The Challenge
Speeding Up Hiring While Showcasing Personality
In 2019, Fossil Europe restructured its recruiting strategy with a clear goal: shorten time-to-hire, place personality front and center, and optimise the candidate experience. Traditional phone interviews for first-round evaluations were time-consuming and lacked the depth needed to assess key soft skills — especially in retail, where motivation and customer interaction are essential.
The team needed a faster, more personal method to evaluate candidates — and video interviews became a central part of their solution.
"We now use Cammio at all our locations. Not only are our hiring managers enthusiastic, but we also get a lot of positive feedback from candidates."
Thomas Jung
Head of Talent Acquisition EMEA at Fossil Group
The Solution
Empowering Store Managers with Video Interviews
Fossil adopted automated video interviews across all European locations. These replaced phone screenings and became the first step in the hiring process — both for retail positions and office roles in areas like marketing and finance.
Store managers received individual recruiter access to the video platform, enabling them to run hiring independently. Pre-loaded interview templates with customisable questions allowed quick and easy implementation. The central HR team supported with onboarding, training, and consultation — creating a balance of autonomy and consistency.
Candidates could complete interviews anytime, from anywhere, making the process more accessible and engaging.
""When we started with Cammio, we thought that the tool would mainly bring advantages in retail recruitment. But in the meantime, it is used just as much for other vacancies, from marketing to finance. Sonetimes our colleagues from the headquarters in the US are also involved in recruitment processes. In this scenario, the easy and quick sharing of completed video interviews helps a lot and saves a lot of time.”"
Thomas Jung
Head of Talent Acquisition EMEA at Fossil Group
The Results
Efficiency, Flexibility, and Reach
By integrating video interviews, Fossil achieved key improvements across its hiring process:
Eliminated the need for scheduling phone interviews
Store managers and recruiters could review interviews flexibly and at their convenience
Candidates demonstrated motivation and personality early, leading to better shortlisting
For seasonal roles, video replaced CVs entirely — applicants applied via video with no resume required
Cross-border collaboration improved: HQ teams in the US could easily review videos, saving time
Internal Adoption
A Seamless Shift to Autonomy
Fossil’s store managers quickly embraced the new tools. With no need for live scheduling, they could move faster and focus on selecting the best-fit candidates. Customisable templates gave them the freedom to adapt interviews to their needs, while the HR team ensured alignment and support.
Video interviews also enabled language proficiency checks — a key requirement for Fossil — and helped reinforce employer branding by featuring staff in recorded video questions.
"Cammio affords an amazing new way of connecting to candidates in an efficient way. Time is precious even more so now and Cammio allows for an initial interview to filter a short list of candidates that are more suited in terms of behaviors to a vacancy! Highly recommended!"
Guy Tysick
Senior District Manager UK at Fossil Group
Candidate Experience
Engaging, Flexible, and Personal
Candidate feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Video interviews provided flexibility, and the personalised touch — with Fossil employees posing the questions — gave candidates an authentic feel for the company culture from the start. For many, it was a memorable first interaction with the brand.
Video was also leveraged in Active Sourcing, where recruiters used Cammio Clips to record personalised messages for candidates on LinkedIn or XING — boosting engagement and response rates.
Practical Takeaways
Fossil’s success with video interviews highlights key strategies for retail recruitment:
Empower local teams with autonomous video recruiting tools
Use standard templates for speed, with customisation options for flexibility
Replace traditional applications for certain roles with video- or audio-only applications
Leverage video for language skills assessment and employer branding
Integrate video into Active Sourcing to increase candidate engagement
Fossil Group is a global design, marketing, distribution, and innovation company specializing in lifestyle accessories, including watches, smartwatches, jewelry, handbags, and small leather goods. Fossil employs around 10,000 people worldwide, with its European headquarters located in Basel, Switzerland.
industry
Fashion
Location
Germany
scale
5K-10K employees
Using Cammio since
2019
