How to use AI for more effective, engaging onboarding

At the center of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is that most famous image: the hand of God stretching out to Adam, and vice versa. The most primal and profound moment of connection, immortalized and rendered in paint and plaster, it so well reflects the fact that the moment of connection is so important to us, as human beings, as individuals.

The same goes for our daily interactions when we are on the go. We connect. Yet many companies don’t understand that the most important bonding moments between an employer and a new employee happen in those oh-so-fleeting first interactions before they’re fully absorbed into the company. The first hours and days during onboarding—when an applicant transitions to a new employee—determine how a new team member perceives the rest of the company and, as research shows, how long they are likely to stay.

In a recent survey of more than 1,000 full-time employees, 86% agreed that onboarding is important to their future success. 49% went so far as to say they’ve been tempted to leave a new job after a bad onboarding experience, such as unprepared managers or excessive paperwork.

Support employees when they need it most

When a new employee feels unwelcome, unimportant or simply neglected, it can create such a bad impression on his employer that he will never recover.

So how can businesses do better on those vital first few days? How can a company reduce stress on a new hire, make onboarding smoother and more efficient, and basically provide a more human connection?

As in so many other places in the business world, artificial intelligence (AI) technology offers some solutions that successful companies are quick to adopt.

One of the biggest challenges in delivering a smooth and welcoming onboarding experience is simply that the people in charge are often already overloaded with other activities. Onboarding a new employee becomes a last-minute fire drill versus a hand from business heaven reaching out to form new connections. Individuals are overburdened with managing existing teams or handling countless other processes to spend the time and energy caring for the entry-level employee when they probably need it most.

The power of chatbots

Enter the latest round of conversational virtual assistants. Or, more popularly, chatbots.

It may seem like a bad idea to insert AI-powered chatbots into a process that already lacks human warmth. Still, the approach can help to quickly and effectively reduce stress, improve efficiency and provide a more human experience.

AI chatbots have a number of unique features that make them ideal for the often chaotic onboarding process when employees aren’t sure what information they need, often make mistakes, and rarely know where to turn for help.

Specifically, chatbots are incredibly patient, can be available 24/7, and never forget where things are stored or how to access the right information.

Imagine a new employee struggling to navigate through a benefits enrollment process. As a reference, a recent study showed that a poor benefits registration process can lead to 60% of candidates looking for a new job. Instead of bombarding a beleaguered HR team with questions or repeating requests for information, chatbots can be trained to understand simple questions (through the process of natural language processing or NLP) and answer them directly or direct an employee to information. lead that helps them.

Most importantly for the employee, there is no point in “asking a stupid question” that can cause stress in an already stressful situation – especially at a time when they are motivated and trying to prove they belong to an organization. It must be the organization that promotes the sense of belonging.

Judgment-free zone

Chatbots, it must be said, do not judge. So if a newly hired employee needs to check the same information again, for the tenth time, at 3 a.m. on a Sunday, that’s OK. The chatbot is happy to help you. And by empowering the employee to self-serve, gain more control over the process by giving them a tool to navigate the intricacies of enrollment and onboarding, they feel more confident that they’re making the right decision have taken to work — with much better overall experience to show for it.

Interestingly enough, the whole process of dealing with repetitive questions is valuable in itself. By viewing the interactions between new hire and chatbot, HR teams can identify areas of frequent confusion and address them preemptively. Simply put, the introduction of the AI ​​tool not only reduces that employee’s stress, but enables the HR onboarding team to improve the information they provide. This in turn reduces stressors for future employees.

So it should come as no surprise that AI tools can improve onboarding efficiency.

AI as the “go-to”

Joining a company presents a whole host of process and information hurdles for a new employee. When are the meetings I need to attend? Who is my point of contact for this process? Who else should I introduce myself to? What if I have problems with my equipment? And so on.

These issues tend to get to the manager in a relentless, albeit well-intentioned wave of emails, IMs, and sometimes panicked phone calls. But again, AI tools can not only serve as a “go-to” for ad hoc queries, but can also actively shape and drive the onboarding experience itself. So they can not only respond to a new hire, they can take over and direct the process when necessary.

Imagine a new employee who has just completed orientation training. An AI-based tool, which already knows the typical path for that role, can contact and recommend (and even take action) induction meetings, confirm that the employee is onboarding properly, and recommend further training.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, AI-based tools can personalize onboarding to meet that person’s needs and progress, while gathering information about the overall process so it can be improved in the future. improved. At every step, AI assistants can respond as needed and guide where needed.

Beings of connection

Can AI tools really make the overall process more human? This is the most powerful and transformative benefit of deploying AI-based assistants in those critical early days. Not to pretend to be AI-in-human-clothing, but to act as a tireless and knowledgeable assistant. Simply by its existence, AI frees both HR teams and managers from time-consuming operational tasks.

By enabling a self-service experience, albeit one that is guided and structured, AI frees human professionals to do what they do best: connect. This gives them time to check in, have personal conversations, and be a partner and a welcoming friend. This without their meeting times being swallowed up by questions about company holidays or details about healthcare benefits.

We are essentially beings of connection. When new hires feel there is someone with the energy and time to make connections, bridge the void, and bridge the gap with the indispensable spark of empathy, the onboarding experience is transformed.

Instead of a time of stress and confusion, a new hire can gather the information they need, access the tools and training they need, and feel part of the very human enterprise at the core of every business. company is located.

Thanks to the latest technology, like the figure of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, they find a hand that reaches out to them when they need it most.

Geoff Webb is VP of solution strategy at i solved