“If you picture the journey of chatbots from the 1960s to now, you can see that what was once a fantasy of being able to communicate with a non-living virtual being is now part of our everyday lives.” –Rashid Khan
Chatbots. The AI-powered little box that pops up throughout your surfing and scrolling (daily, hourly?), offering a friendly, “How may I help you?” The “conversational assistant” responds like a human being, assisting you until, and if, the conversation requires a shift to a (live) team member. When well done, a pretty cool, timesaving option that strikes a tally in the positive impression column.
So, let’s talk chatbots for recruiting. This gaining-traction technology played a crucial role in keeping the recruiting and staffing world above water when COVID-19 threatened to hi-jack this essential industry. This technology’s soaring capabilities empowered recruiters while creating a positive candidate experience. And let’s face it. It’s all about the experience.
Especially with the current job market making multiple job offers per candidate a daily reality, the employers who extend the best experience will move to the front of the line. The goal of every hiring business—and who doesn’t fall into that category these days—must be to create an exceptional candidate experience. A stellar encounter that seals the deal.
Let’s dive into the most effective ways to harness the power of chatbots for recruiting and elevate this twenty-first-century technology to improve the candidate experience.
First, a peek at the pre-journey basics a chatbot can manage.
- Answering job seekers’ questions
- Pre-screening candidates for skills, interests, experience
- Scheduling interviews
Chatbots make the beginnings of a candidate’s job search as simple as possible with the added bonus of 24/7 availability—no contending with geographic or time zone issues. No wearing out the recruiting team with these critical yet easy-to-manage-via-electronic-means details. Slick and efficient while freeing up the recruiting team to have more time to spend with candidates later in the process.
Now, on to that stellar candidate experience every company yearns to create because every candidate has their radar tuned to that channel.
Don’t waste my time, leave me in limbo, or “ghost” me.
These sentiments have become the collective battle cries of job candidates everywhere. But, hey, the past couple of years have been trying at best. And the resulting fatigue has cast a thick cloud of patience-wearing-thin weariness over us, which means we reach a level of burnout faster. And with the extensive job upheaval some employees have endured these past 24-plus months; they teeter precariously on the edge of job search burnout. Chatbots offer an effective tool for providing fast, consistent feedback and the all-important status updates that waiting job candidates desire.
Research has revealed that 92 percent of applicants site the most significant advantage of chatbots is the speed of their responses and reactions. Folks these days tend to lean toward impatience, so anything that decreases response time will garner rave reviews. Not surprisingly, the resulting higher responsiveness levels create a win-win scenario. Candidates feel valued, and employers benefit from an increase of up to 71 percent in overall application engagement, leading to a larger pool of qualified candidates—a double YAY.
Need more incentive to utilize chatbots for recruiting? Check out these convincing stats.
- Just 38% of consumers want to talk with a human when engaging a brand, and 69% of them prefer to use chatbots because they can deliver quick answers to simple questions,
- On an average day, a millennial spends nearly 8 of the day’s hours online, with the vast majority of that time (73%) spent texting and chatting, which makes chatbots a neat fit with their regular everyday world.
· Most consumers (87.2%) have neutral or positive experiences with chatbots leaving only a fraction reporting a negative experience.
But what about the human touch? That’s a fair question, to be sure. And, of course, human connections play a pivotal role in recruiting—they always will. But consider how early in the process, chatbots can provide the fast, efficient responses that get the candidate’s experience off to a great start.
An additional benefit is the removal of both intentional and unintentional human biases that can result in unfair recruitment practices that may jeopardize the company’s reputation and result in allegations of discrimination.
How about a couple more perks, just for good measure?
Brand representation can get a boost. So don’t discount the golden opportunity your chatbot presents for placing a shimmering halo around your brand. Brand reputation matters to job seekers, especially women, with 39% ranking company brand as a “significant” factor when applying for a job. And, no surprise, a strong employer brand leads to an average decrease in recruitment costs to the tune of 43%.
Chatbots for recruiting? Without a doubt, yes, yes, yes.
Let the decades of experience the ASJ Partners team brings to recruiting and staffing agency marketing be your ace in the hole. Creating customized, comprehensive marketing plans for the staffing industry is all that we do. And we’re the best. So reach out to our team today.
