Take a look behind the scenes of any enterprise or government organisation and you’ll likely see HR departments that face similar operational challenges to one another.
Overburdened HR managers spending precious time answering simple employee questions, recruitment specialists sifting through applications and onboarding coordinators navigating the intricacies of new hires are among common themes.
All the above has led to 75% of HR departments feeling overwhelmed by their growing list of responsibilities — but what if there was a solution to the challenges many HR teams share?
In this blog post we’re going to explore how Conversational AI (CAI) is revolutionising HR departments across the world and helping to provide employees with happier, healthier and more fulfilling places to work.
What is Conversational AI in HR?
As you’ll soon discover, there are lots of individual use cases when looking at Conversational AI in HR, many of which revolve around the introduction of some sort of HR chatbot or virtual assistant.
But before we jump into specific examples, Conversational AI in HR refers to the implementation of AI-powered technologies to replace or augment tasks that currently require human input from your HR team.
It’s the process of answering questions and providing assistance both internally and externally similar to how a human would.
Personalised, emotive and contextual responses are all features of Conversational AI that help provide users with human-like responses, not just rigid yes-no flows like you’ve probably experienced with traditional chatbots.
The beauty of Conversational AI in HR is that its capabilities are almost limitless.
Operational nuances between businesses and their HR teams means there’s rarely a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to Conversational AI in HR.
Instead, you’re more likely to require a tailored solution that integrates into your business’s specific workflows – hopefully the following examples gives you some ideas on how your HR team could start leveraging Conversational AI…
How is Conversational AI being used in HR?
With the global AI HR market predicted to reach USD $9.8 billion by 2027, it’s easy to imagine just how deeply rooted Conversational AI already is in many enterprise and government organisations.
Here are a few examples of how your HR teams can use CAI:
1. Automate HR FAQs
Most employee enquiries are simple, repetitive and mundane, yet providing answers for them can be extremely time-consuming for HR teams.
Having a Conversational AI chatbot in place helps takes pressure off your HR staff and allows your employees to get answers to their HR-related questions 24/7/365.
Let’s say one of your employees feels unwell and wants to ask a HR handbook-related question, rather than struggling to get hold of your HR team who may be busy or unavailable, they can jump online and ask your HR chatbot instead.
A great example of this is how Edyn Group, a multinational hospitality organisation, introduced a multilingual, multi-location, highly scalable chatbot to help answer out-of-hours HR enquiries.
- Enhance employee satisfaction
- Offer 24/7/365 support
- Promote company culture
2. Omnichannel Recruitment
By implementing an omnichannel virtual assistant to help with things like screening applicants, scheduling interview times and answering candidate questions, you can reduce the amount of time your HR team spends chasing up candidates, resulting in a more streamlined recruitment process and a smoother candidate experience.
- Automate screening process
- Reduce time spent scheduling interviews
- Improve candidate experience
3. Employee Onboarding
New hires may not feel comfortable asking certain questions or may experience difficulty building rapport with colleagues while they’re still getting their feet under the table, but an onboarding chatbot can help with that.
Setting up a CAI-powered multilingual assistant gives your new employees a welcoming digital buddy that’ll help ease their transition into their new role — wherever and whenever — allowing your HR team to focus their attention where it’s needed.
- Streamline new starter processes
- Reduce administrative tasks
- Increase new employee engagement
4. Learning & Development Delivery
It’s important to understand that Conversational AI isn’t limited to just answering questions…
By drawing upon previous conversations and employee interactions, you can program your HR chatbot to recommend learning material or potential courses to employees so you can upskill your team and show them that you have their best interests at heart.
- More fulfilled employees
- Proactive learning support
- Upskilling your talent
5. Employee Sentiment Analysis
All the time Conversational AI is providing your employees with important bits of information, it’s also collecting valuable data which you can use to inform overarching strategic decisions.
Maybe a previously engaged employee has stopped asking your HR chatbot questions, or perhaps lots of queries have started cropping up about specific contractual information.
Whatever it is, CAI makes it much easier to collect, share and take action on vast quantities of employee insights that – if gone unnoticed – could cause bigger operational headaches further down the track.
- Predict employee trends
- Reduce churn
- Inform recruitment strategy
Should your HR team start using Conversational AI?
In short, if an area of your HR department is experiencing feelings of overwhelm, then you should strongly consider implementing a Conversational AI solution.
If they’re struggling to handle the volume of HR requests and you don’t have the resources to hire or train new staff, then a HR chatbot or virtual assistant can help ease the burden and ensure that your HR team can focus on the tasks that demand their attention.
It should also be said that implementing Conversational AI into your HR processes may be the first domino to fall when it comes to leveraging CAI in your organisation.
At Soprano, we’ve often found that once the positive impacts of CAI in HR become apparent – more manageable workload, increased employee satisfaction and enhanced operational efficiency – its usage is often rolled out across the business into areas like marketing and customer service.
Conversational AI in HR FAQs
If you still have some questions you’d like answered about Conversational AI in HR, this section should help…
How long does it take to implement a Conversational AI solution?
Implementation times vary but typically range from a few days for simpler chatbots to a few weeks for more complex solutions. This generally depends on the level of customisation required and the integration complexity.
What’s the difference between Conversational AI and traditional Chatbots?
Conversational AI uses natural language processing to understand what users are actually asking, even if they’re using informal language or their queries are littered with typos. On the other hand, traditional chatbots are only able to respond to predefined questions without a true understanding of user intent or context.
Will a Conversational AI Chatbot integrate with our existing HR software?
Yes, Soprano’s Conversational AI solutions are designed to seamlessly integrate with existing HR software, ensuring compatibility and a smooth implementation process.
How do I implement a CAI solution into my HR workflow?
Implementing a Conversational AI solution starts with identifying a provider that fits your needs, then designing a solution that meets your HR requirements, and integrating it into your existing workflows.
At Soprano we work with enterprise and government organisations, helping to streamline their HR processes with bespoke Conversational AI solutions.
What support and maintenance is required for a CAI HR solution?
Some HR chatbots require extensive support and maintenance, especially during implementation — but not ours.
Soprano’s Conversational AI chatbots are no-code, meaning they’re user-friendly, easy to implement and don’t require a dedicated developer to implement thanks to their drag-and-drop functionality.
Soprano’s Conversational AI HR Solution
You may still be unsure whether implementing a Conversational AI HR solution is the right choice for your business…
But before you hire another employee or overhaul your HR processes, speak to one of our solution specialists who’ll walk you through exactly how a Conversational AI solution could fit into your business.
We work with enterprise and government organisations across the world, helping them solve complex communication challenges, with simple, bespoke solutions and we’d love to help you next!
