Article: Chatbots– How future of hiring will change in India?

HR Technology

Chatbots– How future of hiring will change in India?

Using chatbots to interact with job applicants could simplify the tasks of recruiters to a significant extent
Chatbots– How future of hiring will change in India?

Five million questions answered, 800% return on investment, 25% increased booking, and 30% more revenue has been recorded by Chabot’s implementation in Transport industry. Robotic Process Automation is providing a path-breaking solution to change the course of how business is done! It’s time for people-oriented recruitment industry to shift the gears.

According to a survey done by Careerbuilder.com, more than 67% of the candidates had a positive impression of companies that kept them updated through the application process. Now, it’s a humongous task for recruiters to be able to provide constant updates to all the candidates. They barely have time to personally reject applications while they’re busy sourcing candidates, and almost 75% of the applicants never hear back from the recruiters. This is where bots can change the candidate experience and take it new level! 

But what exactly do we mean by a chatbot? 

A chatbot, simply put, is a software system or an application designed to perform automated tasks that are simple and repetitive. Chatbots make use of a combination of Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to mimic conversations with people and interact with them to extract and give out limited, yet very relevant and useful information. 

How are chatbots contributing to the evolution of recruitment?

Chatbots have been around for over 15 years now, but it’s a new trendsetter in recruitment. Today, recruiting chatbots can perform a range of functions, including resume parsing and asking relevant questions to narrow down the number of candidates for screening, making chatbots an effective means to pre-screen candidates. They can also complement or even replace the traditional job application process. Instead of having the candidates fill out lengthy forms, chatbots can be used to extract the same information from a text conversation. A SmashFly report had recorded a whopping 74% of candidates who dropped off without completing the job applications. Chatbots can come handy in such situations and prompt the candidates to finish their applications or collect the remaining information through an automated chat.

Now, coming to the big question – Can chatbots change the recruiting scenario in India?  

Each year, approximately 10 to 12 million new workers are ready to be added to India’s workforce, and the major focus in candidate sourcing is towards the younger generation, who we all know are an impatient lot that is ever-craving for information on their fingertips. While reducing the time to hire is a growing priority in India, improving the candidate experience is equally critical to keep the candidates engaged throughout the recruitment process and preventing them becoming disinterested. But how can a recruiter manage to keep a very large group of candidates he/she has sourced informed and engaged while focusing on improving the speed of hiring and sourcing conversion rates? 

Using chatbots to interact with job applicants could simplify the tasks of recruiters in India to a significant extent. Chatbots can come to the recruiters’ rescue and answer simple candidate queries, such as the application status or basic questions about the company culture, policies, job details, etc. This saves a considerable amount of time as well as adds to better candidate experience. Besides, bots can also schedule meetings, engage with candidates and act as personal workforce assistants to recruiters. 

Now, let me quickly list out some of the notable pros and cons of using chatbots in recruitment.

Pros of using chatbots

  • Does the job 24/7

  • Responds immediately to any query

  • Smart, automated workflow saves a lot of time and money

  • Can handle queries from multiple candidates simultaneously

  • Builds the HR brand by keeping the candidates engaged throughout the recruitment process

  • Chatbots can be integrated with Messenger, Slacks, SMS, etc.

Cons of using chatbots

  • Scripted conversations take away the human touch

  • Chatbots may not comprehend all types of queries, to begin with. A constant data analysis is required to ensure quires are answered correctly

  • Information shared by the bots may not be 100% accurate and often the responses can come across as too vague or unspecific

  • Technology integration to existing tools is a challenge to be resolved

Judging by the stats and the trends observed globally, a right mix of human touch complemented by a chatbot to automate repetitive tasks is the ideal way to go about improving candidate experience as well as optimizing the recruitment process, from parsing resumes to pre-screening, to candidate engagement until and post-selection. 

Chatbots are taking the recruiting world by storm, and India is no exception. So, what’s stopping you from integrating them into your hiring process right now?

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Topics: HR Technology, Recruitment, #Hiring, #Jobs

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