Imagine it’s 3 a.m.
A supervisor at [insert hot prospect company name] needs to fill a last-minute call-off for their 7 a.m. shift.
Bleary eyed, they hop online to request a temporary from you. But when they reach your site and fill out a request form, they receive a polite auto-response saying that someone will follow up with them during normal business hours.
That’s 2 hours after their shift starts, so they leave your website for your competitors’.
Ouch.
Q: Who’s helping your website visitors at 3 a.m.?
Providing a live attendant to man your website 24/7 is expensive (and impractical for most staffing firms). When clients, prospects, field associates and job seekers visit your site outside business hours, who is there to help them?
A: YOUR COMPETITORS.
If you don’t have a chatbot, that is!
What’s a chatbot?
If you missed my earlier post on chatbots, you can read it here (or meet Jen, Haley Marketing’s very own chatbot!).
Simply put, a chatbot is an automated, conversational bot you interact with via a chat interface. While some use true artificial intelligence (and get smarter over time by learning from user conversations), rules-based chatbots are programmed to respond to specific commands. Both types of virtual chat agents use algorithms to ensure website visitors get the answers or assistance they need.
In the scenario above, a chatbot could have been programmed to:
- recognize that the prospect had an urgent staffing need;
- realize that the issue required attention from a human;
- connect the supervisor to an employee on your team who was able to expedite the request.
Don’t get many 3 a.m. staffing requests?
Chatbots are helpful 24/7/365 (not just in the middle of the night). Here are a few other ways a chatbot could enhance both client communication and the level of service you deliver:
- Provide real-time answers to questions from site visitors.
- Deliver a better candidate experience, especially when applicant volume is high.
- Screen candidates to ensure they meet basic requirements.
- Help your recruiters with answering questions and performing C and D level tasks, like providing directions to a client’s offices.
- Help your accounting team with billing and payroll needs, such as getting approval on timesheets.
(Note: These last two examples would require more advanced bots integrated with your ATS and/or online time keeping system. These kinds of bots are coming soon!)
Why are chatbots becoming essential?
Within the last few years, mobile tech has taken over the landscape, allowing for real-time, instantaneous, global exchanges of information. This immediacy has heightened customers’ expectations in terms of on-the-go, 24/7 service across communication channels. People want questions answered and problems resolved, NOW.
And if they don’t get amazing, real-time service from your staffing firm, they’ll get it from (you guessed it) your competitors.
Interested in chatbot services?
We have you covered! Haley Marketing can program and install a chatbot on your website that:
- matches your branding;
- proactively greets every site visitor with a customized welcome message;
- guides employers and job seekers to the right places on your website;
- turns conversations into sales leads and job applications;
- helps you deliver shareworthy service, 24/7/365.
Get your free 30-day chatbot trial here.