HR chatbots are here to automate HR activities, but how?

5 of September, 2022

I, for one, love a good chatbot. It’s great asking a quick question and getting a quick answer. So satisfying when a chatbot can cancel a reservation that way I never have to wait on hold. And I love it when a chatbot anticipates my needs. Same applies to human resources. Many companies have been implementing HR chatbots to speed up and improve their main activities. But what type of activities are they improving? Discover them in the following article.

How HR can utilize chatbots

Recruiting

When applying for a new job, recruiters start with the facts: number of years of experience, particular certifications, languages spoken, country of residence, etc. A chatbot can receive this basic data easily. Data is then interpreted to match the candidate with appropriate and available positions instantly or filed for future opportunities. 

Onboarding

When a new employee begins their job, they often come with lots of questions. Though answers may be found in welcome materials, excitement at a new job overwrites everything else sometimes. Chatbots can answer questions about everything from the best local lunch spots to how to book a conference room. New employees can feel empowered to ask about the details of their new position without feeling like they have another ‘dumb’ question for HR.

Benefits

Benefit sign ups and re-ups can be deeply confusing for both new and existing employees but chatbots can help. The more mundane part of benefit registration–names of dependencies, tax identification numbers, selected policies–can be easily recorded by a chatbot. Employees can even use the bot to ask deeper questions that go directly to HR subject matter experts, allowing for direct human-to-human follow ups. 

Performance

Performance reviews are almost always painful for managers and employees. A chatbot performance review tool can lighten the load. With quick and easy to answer questions, a bot can take information from an employee and generate a synopsis for a manager that is easy to digest but accurately records relevant information.

Whistleblowing and HR chatbots

A great Human Resources practice creates safe spaces for employees, including an anonymous way to report uncomfortable or dangerous situations. Sexual harassment, discrimination and other unethical practices can be hard to talk about. Submitting concerns to a chatbot can document an issue, open up discussion, and become the first step in a more formal enquiry.

Chatbots in HR improving the employee experience

By their nature, hr chatbots gather data. If you’re feeling a slow in productivity, a quick chatbot survey can let you know if employees are experiencing burnout. If you want to gauge attendance at a company event, a bot can get a quick headcount. And when you’re ready to look at any processes that you’ve assigned to a bot (onboarding or benefits administration for example), data you pull from bot responses can help you refine those practices and create efficiencies.

Finally, chatbots can reflect the personality of an organization. A bot’s tone can be as friendly, professional and unique as you’d like to make it, essentially becoming the perfect evangelist for your organization. Though they can never replace human-to-human interaction, chatbots can help HR establish a rapport with potential and current employees.