Recruitment used to be a time-consuming business: HR employees spent hours sifting through applications, conducting interviews and evaluating potential candidates. This is changing fundamentally with the use of intelligent chatbots. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the automation of processes are on the rise in German companies and their HR departments. Only a few companies are currently using AI in HR, but many have planned the use of AI-based tools. The Leibniz Institute for Economic Research ifo conducted a Randstad-ifo HR manager survey on the use of AI in HR departments in the third quarter of 2023. Although the results showed that only 5% of the companies surveyed were using AI in HR at that time, a quarter of the companies were planning to use it. AI-based chatbots are among the up-and-coming technologies here. As intelligent virtual assistants, these text-based dialogue systems can significantly relieve the burden on HR departments by taking over time-consuming HR tasks. Chatbots are placed in the respective platform – such as Microsoft Teams or the intranet. They are able to generate and curate content. In this function, chatbots can take over the company’s standardised communication processes, such as the written exchange with applicants.
Chatbots in Recruitment
For example, a recruiting chatbot supports the HR department by providing information about vacancies and pre-qualifying applicants. AI-based chatbots can hold conversations with applicants and use machine learning to continuously develop the answers from the communication with the users. This enables a dialogue and the chatbot can support the application process. In the case of very individual questions or specific topics, the chatbot can refer to a relevant HR expert. Language-based bots are also able to automatically recognise the language.
But chatbots don’t just conduct conversations in different languages; they also schedule job interviews, write job adverts and provide feedback – to name just a few examples. They therefore take over important HR processes and significantly relieve HR employees of administrative tasks and routine tasks. Potential candidates receive answers in real time and quick feedback, which has a positive impact on the applicant experience and strengthens the company’s image as an attractive employer. When new employees join the company, an onboarding chatbot answers their questions.
As intelligent software solutions, chatbots are able to recognise the user’s intentions and answer questions immediately. They are available to users 24/7 and in many different languages. Whether it’s an application, self-service or FAQ chatbot: there are very different chatbots for specific applications and different areas of use. They provide reliable answers to all questions and help to adhere to compliance guidelines thanks to the low-threshold 24/7 access to all relevant information in the company’s ecosystem.
They are also playing an increasingly important role in employees’ individual learning and career paths and ensure that employees only learn what is relevant to their job. Thanks to chatbots, development paths can be made more transparent and individualised.
Possible Fields of Application for Chatbots in HR:
- Recruiting & Onboarding: Chatbots can provide efficient support throughout the entire application process – whether it’s selecting suitable applications, scheduling interviews or answering questions during the onboarding period.
- HR-Services:Holiday requests, travel expense reports, sick notes – all employees can contact the chatbot at any time with questions about procedures and processes in the company and receive answers immediately.
- Development paths:Chatbots can take over personalised further training management, for example by suggesting suitable seminar offers or the chatbot itself acting as a learning assistant. The chatbot can also play an active role in achieving career goals by pointing out possible career paths within the company or suggesting suitable job adverts within the company. This helps to utilise potential in a targeted manner, increase employee satisfaction and strengthen employee loyalty within the company.
However, when it comes to personal enquiries, chatbots are less suitable, as people want to talk to real people about personal matters.
Are HR Chatbots useful in your own Company?
Is a chatbot worthwhile for your own HR department? To answer this question, THE MAK`ED TEAM looks at the entire HR processes as part of the digitalisation strategy: Can the requests and processes be standardised? How many enquiries are made every day? How much effort has been required to date, i.e. how long do how many people need to answer the enquiries? Are the enquiries made in different languages and how much does this increase the workload? Or how efficiently can the questions be answered by a chatbot compared to an HR employee?
If the use of a chatbot makes sense for the company, we start with smaller use cases within the company. To identify a use case, we ask key questions that cover various aspects such as the standardisability of requests and processes, the areas of responsibility of chatbot management or the goals of the chatbot introduction.
THE MAK`ED TEAM supports companies with transformation processes in their HR departments. With our HR and digitalisation experts, we advise on the selection of suitable AI tools that match the company’s requirements and goals. This enables medium-sized companies to successfully meet the challenges of recruitment in the future.
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