Reimagining HR with Chatbots and Analytics

In its AI at Work 2019 study, Oracle reported that 64% of people trusted robots more than their managers – a testimony to how AI is transforming the relationship between technology and people at work. Several reasons have led to the increase in AI adoption in human resource (HR) management. The most prominent being the ever-growing distributed workforce. According to a recent Gallup study, a majority of Americans “either always (33%) or sometimes (25%)” work from locations outside the office.

Managing a remote workforce demands a more responsive HR function that relies on technology and data to drive employee engagement. Having easy access to numbers that can support recruitment decisions and power up employee performance strategies is turning out to be a game-changer for HR professionals.

Primarily focused on the ‘human’ aspect of an organization, HR professionals leverage HR analytics to identify recruitment challenges, establish performance benchmarks, and draw conclusions to enhance employee experience. All this and more is possible with AI-powered chatbots, which function as 24X7 virtual HR assistants. These chatbots are domain-trained to understand the context and respond to queries with human-like accuracy.

Also read: 5 Predictions for AI in the Manufacturing Industry

Faster Recruitments

On average, it takes businesses 36 days and more than $4000 to fill an open position. Leveraging HR analytics to improve a company’s recruitment process can result in significant time and cost savings. And this is where AI-powered bots come to the rescue. Using AI, machine learning algorithms, and natural language processing (NLP), chatbots optimize the overall talent acquisition process by simplifying candidate sourcing, screening, and identifying the right hires faster. Chatbots provide instant responses to candidates’ queries and facilitate transparent candidate engagement. This not only accelerates the hiring process but also transforms the intricate multi-step ordeal into a seamless, positive experience.

Smarter Onboarding

With chatbots, onboarding new hires is fast and easy. With a structured, robust AI-driven framework, chatbots can automate time-consuming documentation tasks, minimize the probability of errors in updating candidate information, provide accurate information about company policies, and acts as mobile onboarding partners to new joiners. Using predictive analysis capabilities, HR bots can effectively identify repetitive and monotonous processes to iron out onboarding glitches. Chatbots also provide instant answers to employee queries, conduct process walk-throughs, supply relevant training materials and documents, and process common HR requests in real-time. All these activities result in considerable time and cost savings and free up HR staff who can concentrate on improving employee engagement metrics in the workplace. AI-backed HR bots help organization leaders understand employee sentiment better, address employee concerns proactively, and arrest attrition rates.

Also read: 4 Ways That AI Is Improving the Customer Experience

Better Employee Experience

Once onboarded, new joiners need to undergo extensive training to adapt to company culture. Chatbots can make training sessions fun, interactive, and more effective in the long run. Using AI, chatbots can recommend learning modules based on an employee’s skills and role requirements and be available 24/7 to answer employee queries. As a result, bots help increase enrollment in organizational learning platforms and accelerate skill development programs. Bots can send reminders to the employees for scheduled trainings, recommend courses based on keywords, and provide technical support for learning management systems. Bots can also help personalize courses based on an employee’s role, skills, future goals and growth plans. HR bots engage employees in personalized conversations that are subsequently analyzed by HR analytics personnel to address specific concerns and demands. With AI, a chatbot can help identify behavioral patterns of dissatisfied employees and suggest HR interventions before problems escalate. This is how chatbots are transforming HR analytics to influence organizational policy modifications and ensure employee engagement improvements.

Non-stop Support

All HR professionals complain about being tired of answering questions about company rules, regulations, and policies. Bots can take care of these tedious administrative tasks and provide quick information around various policies, including compensation, insurance claims, travel policies, reimbursements, retirement benefits, and more. These bots can extract information from various back-end systems like document management systems, HR information systems, CRM systems, etc., to provide quick answers and process employees’ requests in real-time, with almost no human intervention.

When it comes to request management and transactional support, HR bots can be effectively utilized to provide support for benefit enrollment, employee authentication, tracking claims, booking timesheets, performance monitoring, exit management, and offer an intuitive way of accessing important company information. Bots can be used to manage employee calendars, including absences, shift timings, PTOs, etc., track internal job applications, and monitor performance review cycles. In addition, bots are also used to keep employees updated about the company’s recent developments, announce awards and achievements, and reinforce the company’s culture through frequent personalized interactions.

Also read: How AI & Data Science impact the Banking Industry

The New HR in the New Normal

With business conditions changing rapidly, more and more people are working remotely and are trying to adapt to the changes in workflows and policies. The need to have continuous access to the right information is more than ever. In such a world, HR chatbots are sure to play a critical role in simplifying complex processes and enabling a connected workplace.