Three simple steps to help your virtual agent support a tech-savvy workforce.
It could be argued that chatbots are the number one application of AI in any enterprise. Their broad acceptance by those who prefer virtual customer service over long telephone waits has made chatbots the go-to channel for tech-savvy customers.
So why aren’t more companies extending the customer virtual agent experience to their employees?
Just like consumers, employees struggle to get quick answers to a wide range of topics across multiple departments. And, just as with customers, a chatbot can be the perfect solution for answering common employee questions such as:
- When is the next holiday?
- How much can I contribute to my 401K?
- How do I get an employee verification letter?
- How do I onboard a new vendor?
- How do I reserve a workspace in the office?
The list goes on—and for a workforce steeped in self-service, virtual agent technology is a logical choice. Yet most employees today have to comb through knowledge articles, FAQs, or forums for an answer. Maybe they message or email colleagues. As a last resort, they submit a ticket to HR or IT and wait for a response.
Frustrating and slow
What’s the impact? Gross inefficiency. Not only is it a big drain on productivity, but critical answers are often delayed. Company growth slows because this model can’t scale as you staff up. Not to mention the obvious issue of employee frustration.
Virtual agents play a vital role in delivering a better employee self-service experience because they offer personalized conversations. Unlike other self-service tools, a virtual agent can be quickly trained as business or services change.
Natural language understanding (NLU), the core chatbot technology, provides a flexible foundation for these conversations and personalization. The agent can learn from each interaction to improve the accuracy of its responses over time. And if the agent can’t resolve the issue, it can be handed over to a live agent with a couple clicks.
Three simple steps
To successfully implement an employee-facing virtual agent, companies should embrace a solid, but simple strategy:
Step 1: Analysis
A virtual agent should be ready to answer common questions about new policies or services, such as new software from IT or work from home policies from HR.
Identify common employee questions, who they ask, and whether they are requests and issues. Analyze top incidents, requests, and cases. Then ask questions: What out-of-the-box conversations are already available in your virtual agent? Which service owners should be involved? What services are being rolled out?
Step 2: Train
Start development with relevant out-of-the-box chatbot conversations, then test, validate, and deploy. Add questions that tap into static answers, or use tables of responses.
Then begin building conversations for more complex workflows that use runbooks. Test the flow and the utterances to check the intent and trigger the appropriate flow. Using both training types adds richness to the chatbot experience.
Step 3: Promote
Once your virtual agent is up and running, it’s time to promote internal awareness and encourage employee adoption. Invest in a change management strategy to shift behaviors. Then implement simple, proactive workflows, like sending expense report or time sheet notifications. Track usage to address conversational gaps and adjust course as needed.
Make sure the agent is available wherever employees look for answers or help from colleagues, such as an employee portal, mobile apps, and messaging platforms. The easier it is for employees to ask questions, the more usage will increase.
Don’t overlook this crucial step—after all, what good is a chatbot nobody uses?
Measure the outcomes
At ServiceNow, we measure progress in a few key areas, such as total conversations, successful conversations, and total interactions. We analyze the percentage of active employee users and conversations solved without human intervention. We also review and adjust our goals as business or services change, such as our shift to remote work.
Besides boosting productivity and removing frustration, virtual agents also help scale the IT support team. By reducing redundant tasks, the team can expand capabilities without hiring more people—all while adding more value by focusing on more challenging requests.
No matter what your industry or how big your business, a virtual agent strategy can help you create great experiences for your team. Easy wins, constant iteration, progress measurement, and proactive promotion will create new opportunities for your chatbot throughout the organization. The end result? Your employees will be happier and so will your bottom line.
Source: forbes.com
