would help set us apart from some of our competitors.

Aside from recruitment, we have also used the video interview facility internally. Colleagues that apply for a promotion can use the facility to present their ‘case’ for promotion. We also realised the Jobatar platform could assist us with a mentoring scheme. Mentors and mentees could create short video bios of themselves which we could then use to pair them up.
What is the biggest impact you've seen with video interviews having on your daily recruitment process?

For our last graduate campaign we received around 206 applications. Part of the initial application process required that applications would only be considered if they had completed the video interview element. Of the 206 applications 88% of applicants did so, which automatically cut down the pool of eligible candidates. Whilst this was initially a concern, we soon realised that the overall quality of the applications left was very good and the reduced numbers meant we could complete the screening process far quicker. So it acted as an automatic filter for us.

The overall quality of hire has improved because now we are able to progress the strongest candidates to the next stage of the process knowing that they will generally be of a high standard. For the first time we are able to assess a candidate’s communication skills, how they are able to think on their feet and answer questions under pressure. We can also get an idea of their personality and general energy and enthusiasm for the role before they even step foot in the interview! This visual element combined with the CV ensures we are only taking the best candidates forward!

It's also easy for candidates as they can record the interview from their own smart devices or laptops at their own convenience.

Our key challenges are in screening high volumes of applicants many of whom can look very similar on paper, especially graduate applicants who typically have limited experience. For our last graduate campaign we received around 206 applications. As part of the initial application process required that applications would only be considered if they had completed the video interview element. Of the 206 applications 88% of applicants did so, which automatically cut down the pool of eligible candidates. Whilst this was initially a concern, we soon realised that the overall quality of the applications left was very good and the reduced numbers meant we could complete the screening process far quicker. So it acted as an automatic filter for us. The overall quality of hire has improved because now we are able to progress the strongest candidates to the next stage of the process knowing that they will generally be of a high standard.
Mark Winsor
Learning Operations Manager, Human Resources, Lambert Smith Hampton