Conversational applications are platforms that mimic a conversation with a real human. Conversational applications have been growing in popularity and in use over the past few years. But they will grow even further in the future, and we need to understand how it will affect the future of recruiting as well. For instance, VentureBeat found recently that almost 46% of consumers prefer communicating with a brand through the use of messaging apps rather than email or calling. These trends can positively affect the workflows when it comes to hiring people, especially in recruitment. Let’s look at all the ways conversational applications will change the recruitment.
Conversational applications have reached the market very recently, but many businesses have adopted it very quickly and developed their own fast and automated systems which made the lives of many professionals much simpler and easier. Especially so in customer service, where we now have chatbots that answer the user’s questions while real humans only jump in when there’s a bigger issue. The recruitment industry has followed as well, and the conversational applications seem to be the part of the future of recruitment.
Conversational applications can work well on various platforms like SMS, Email, Social media, Messaging apps and Recruitment specific software.
Conversational applications work as a version of artificial intelligence where some of them are simple and some are binary (meaning that they offer simple answers for simple questions) and some of them work as a version of machine learning. This, of course, isn’t to say that people and human touch will be replaced any time soon. This technology has its place in the world but next to humans, not instead of them. Recruitment is a human-led industry and there will be a need for human touch at some point of the cycle. Conversational applications are designed to simply take over the repetitive, boring tasks and leave the humans with the creative part of work, just like all technologies are.
An effective conversational application is there to make your life easier and to speed up the hiring process you may have. It can strip away any bad candidates and find facts for you. They are like a dream assistant and can take a huge load off your busy schedule.
So, how exactly can conversational applications change the recruitment industry?
They will improve the candidate experience
Giving a great experience to your candidates is a crucial part of the job and one of the biggest trends adopted by the recruitment industry. It can keep your reputation great and it helps companies stand out from all the noise of other companies. The most obvious thing to do is to eliminate that downtime between CV submission and further communication. The waiting period is boring for candidates and can be quite nerve-wracking.
Conversational applications can make this a lot easier and quicker. In fact, they could make the process instantaneous and push them along the hiring cycle faster than it normally would. Conversational applications could handle the first rounds of interviewing while real humans can handle the rest. They can also serve as something candidates can turn to when they have any questions instead of calling the company. The candidate and the client would both be happier. The quick turnaround can result in a positive experience, better reputation and happier candidates.
Fact finding about the candidates
“Conversational applications are easy to use and intuitive, with a familiar messaging app interface which makes it easy to record details and ask different questions,” says Kevin Halpert, an HR blogger at Academized and Boomessays.
The candidates will be more relaxed with the conversational application than a real person and they will answer more honestly, without the interference of nervousness. Conversational applications are smart enough to ask multiple choice questions and record details that can make a lot better conversation later when the recruiter finally meets the candidate. Of course, nothing can replace real people and they would have to be the ones to do the final rounds of interviews. People need to see and talk to other people so they can get a better sense of their personality.
It can replace the FAQ
Basic conversational applications can help you replace your FAQ page with something easy to use, conversational and much more informative. It will feel like they are speaking to one of your representatives while they will be getting more information. It’s easy to add a lot of data that your candidates will need, and it will be a lot more useful than a FAQ page.
Set up all of your meetings and calls
Conversational applications are clever, and you will not have to do a lot of admin work. The process of setting up different calls and meetings with your candidates is often time-consuming. But they could schedule a meeting easily through a conversational application, leaving you enough time to learn about your candidates and prepare for a meaningful conversation with them as well.
It can qualify the candidates effectively
“Conversational applications can ask a wide variety of questions about the skills that a candidate can have and the experience as well., ”says Angela Noelle, a recruiter at Ukwritings and Bigassignments.
This can help them qualify and rank your different candidates against the different criteria that the employer will set. This gives the recruiter a quick access to the most qualified people on the list, without having to sift through a huge number of resumes, cover letters and people.
All in all, conversational applications can help make the process easier because they can handle the repetitive parts of the process and humans can then take over to make final decisions.
