For personnel management, in particular, digital collaboration offers excellent potential for providing information quickly. Because automated tools for digital communication, such as chatbots or self-service portals, are always available and quickly provide the correct answers. Areas such as recruiting and on- and offboarding also benefit from this.
Digital collaboration in companies is not limited to the use of zoom or teams. Digital communication with the HR department also enables more efficiency in numerous areas. This includes all essential topics, from payslips to applications for vacation days or company cars to pension schemes.
The first step in this direction is a self-service portal, through which employees can have mobile access to their documents from all internet-enabled devices. Extensive functionalities with a high level of detail are possible here, such as the approval of a new smartphone policy or the use of a photo on the intranet.
Digital Communication: Chatbots Lead To The Right Offer
Other classic HR tasks such as recruiting, onboarding, or offboarding can also be mapped with digital tools. Here, for example, chatbots in connection with messenger services and live chats are ideal. A chatbot can lead interested parties to the right offer in a dialogue-controlled manner, be it a job advertisement, an apprenticeship, or a part-time study. Since his answers are always individual, they are highly relevant for the user. Those interested in a sales position are only shown sales outlets, and users can choose the right location for companies with several branches.
Even before the application, a chatbot can pick up interested parties with a good user experience and provide relevant information in an uncomplicated manner. At the same time, interested parties can already answer critical questions, such as their degree, professional experience, or salary expectations. A forwarding function to a portal is an option here, via which an online application can be made: there is no need to send an email with a curriculum vitae and documents.
Ideally, a chatbot is independent of any channel: it can be controlled directly from job portals and integrated into messenger services such as WhatsApp or Signal. Compared to static questionnaires for online applications, a chatbot is also much more targeted, as it allows individual follow-up dialogues.
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Digital Communication Supports Onboarding,
Digital communication is also helpful in the next step, onboarding, to automatically transmit the relevant basic information of a company such as core working hours, mandatory office days, or general processes. Another advantage: logging can take place, which, for example, facilitates safety instructions that the company has to document. A chatbot can also support offboarding at the end of an employment relationship and, for example, quickly inform the resigning person which certificates he still has to fill out, where he can download his certificate, or by when work equipment has to be sent where. The level of detail can be increased until a shipping label is available to return work equipment.
Regardless of the function in which a bot is used, a helpful addition is a live chat, as it can happen in dialogue with the bot that it does not know the answer. So that the dialogue does not break off, it can be transferred to a hotline or live chat and continued. A pop-up window then opens in the web application of the employee responsible during regular working hours. He then takes over the communication via chat. In an advanced stage of the “DialogBird” system from the output management provider Firmware, it is possible, for example, for the bot to access the contact person’s calendar and to make an appointment.
Address Pain Points With Digital Tools
With these digital solutions for communication and collaboration, the personnel department is relieved: information is available in self-service, and multiple inquiries can be answered automatically at the same time. Digital tools also support a positive external image: companies can present themselves as significantly more innovative and dynamic. They also offer high, stable performance and are available around the clock.
Companies generally implement digital solutions for a variety of reasons. Some are driven by the desire to have their finger on the pulse. Others expand their offerings with chatbots or portals to respond to an increasing number of inquiries and more tasks in HR. At the latest, when personal conversations can no longer be carried out as expected due to capacity reasons, a dialogue system makes sense. Because many companies are growing and in a shortage of skilled workers, more time has to be invested in recruiting.
The number and scope of special services such as tax-free fuel vouchers are increasing – they have to be mapped by HR. The pandemic with home office regulations and short-time work also increases the workload. For example, the design of short-time work is individually tied to employment contracts; in some companies, the know-how had to be built up from scratch. In this case, a chatbot can be trained to refer the questioner to the latest public information. In this way, he can keep his back in the HR department. And last but not least, some companies digitize because employees increasingly want simple, digital processes.
Digital Communication: SasS Solution Enables Step-By-Step Implementation
Software-as-a-Service or a cloud-based model for digital communication proves to be advantageous, as the standard solutions are available within 48 hours. If an individualization of the chatbot is planned, this is set up as a project. The system defines how the robot is controlled, using text or buttons, and what it accepts. Whole sentences or keywords and the channels through which they can be addressed.
Chatbots are based on artificial intelligence: They are trained to recognize the question or keywords, interpret them, and provide appropriate answers. The chatbot learns itself to a limited extent. For example, it can recognize spelling mistakes. But he is not able to invent answers. If the robot is well trained, it can provide answers that come very close to human dialogue in a split second. However, the more extensive implementation requires more resources on the company side.
Initially Introduce Chatbots In A Sub-Area
Experience shows that an extensive all-around carefree package has not turned out to be ideal as a big hit. Thomas Pawlowski, Managing Director of DialogBird and Head of Sales at Firmware, recommends introducing a chatbot with a section such as the FAQ. In this way, its acceptance can be checked, and the solution expanded based on this knowledge.
Digital communication via employee portals or chatbots is ideal for medium-sized companies. The tools support HR, offer stable performance, and can answer inquiries automatically and around the clock. Cloud solutions are particularly suitable because of their fast and straightforward implementation.
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