Chapter 04: Mini Case: Chatting with the HR Chatbot

CASE : The brave new world of artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to appear in applications for delivering human resource management services. Imagine how Amazon's Alexa for Business device might be used to provide the "human" touch to employees. Alexa has mastered thousands of skills and continues to get smarter every day. Amazon is hoping that companies might put Alexa to work for tasks like booking hotel rooms, scheduling and administering virtual meetings, and doing other duties that can be programmed into an algorithm. IBM is producing a chatbot that is designed to replicate a human voice. The chatbot can be used during employment recruiting, during onboarding and training of employees, and for answering questions in an employee service center. These intelligent assistants may be the next revolution in workplace technology.These AI/chatbots are becoming more popular due to changing consumer and employee preferences. Millennials and individuals in Generation Z have little patience when making a request; they typically expect a response within 10 minutes. It can be difficult for human workers to respond that quickly with accurate and timely information. AI devices can scour countless company documents and other sources of information to rapidly compile all of the facts needed to response to an inquiry. IBM's Watson computer can quickly identify important information and connect it together to deliver to the person asking the question. Workers who are accustomed to getting this speedy service in their personal lives will soon expect their company's HR department to be just as efficient. So, HR professionals of the future may need to start learning about how this technology can help them serve employees better.Talent acquisition and onboarding processes can be greatly improved by incorporating AI. Consistency in responding to frequently asked questions about employee benefits and career opportunities can enhance the employee experience. This technology can be especially helpful to workers who operate remotely and rarely interact with HR staff in person. A chatbot created by Loka, called Jane, provides real-time answers to a variety of HR questions. She can easily field questions such as "Is Memorial Day a paid holiday?" or "What is the copay for a generic prescription?" Jane can do much more, however. She can be used to proactively promote benefits and programs that employees are not familiar with. Jane can be designed to reach out to employees to notify them of the current wellness programs, like flu shots or weight loss challenges sponsored by the company. She can also collect information and prepare a report to management showing areas of concern. Perhaps many employees are asking questions about a particular learning and development program. Jane can bring this to the attention of HR leaders so that they can investigate further.Training professionals may also utilize AI technology. IBM's Jill Watson served as a teaching assistant for online courses. She was available to deal with learner questions 24/7/365. This allowed the learner to move forward with the online course rather than waiting for guidance from a live instructor. While not able to field every question, Jill was successful 40 percent of the time. Thus, trainers could spend their time dealing with more complex issues and working with learners face to face.

ANSWER QUESTIONS BELOW

Janet has been handling the employee service center of her company for 15 years. Lately, there has been an increase in the recruiting activities of the company, and she has been finding it difficult to manage the excessive workload that it has created. She proposes that her company's management incorporate an AI technology to assist with her team's work. After some consideration, management decides to implement the proposed AI technology. This new technology is most likely to: a. help Janet submit reports to management about employee needs by identifying problem areas. b. increase face-to-face communication with employees in the company and also virtual employees. c. expose the staff members to a hazardous environment and increase the risk of accidents. d. help Janet respond to employee requests within three working days instead of five working days.

a. help Janet submit reports to management about employee needs by identifying problem areas.

Alan is the Head of HR at Sysmet Inc., a large accounting firm. He and his team are required to respond to a large volume of the company's employees' requests and inquiries on a daily basis. They need to ensure that this task is done speedily and with accuracy. Which of the following forms of technology will be best able to assist them with this job? a. Claytronics b. Delivery drones c. A chatbot d. A blockchain

c. A chatbot

Dire predictions are being made about a "robot apocalypse" whereby robots will soon replace human workers and unemployment will skyrocket. Which of the following statements, if true, weakens this prediction? a. Old jobs will be redundant, and new technology will eliminate the need for new job titles. b. Companies are introducing inflexible scheduling and rigid employment policies, leading to a high attrition rate. c. Companies are hiring Baby Boomers instead of Millennials, as Millennials need additional training and upgrading of new skills. d. Organizations are constantly looking to reduce skills gaps.

d. Organizations are constantly looking to reduce skills gaps.