Hi Susan,
I see how "interview" can be misunderstood as being restricted to "live" or synchronous communication because of the traditional ways in which they have been conducted in the past. Given technology these days, things have changed. It's common to use a combination of methods to collect, report, and verify data. Some institutions use all three and some only use one method. It sounds like you use multiple methods. From what I'm hearing, you start with a survey to collect self-reported data. You then verify that self-reported data (I'm presuming verification is done through the employer or a third-party verification agency such as The Work Number).
Susan, I guess I would have to ask what happens if during the verification of the self-reported employment data, you find a discrepancy? Additionally, what is done with the individuals who do not respond to the survey? If nothing happens, it sounds like the survey method is the only method used. If individual follow-up is done via phone, face-to-face, live chat, text, etc. to collect the missing data or to resolve discrepancies, both survey and interview methods are used.
Since you are curious about this topic, I'll share with you something I thought was interesting. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) puts out a "First Destination Survey" to report employment of recent graduates. Although they say it's a "survey," they include in their methodology self-reported data collected from social networks and even word-of-mouth information shared with Career Services offices. So, this information isn't actual survey response. As you know, the reliability of word-of-mouth and self-reported data is scrutinized.
