Although chatbots (or digital assistants) are not new, they are recently becoming more intelligent while enhancing the applicant experience. The bots are getting better at hiring duties, like pre-screening candidates, setting up interviews, and responding to job seekers' questions. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of chatbots has increased dramatically, and it is predicted that this trend will continue.
The ability to recruit constantly is one of the chatbots' most advantageous qualities. Unlike their human counterparts, artificial intelligence (AI) software is available day and night to match job seekers with opportunities that most closely match their qualifications, experience, and interests. Chatbots are particularly helpful for multinational corporations since they are always accessible to applicants worldwide, regardless of location or time zone.
Let's examine some of the most inventive and successful strategies your business may use to better the candidate experience by utilizing recruiting chatbots. We'll examine some crucial lessons about chatbots, including:
What is a recruiting chatbot?
Eliza, the first chatbot ever, was created in 1966. However, it took a long time for the technology to advance to the point where we could use it widely. Facebook started letting app developers add chatbots to Messenger in 2016. Then, major brands began developing their digital assistants. With specialized technology known as "conversational AI," software vendors entered the fray.
Why has popularity exploded so quickly? Machine learning (ML) technology has advanced quickly. As a result, AI now "learns" from its own experiences, improving its "human-likeness" and usefulness to organizations.
According to a Deloitte assessment published in March 2020, just before the global Covid-19 outbreak began, 63% of polled company leaders already viewed AI as "extremely" or "critically" crucial to their organization's development, with that percentage predicted to rise to 81% within two years.
In the field of human resources, chatbots are likewise making remarkable progress. According to a 2016 survey by SHRM, 58% of job applicants stated they felt "pretty to extremely comfortable" communicating with chatbots to respond to inquiries during the application and interview process.
A recruitment chatbot, sometimes known as a "conversational agent," is software that simulates human conversation during the hiring process. On a career site, candidates can interact with the chatbot directly by asking questions or making choices to carry out certain activities.
Benefits of using a recruiting chatbot
Save time with automation.
It takes time to hire. Depending on the role and industry, different hiring times apply. However, on average, it takes 36 days to fill a post. Recruiters spend a lot of time calling potential applicants to collect resumes and contact information. Even if they collect this data, handling it all in one location would be challenging. Due to a lack of centralized data management, there are countless submissions from numerous sites and many duplicate profiles in the databases. AI chatbots used for hiring:
- Only require a third of the time that recruiters would otherwise need to devote to gathering information and sending responses.
- Manages all gathered information on a single platform
Easy and short communication
Unlike lengthy emails, communicating with chatbots is quick and to the point. Chatbots are skilled at conducting intelligent discussions with applicants with a certain goal in mind. Even candidates utilize chatbots for specific purposes. NLP procedures are continually being updated and taught in recruitment chatbots, allowing them to have contextual dialogues occasionally.
Enhances candidate experience
Recruiting chatbots lightens the workload of recruiters while enhancing the candidate experience is one factor in their popularity. Many prospects complain that recruiters need to follow up or communicate with them. When candidates don't hear back or get a response, they feel rejected. A great number of organizations have been dealing with issues brought on by both purposeful and accidental human biases that result in unfair recruitment practices, even though the human touch is very vital during the hiring process. Recruitment chatbots enhance inclusivity and equal opportunities in the employment process by eliminating all forms of human bias.
Application at multiple levels
Recruiting chatbots can be employed at several stages of the hiring process, such as pre-assessment, screening, onboarding, etc. Organizations utilize recruitment chatbots in a variety of ways depending on the requirements:
- Addressing frequently asked questions about the business, its culture, available positions, the location of such positions, and other factors.
- Incorporating chatbots into employee referral networks and recruitment sites
- ATS integration to streamline recruitment chatbots for accurate data collection
Three reasons why companies should use recruiting chatbots
Eliminate efforts at the top of the recruitment funnel
The recruitment initiatives at the top of the funnel require the most work. Most of HR's time may be spent contacting passive candidates, responding to frequent questions, and searching candidate databases for the best fit. A recruitment chatbot may handle these responsibilities, freeing HR to focus on more strategic initiatives.
The most important thing to keep in mind concerning recruitment chatbots is that many of them are made to be used during top-of-funnel hiring procedures, such as answering candidate questions and scheduling interviews, according to Davies.
A human recruiter can step in after this stage of contact to conduct additional quality checks, assessment exams, and personality evaluations.
Process a large number of resumes in a short period
High-volume hiring has always been difficult for recruiters, particularly in sectors with cyclical demand fluctuations. For instance, a recruiter in the retail industry faces a large burden just before the holiday season. Applicants can communicate with a recruiting chatbot via a career portal, submit their résumé, have pertinent information about them immediately added to the applicant database, and even be informed of their selection or rejection.
"A recruiting chatbot that dramatically cuts the time spent answering them might be viewed as a success," said Davies. “Recruiters grappling with responding to high volumes of repetitious 'FAQ-style' candidate inquiries can benefit from such a chatbot.”
With the essential candidate information at hand and prepared to onboard the new staff, recruiters only need to step in during the second stage.
Revolutionalize candidate experience for an “always-online” world
Did you know that 75% of candidates never receive a response from an employer after submitting a job application? These particulars frequently go between the cracks because HR is under so much pressure to fill vacancies within the shortest possible time frames. A negative candidate experience, however, might harm an employer's reputation and discourage excellent candidates from applying.
A chatbot for recruitment gives the employer a constant online presence. A gig worker from anywhere in the world can obtain a prompt response on open positions, required skills, and other information. This not only eliminates the need to administer candidate portals manually, but it also greatly increases the company's recruitment reach.
"More mature recruitment chatbots can finish full discussions with candidates, and in other circumstances, they can smoothly schedule candidate interviews without any human participation," Davies said of how sophisticated chatbot technology may improve relationships.
Conclusion
Whatever your needs, there is undoubtedly a recruitment chatbot for you. Keep in mind that this is a quickly changing field, and recent developments in AI and ML technology will soon enable recruitment chatbots to engage in mid-funnel interactions, radically altering how recruiters conduct their business.
Look at BotPenguin for one of the best AI chatbot creators to help you build your personalized chatbot.
