Recruiting can be a time-consuming and costly task, so any help that can be gained to make the job easier is likely to be welcomed. One such way is to employ the use of a chatbot.
Chatbots can imitate a human conversation and can both provide and gather information. Chatbots can be integrated into various platforms, including social media, email, SMS and, perhaps most commonly, as a pop-up chat function on a website. So why will recruiters benefit from the use of a chatbot?
Free Up Recruiter’s Time
Recruiting can involve many menial tasks, including administration, gathering documents and information, screening candidates and setting up interviews. Chatbots have the ability to perform some of these tasks. For example, they can automatically ask screening questions or gather contact information. This can help to free up time for recruiters to do the work that only humans can do.
Mya is an excellent example of a chatbot for the purpose of recruiting. Specifically created for the recruitment industry, Mya is able to talk to candidates through a simple messaging app. It can answer questions a candidate may have and can ask pre-screening questions, such as ‘do you have the right to work in the UK?’ or ‘how many years experience do you have?’, to check that the candidate is suitable. All of this data can be recorded and passed on to the recruiter, eliminating the need for them to ask these repetitive questions to all candidates.
Increase Conversions
Candidates are more likely to interact with a chatbot popup than they are to fill in a contact form. Social Media Examiner reports that open rates for bot messages average at around 80-90 per cent, in comparison to only 20-30 per cent for emails. With TalentLyft revealing that 73 percent of candidates are only passive job seekers, it is important to be the one to reach out first.
Chatbots can help to increase conversions in this way as you are reaching out to them first, simply by popping up with an introductory message. Chatbots will also automatically pop up to make the first contact with a potential candidate or customer on web pages or on social medias, such as Facebook.
Gives a Better Insight Into Candidates
Chatbots can quickly and easily check if a candidate is qualified before they are introduced to a human recruiter. This can save the recruiter a lot of wasted time spent reviewing applications that do not meet the job’s requirements. The chatbot can collect data relating to specific job requirements, such as checking how many years of experience an applicant has. Chatbots are also particularly useful for recruiting, as they can screen candidates free from the influence of social bias. As the chatbot is not influenced by factors such as age, race, gender and income, it will simply focus on the skills the candidates have.
Chatbots Can Help to Provide Better Communication
A common request from candidates is for more communication. Many job seekers feel that once their application has been sent, communication is severely lacking, and many applicants may never hear a response. A chatbot can help to improve communication in many ways, allowing the candidate to feel more involved in the process. Not only will it be able to work as a chat function for the applicant to check in on their application, but it can help answer questions a candidate may have. Candidates will be able to find out things like whether the job is full-time or part-time, the expected salary and the location of the position, without needing to wait for a recruiter to respond. In addition, with the chatbot responding to more basic questions, the human recruiter will have more free time to spend on human interactions, such as phone calls, emails, and interviews.
Scheduling Interviews
An intelligent chatbot will be able to access the recruiter’s calendar to see when they are available for an interview with a potential candidate. They can then schedule in an interview date and time for each candidate based on this availability. This is, again, one less task for the recruiter to have to worry about.
Help Make Your Job Adverts Better
If you can see that someone has viewed an advertised job but hasn’t applied, then your chatbot can be enlisted to ask them why. If you gain a response, you’ll have invaluable data which can help you to improve your job listings and get the candidates you need. Improvements made from this data should help to fill vacancies quicker.
If you’re a recruiter looking to improve on the efficiency of your work and increase the number of successful candidates placed, then Hostcomm are here to provide the solution. Our chatbot software uses natural language processing to have more human-sounding interactions, allowing your candidates to initiate conversations and receive more personalised responses. If you’d like to find out more about how a chatbot can benefit you as a recruiter, then why not get in touch with our expert team to request a demo?
