Conference Calls

Over the past few days I have had the opportunity to participate in over a dozen conference calls. (I am co-chairing search committees for several positions we are trying to fill at work. The majority of our interviewees live and work in other countries.) Overall, it has been a frustrating experience. Before expanding on this, I must acknowledge the technology that allows multiple search committee members to interview candidates who, in some cases, are literally on the other side of the world. The fact we are able to do this is and forever will be remarkable. This entry is not about the technology itself.

The actual interacting between folks on each side of the line is less than satisfying. More than once one of the interviewers would ask a question and have it met with silence. Did the candidate actually hear what was said? More silence. "Can you hear me?" the questioner asked. More silence. Finally, the candidate's voice could be heard as they began responding to what was asked. Why the delay? What's going on? I do not pretend to know the technology behind conference calls. Still, even now it is difficult to attribute the delays to the nature of the technology behind these calls or the fact the candidates were simply trying to think about how to respond to what was asked of them.

Then there was the matter of the persons on each side of the line talking over each other. One common result of delays in conversation is that inevitably one of the participants will speak out in order to fill in the silence. In the case of the conference calls, another common occurrence was the questioner would begin repeating his or her question only to have the candidate begin answering it while the questioner is still talking. Delays. Interruptions. Interruptions. Delays. They never stopped. Rarely would these communication barriers be such a problem in an in-person exchange or even an interaction via Skype.