It also would be great if a person doing the interview could take the rest of the day off rather than jumping on a quick call with no time/interest to really try and understand the person on the other side of the desk. At the moment in most (all?) big companies an interview is something that noone wants to commit to and and when they have to - you understand the effort, dedication and focus that goes into it - that's right, none.

I don't take the day off, but I spend at least an hour per candidate reviewing their work and preparing for the interview.

This is normal and expected at Google at least.