Empowering your employees in 2022

People have long associated chatbots with customer service – like those chat boxes that pop up with messages that try to engage with us whenever we visit a page online.

In general, chatbots help streamline communication for customers. For example, a restaurant can use chatbots to filter and categorize inquiries and provide customers with the information they need – whether they’re asking about reservations, delivery service, or the menu.

But did you know you can use chatbots to empower your employees and boost their job satisfaction?

If you’re looking to adopt technology that will improve not only work efficiency and productivity but also employee retention rates this 2022, Chatbots can help in more ways than one.

1. Assist in and streamline the employee onboarding process

The employee onboarding process usually involves tons of paperwork, data entry, and various Q&A sessions between human resources, department team members, and new staff.

You can save on valuable time and human resources, and streamline the employee onboarding process by using a chatbot to answer common questions. It can also provide information on various administrative tasks and company policies.

You can also program the bot to walk new hires through onboarding, including providing the tools necessary for them to access specific platforms for work – all without the need to involve the IT service desk.

2. Ensure employees have 24/7 access to support

One of the challenges of working from home or employing remote work staff is ensuring everyone has access to support at odd hours (and this can mean different time zones!) and even on weekends.

With flexi timing, employees won’t be working within the strict 9 to 5 schedule. And, anytime they run into problems – whether IT, HR, or customer-service related – they would need assistance to resolve these.

Rather than waiting to get their message or email answered when concerned staff is available, with a chatbot, they can get the resolution or information they need in a jiffy. This greatly increases work efficiency and reduces the frustration that comes with feeling helpless about something that could’ve been resolved in minutes.

It also eliminates the possibility of having emails or messages left unanswered until the concerned staff clocks in, thereby streamlining the issue resolution process.

3. Create cohesive and uniform customer experiences

When you use internal chatbots, your employees are your customers and your objective is the same – to ensure pleasant customer experiences.

With flexi timing, employees won’t be working within the strict 9 to 5 schedule. And, anytime they run into problems – whether IT, HR, or customer-service related – they would need assistance to resolve these.

One of the challenging aspects of working in a large organization is that some departments provide inconsistent information or processes and may have a different understanding of the functions of other teams. For example, questions on how to get a company loan or a refund for company expenses may be answered differently – especially when different staff have had varied experiences.

With chatbots, all teams involved in a task or process can sit down together and fine-tune the steps to create an orderly, smooth, and uniform customer experience.

4. Improve interdepartmental service interactions

When it comes to human resources and the technical helpdesk, it’s common for them to encounter duplicate questions they need to answer or scenarios to troubleshoot. With this in mind, it’s not too difficult to imagine that it may be the same for accounting, procurement, inventory, marketing, customer service, and other departments.

By letting chatbots handle repetitive tasks, the burden on various departments can be eased significantly, so staff are free to perform higher-level tasks or resolve complex issues.

Having chatbots in the frontlines also prevents emails, calls, and tickets from piling up. This can help alleviate pressure to the organization as a whole and reduce employee stress and turnover. You’ll also be training your employees to become more self-reliant and empowering them with knowledge they can use should they encounter similar problems in the future.

5. Provide quick access to knowledge or information

When it comes to human resources and the technical helpdesk, it’s common for them to encounter duplicate questions they need to answer or scenarios to troubleshoot. With this in mind, it’s not too difficult to imagine that it may be the same for accounting, procurement, inventory, marketing, customer service, and other departments.

For example, there are certain collaborative projects that require accessing files from different departments. This in itself can be time-consuming if the employee has to email requests for these. And even if the files are in a shared drive, chances are it could take ages to find the file if there are several folders to look through.

To avoid this, you can program your chatbot to locate documents or files quickly and easily.

6. Notify employees quickly and easily about important information

You can say goodbye to missed email notifications and messages buried under other messages by using a chatbot with push notifications enabled. This way, you can ensure all employees stay in the loop concerning crucial information, company updates, time-critical announcements, and the like.

With this kind of chatbot, you have the assurance that everything is in writing and communicated efficiently – almost as if you’ve called every member of your staff yourself.

7. Eliminate language barriers to communication

Whether your workforce is fully or partially globally distributed, you’ll quickly realize that different people from different regions speak and ask questions differently. This is true even when they’re all using the same language, like English, for example.

By using chatbots with natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, you have the assurance that user requests – whether expressed in free form or standard English – will be interpreted precisely.

This eliminates feelings of embarrassment, frustration, or a general sense of being misunderstood – especially among non-native speakers. With this feature, you can help improve the job satisfaction of global top talent in your team and retain them as well.

8. Encourage professional development

Skill development and educational opportunities can get lost in the daily corporate noise. Busy managers sometimes are unable to discuss these with their team or give these the attention necessary for staff to take advantage of such chances for professional development.

You can use chatbots to inform and guide employees through the various development opportunities on offer. This way, your staff know you have their professional growth in mind. This, in turn, can add to their job satisfaction.

There's more to chatbots than meets the eye

Chatbots are not only intended to help your customers.

In fact, you can use chatbots to streamline work processes and empower your internal customers: your employees and your company’s greatest assets.

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