[Distribution Hot People] For Global Talent... GS Home Shopping's Bold 'HR Innovation'

Interview with Lee Jonghyun, Head of HR at GS Home Shopping
Conducted Two Rounds of Experienced Professional 'Video Interviews' Early This Year
Enables Verification of Job Expertise and Communication Skills
Limitations in Hiring New Graduates... Strengthening Untact Methods like YouTube

Jonghyun Lee, Head of HR Team at GS Home Shopping. Photo by GS Home Shopping

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] Lee Seunghyun (alias), an IT professional working at Company A in Southeast Asia, applied for a career recruitment position at GS Home Shopping in Korea early this year and was fortunate enough to get an interview opportunity. However, taking a flight all the way to Korea just for a brief interview was by no means easy for someone currently employed. Facing this difficulty, the company instead proposed a video interview. Thus, in February, Lee became a member of GS Home Shopping.

Online video interviews, once exclusive to multinational corporations, are spreading domestically riding the wave of contactless (untact) trends. GS Home Shopping has recently established video interviews as one of the options for career recruitment. Especially with the COVID-19 pandemic making remote work?working remotely in a style suited to one’s own work?a norm, this stands out as a notable case of HR innovation.

On the 16th, Lee Jonghyun, head of GS Home Shopping’s HR team, said in an interview with Asia Economy, "Regardless of the COVID-19 situation, we had been reviewing improvements to the recruitment process since early this year due to changes in business strategy and employment environment," adding, "We plan to accumulate sufficient experience and know-how in video interviews to establish a unique talent acquisition method for our company." He explained, "During the process of recruiting two experienced professionals earlier this year, the burden on job seekers located in other countries was significant. We believed video interviews would not pose major issues in assessing job expertise and communication skills, so we decided to try it." Feedback from HR practitioners and job seekers afterward was also positive.

Encouraged by this atmosphere, GS Home Shopping plans to actively replace a significant portion of the career recruitment process with untact methods even after the end of COVID-19. The existing three-stage interview framework and evaluation criteria remain the same. After passing the first stage of resume screening and personality tests, candidates undergo two to three rounds of practical multi-faceted interviews in the second stage, followed by a final interview hosted by the CEO or C-level executives in the third stage. Preparations such as attire and audio/video checks are mandatory.

However, unlike experienced hires, applying untact methods to new recruits is difficult due to the need to screen hundreds or thousands of applicants within a limited period. Instead, to attract outstanding talent, GS Home Shopping has launched a YouTube channel to strengthen untact elements in recruitment. Various other COVID-19 response measures are also being prepared. A representative example is the so-called "online company dinners" held remotely. The employee welfare program "Body Challenge" has also been changed to individual home training, with success rewards given upon achieving goals.

Nonetheless, the ultimate meaning of "HR innovation" remains a challenging task. Creating a company environment satisfactory to all 1,073 members (as of the end of 2019) is not as easy as it sounds. There is also the issue of chemical bonding between the soon-to-arrive "second generation of those born in the 1990s," known as the MZ generation (a combination of Millennials and Generation Z), and existing members.

Regarding this, Team Leader Lee Jonghyun said, "With the advancement of digital technology changing the industrial paradigm, it is an important time for HR to bring fundamental innovation," emphasizing, "However, generational differences are an age-old issue dating back to ancient Egypt. Especially as a distribution company with many customer touchpoints, the MZ generation should not be seen as a concern but rather embraced more actively." He added, "If HR has so far been efficiency- and performance-centered, it will change to be collaboration-value-centered. We plan to introduce new recruitment, rank, evaluation, and compensation systems."