Employees expect an efficient experience in their interactions with employers. Conversational AI can automate HR processes and enhance employee experiences.
Deploying cognitive and conversational platforms such as Amelia delivers multiple benefits for a company’s employees (not to mention customers), such as an ability to perform higher-value tasks, with higher levels of productivity and effectiveness, and without being bogged down in rote and repetitive business processes. The result is a workforce that overall is more satisfied with their jobs. However, how does a satisfied (dare we say a happier) workforce, through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) create business value for an enterprise? How does that influence and generate success?
‘Consumerizing’ the Employee Experience
Satisfied employees are more productive, do better work, and lead to happier customers. Although this may sound self-evident, many organizations are only now starting to understand how to improve employee experiences. Successful HR departments are focusing on enhancing the lifecycle of an employee’s time with a company, beginning with recruitment, to onboarding, training and even offboarding. HR leaders know it’s important to customize every interaction between an employee and their employer. Some are even calling this the “consumerization” of the employee experience.
In today’s job market where businesses are competing for top talent, employee satisfaction is the highest priority for HR departments. Losing a successful employee, especially within the first six months of their tenure, can hurt an organization, and contribute over time to a high attrition rate which itself can create difficult challenges for a business. HR directors, aware that technology can improve employee experience, are beginning to implement AI-powered conversational agents to meet the needs of a more connected, fast-paced and technologically savvy workforce.
The Productive Digital Workforce of the Future
New technologies and an influx of millennials into the workforce continue to disrupt traditional workplace norms. HR departments are managing increased demands for technologies that support remote work environments, accessible cloud-based systems, mobile apps, and open and collaborative communication platforms. These technologies allow for flexibility, better connections (both in-person and virtual) among work colleagues, greater inclusion and ultimately higher efficiency at work. It makes sense that enterprises are investing in the technologies that make employees happier as happier employees are on average 20% more productive. The stock for Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for” rose collectively 14% a year from 1998 to 2005.
Relatively newer platforms and apps are connecting and facilitating seamless collaboration across teams from anywhere at any time; e.g., Slack and Google Drive. Virtual agents using conversational AI are the next wave of these connected technologies that improve employee engagement, not just on an individual level, but for a company’s entire workforce. Digital employees empower HR departments to automate mundane administrative tasks, allowing HR departments to focus on more complicated human-to-human matters while enabling all employees to find the information they need whenever they need it.
The Impact of New Technology in the Workforce
Convenient, fast and easy access to information has a positive net impact on employee experience and overall production. An employee who spends less time trying to find information feels more connected saves time and can focus on complex projects. Studies show that happier employees stay at a company longer, lowering HR-related costs in the long run- as recruiting and hiring qualified people is an expensive proposition. Satisfied employees also are more productive, create better work and provide a better service experience for their external customers and stakeholders — which is always beneficial to a company’s bottom line.
The positive impact that technologies such as conversational AI and automation are having on the overall employee experience is becoming more clear every year, as these technologies continue to be utilized for workforce benefits. Conversational AI platforms are showing up more frequently in enterprises’ investment plans and strategies, as more companies achieve ROI with AI-powered platforms aimed at the employee experience. A recent Gartner report stated: “By 2022, 70% of white-collar workers will interact with conversational platforms on a daily basis.” As the technology matures and offers sophisticated solutions, more organizations are investing in conversational AI platforms to keep employees happy and boost efficiency.
The “consumerization” of the employee experience means that employees will treat their experience at work the same way consumers treat a company’s product or service — they expect personalization and efficiency, or they will begin looking at other potential employers, the way consumers begin looking at alternative companies for similar products and services. The best defense against this potential attrition is to investigate how automation and cognitive AI can elevate the delivery of employee services for the near- and long-term.