In our new study “Artificial Intelligence for Recruiting Success,” we discussed ways that new technology can save us time and effort while attracting a better pool of job candidates. In this article, we’ll survey the ways that chatbots can save you the time and effort of routine communications, from first contact right up to the hire.
Chatbots use intelligent machine learning to have conversations with prospective employees. The technology is rapidly becoming more sophisticated, allowing the candidate to enjoy a natural, engaging experience while collecting important information about professional qualifications and behavioral traits.
You can choose chatbots to work on different platforms, including text messaging (SMS), email, social media (i.e. FaceBook), messaging apps (such as WhatsApp and Skype), your website, or applicant tracking software.
Speed the Time to Interview
With a chatbot acting as your assistant, you can drastically reduce the lag between receiving a resume and getting back to the applicant. Thus, you can more quickly qualify candidates and progress them to the next stage.
Obtain Information to Screen Candidates
If a resume doesn’t cover everything you need to know about the candidate’s skills and experience, the chatbot can ask questions, record the replies, and even respond to the candidate’s questions.
Chatbot: “How much management experience do you have?”
Candidate: “Five years. How much is required for this position?”
Chatbot: “The position requires a minimum of three years of management experience.”
Schedule Meetings, Calls, and Tests
This basic — and time-consuming — task is perfect for your chatbot.
Chatbot: “We’d like to set you up for an interview on Friday at 3:00 p.m. Is that good for you?”
Candidate: “Yes, I can meet with you then.”
Respond to FAQs
Tired of having to answer the same question from candidates over and over? Set up your chatbot to do it for you.
Candidate: “Does the IT Level 3 position you advertised allow me to work from home?”
Chatbot: “The position allows for one day a week working from home.”
Optimize the Interview
Information your chatbot gathers can help direct your face-to-face interaction with a candidate.
Chatbot: “Do you have more experience working as part of a team or on your own?”
Candidate: “I have mostly completed projects and solved problems on my own.”
Send Job Alerts
If you currently use automated email to send out announcements of open positions or shifts, chatbots will make your marketing even more effective. They’ll send a text message (texts are opened about 95% of the time as opposed to less than 14% for emails) and record the response all in one interaction.
Chatbot: “Are you interested in a part-time position from September 1 to December 31?”
Candidate: “Yes, I’m interested! What’s the next step?”
Chatbot: You can fill out our application online or come apply in person at . Once you’ve completed the application a recruiter will reach out to you.”
Re-Engage Inactive Prospects
Part of your recruiting strategy may be to mine your existing database of candidates who weren’t hired previously but may be perfect for the current opening.
Chatbot: “We’re contacting you to see if you’d be interested in a new IT position we have available.”
Candidate: “Sure, I’d love to hear more about it.”
Receive Feedback
Give candidates an opportunity to tell you what they think of your hiring process. Then use that data to make improvements, and hopefully become a more desirable employer for that top talent out there.
Chatbot: “Do you think our online application is too short, too long, or about right?”
Candidate: “It’s way too long, took me 20 minutes to fill out.”
Chatbot Providers
There’s a wide range of chatbot services and builders to choose from, offering a variety of specialties from basic communications to video interviews and psychometric testing. Here are some popular ones.
Conclusion
Chatbots aren’t something you want to “set and forget” — after all, hiring employees depends fundamentally on human observation and interaction. Your chatbot should be able to refer candidates to HR personnel when it encounters a situation it can’t handle. Also, be sure to choose one that integrates with your current management and calendar systems.
At their best, chatbots take a big load of routine work off of the hiring manager’s shoulders and enable more effective decision-making. Equally important in today’s competitive job market, they improve the experience for candidates as well
Integrity Staffing Solutions is a full-service staffing agency and ranks in the top 2% of agencies across the country for quality service based on Clearly Rated’s Best of Staffing client survey. To learn more about Integrity or for help with your hiring needs, visit Integritystaffing.com, or call 888.458.TEMP.
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Sources:
“The Future of Recruitment: Chatbots” by James Osborne, the recruitmentnetworkclub.com
“Recruitment Chatbots: Is The Hype Worth It?” by Naveen Joshi, forbes.com
“Hung’s Tools for Recruiting: Chatbots” by Hung Lee, linkedin.com
“Top 11 Ways Recruitment Chatbots will Change Recruiting”, gohire.com
