Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen the power of artificial intelligence (AI) explode in 2023. From ChatGPT to machine learning to virtual reality, AI has completely transformed our world, including many aspects of business. If your HR team isn’t using AI, you’re likely missing out on a multitude of benefits.
Understandably, AI makes HR professionals nervous. After all, isn’t HR about the human element? If we just outsource all of our important HR tasks to machines, are they going to do the best job possible, or are they going to leave our employees feeling ignored and unimportant?
If someone’s first interaction with a company is with a chatbot, won’t it leave them with a negative vibe?
Improving the Human Element of HR
However, AI’s come such a long way in a short period of time. Technology is much smarter than it used to be, and recruitment tools can be easy to implement and intuitive to use. If you get the right product, AI can be used seamlessly within your HR department and free up your time and headspace so you can focus on the human element.
There will always be some aspects of HR that require a human touch, and the more you can outsource the nitty-gritty things to a machine, the more you can actually pour into your employees. IDC’s Future of Work 2022 research stated that in 2023, almost two-thirds of global 2000 businesses will use AI in order to support the life cycle of an employee.
One major way AI has impacted HR is through the use of recruitment chatbots. Recruitment is constantly top of mind for HR teams, and chatbots can help in myriad ways.
An effective recruitment chatbot is able to:
- Weed through potential candidates, and engage them early on in your funnel.
- Do brief reads of LinkedIn profiles, and scour networking websites for specific keywords.
- Rank candidates according to specific filters like experience or location.
- Provide job applications, and assist with simple requests.
- Schedule interviews and follow-ups.
- Send reminders to interviewers and interviewees.
- Register candidates for networking events or career fairs.
- Answer basic candidate questions.
With the AI boom in full swing, there are plenty of chatbots on the market. How can you know which one will be the best fit for your business? Here are four incredible recruitment chatbots to look into. Sign up for a trial, hop on a phone call with their customer support team, and see how a recruitment chatbot can change the game for your HR department.
HireVue
If you’re a large company with a ton of applicants, HireVue might be a good fit for you. It’s known for its video-interview software that allows HR managers to watch interviews whenever they have time. The interview is actually conducted by the virtual assistant, allowing those with hiring power to take their time watching and listening to an applicant’s responses. It also helps with scheduling; obviously, interviewees can schedule their interview at their own convenience and don’t have to link up calendars with yours. HireVue is also able to screen out candidates who don’t hit basic parameters you’ve asked for, lowering your number of applicants to something more manageable. HireVue is on the pricier side, however, and making candidates do an interview with a virtual assistant instead of a live human being may leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Olivia
If you’ve done even a basic Google search on recruitment chatbots, you’ve probably stumbled upon Olivia, which is incredibly popular. Olivia’s parent company, Paradox, offers incredible customer service, giving each client a customer success manager to help with implementation and product use. Olivia is well known for being able to move job candidates along an automated funnel, schedule any touch points or interviews you need, and help follow up with candidates who’ve ghosted you. While its data analytics could be a bit more robust, Olivia’s an interesting possibility for any HR department that needs to free up their time and move candidates along a pipeline sooner rather than later.
Brazen
Brazen isn’t just a recruitment chatbot—it’s an entire virtual career fair platform. Imagine having virtual booths for different departments in your company and allowing candidates to interact with you via video, phone call, or text. It’s a unique form of recruiting software that could be a great fit for your company’s current needs. Brazen also has a terrific live chat feature and standout customer service. The downside? So much of the app is automated that it may lead to losing your brand voice. While it lacks personalization availability, the app is easy to set up and intuitive to use, making it worth at least a trial.
Eightfold
Do you have a lot of candidates with questions? Eightfold is there to help. This recruitment chatbot is able to answer simple and somewhat complex questions from incoming candidates with impressive accuracy. It also has a built-in customer relationship manager (CRM) to manage and interpret candidate data. While the design of the product is a bit busy and cluttered, the way the chatbot is able to hold a human conversation makes it stand out from the crowd. It also has a special capability for blind screening in order to promote company diversity initiatives.
Don’t Sleep on Chatbots
If you’re still feeling hesitant, consider trying a chatbot for a set period of time just to see how difficult it is to use and whether it makes your recruiters’ lives easier. The worst that can happen? You spend time and money on a product that doesn’t bring in the talent you’re looking for. But the alternative is getting left behind in the AI race. While your competitors are able to spend more time on human-centered issues, you’re still fiddling with scheduling interviews, and that time gap can really start to show. Don’t be afraid of AI—find a way to embrace it without losing the “human” in human resources.
Claire Swinarski is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.
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