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New Research: TA Teams Use Chatbots and Conversational AI To Drive Candidate Communications Success

TA teams that report high levels of success in communicating with candidates say the three primary recruiting technologies they rely on to do so include conversational AI/basic chatbots, CRMs, and texting, according to Talent Board’s latest research report: How Chatbots & Conversational AI Improve Talent Engagement and the Candidate Experience.

Published in partnership with Sense, whose automated communication and engagement technology powers modern enterprise recruiting teams, the report is based on a global survey of 350 recruiters and TA professionals who recently shared insights with us about their efforts to better engage and communicate with qualified candidates and enhance the candidate experiences they’re delivering in 2022.

As the survey revealed, 36% of respondents who report high levels of candidate communications success use conversational AI or basic chatbots, while 30% use CRMs, and 28% use texting. These findings are crucial to employers and TA teams everywhere because, as decade’s worth of Talent Board research has consistently shown, steady and responsive communication is a core pillar of all great candidate experiences. And the experiences that earn the highest ratings from job seekers consistently feature superior communication from recruiters and hiring managers.

Key Stats Around Chatbots and Conversational AI

We asked the survey’s participants how implementing a chatbot or conversational AI impacted their performance and recruiting results:

  • 51% cited a “significant improvement” in candidate satisfaction as a direct result of implementing their chatbots.
  • Another 51% said their chatbots improved the responsiveness of their candidate communications.
  • 49% said their chatbots have enhanced the overall quality of their company’s candidate experience.
  • And 35% said their chatbots freed up their recruiters’ time and enhanced productivity.

Asked why they implemented chatbots or conversational AI in the first place, respondents’ top three answers were:

  1. To improve the responsiveness of their candidate communications (cited by 61%).
  2. To free up recruiters’ time and enhance their productivity (54%).
  3. To enhance the overall quality of the candidate experience (45%).

As you can see from the two sets of statistics above, the benefits and results that chatbots/conversational AI are delivering are pretty much in sync with TA teams’ desired outcomes and the reasons they invest in these solutions.

Insights Into Communications Channels

We also asked participants to cite their preferred communications channels. Their top responses were:

  • 61% preferred email.
  • 53% preferred phone calls.
  • And 29% preferred texts.

However, when we look specifically at TA teams reporting the highest levels of success in contacting and communicating with candidates, texting was the most successful at 28%, followed by phone at 24%, and email at 23%. It’s not surprising that texts top this list, as more an more candidates prefer texts over calls and emails. And a growing number of trusted recruiting technologies—like conversational AI and chatbots—offer text capabilities.

Our survey also delved deeper into the outcomes and benefits of chatbots/conversational AI, the reasons more TA teams are considering implementing these technologies, the business case for them, and more. I’ll share some additional findings in my next post, so be sure to check back here soon. In the meantime, you can download the full survey report here.

You can also check out our webinar overview of the report today at 1 PM ET. Register here.

Be safe and well.

Kevin W. Grossman, Talent Board President

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