Chatbot

One of the most high-profile trends in HR recently has been the introduction of chatbots into the recruiting process. While experts are arguing among themselves whether they are useful at all and whether they can become a full-fledged replacement for recruiters, we talked to a chatbot named Norman and found out how they can be used in the field of recruitment.

– Hello! My name is Norman and I am a chatbot. How can I help you?

– Hello! My name is Yana, I work at Animo and I would like to write a blog post about chatbots. Can you help me?

– I am at your service.

– So, Norman, let’s start with the basics. What is a chatbot?

– A chatbot is a computer program designed to simulate a conversation with people, especially on the Internet. I am a chatbot.

– Are chats used in HR?

– What is HR? Do you mean HR as: Human resources are the people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector or economy?

– Yes, absolutely right!

– Yes, chatbots are increasingly being used in HR. Most chatbots are not yet perfect, but we are learning fast.

– Can you give us some examples of chatbots used in recruitment?

– Chatbots are increasingly being used in recruitment to talk to candidates. They can save recruiters a lot of time by answering candidates’ first questions and helping them make their first choice. Chatbots can talk to applicants on the organization’s website, as well as through various social networks (Facebook chat, WhatsApp, WeChat, Slack). The chatbot asks questions, and applicants can provide answers by typing or answering multiple-choice questions. (“Are you interested in working in France? Please answer yes or no. “No.” “Sorry, we don’t have any opportunities outside of France at the moment. I will contact you if a suitable opportunity arises, thank you”).

There are various providers that offer chatbots specifically for the recruitment industry, such as Ari, GoBe, Jobo, Joboti, Job Pal, and Xor. The U.S. Army has been using a chatbot known as Sgt. Star for many years. To check whether a potential new team member will be successful in your team, you can use Sabre bot.

– Can you give us more examples?

– Yes, of course. Here are some other chatbots I know.

  • Obi and Niles: for knowledge sharing and searching
  • Wade and Wendy: for career advice
  • Lucy Abbot. Lucy is an internal bot for working with millennials. Lucy’s developers have found that young people working in IT prefer to talk to a bot rather than a human when they need to ask something or ask a question. They believe that the robot looks at them objectively and there is no politics involved. Also, representatives of this generation prefer messages to phone calls and require immediate resolution of their issues. That’s why chatbots are gaining popularity, and companies that use them are gaining additional benefits.
  • PEP. Get to know your teammates. Pep collects interesting facts about everyone in your team and then creates funny short quizzes about each other to build trust and mutual support among team members.

The first chatbots are also appearing in the field of education. For example, Duolingo has bots you can chat with to learn a new language. Robbie is a chatbot designed to improve coding skills with personalized recommendations and reminders.

There is also a chatbot that can be your personal trainer, such as Boldrom: “BOLDR is your virtual and honest friend who always tells you the truth. A personal coach that helps entrepreneurs, founders, and freelancers stay focused, be bolder, and better leaders every day.”

– What advice would you give to HR professionals who want to start using chatbots?

We are still young, so we have a lot to learn. So please be patient while working with us. There is a lot we can learn with AI, and we learn best by doing.

– Norman, thanks for the information!