Freedom Day has dawned, and we are now permitted to go about our daily lives as we were post-pandemic (with a few restrictions still in place) however, many employees and companies have chosen not to promote the mass return to offices. Many news outlets on the 19th of July reported that commuter traffic was lower than or in line with what it was during the pandemic, and in a recent article with Sky, PWC stated that they have around 10% of its 22,000 staff back in the office. While they expect that number to grow gradually, PwC is not anticipating anyone will return full-time soon.
With such a low-up take of the return to offices, many organisations are choosing to adopt a hybrid model of work. The hybrid model allows employees to adopt a more flexible approach to working, promoting a better work-life balance through cutting commute times, and enabling people to spend more time with family and friends (as well as helping with childcare and other responsibilities).
Many employees also state that working from home helps them to be more productive, removing the distractions of the office environment. The hybrid model would therefore, seem to directly contribute to improved employee wellbeing and positively impact an organisation’s culture and profitability.
So, the question is how do organisations continue to support employees regardless of where they choose to work from?
During the pandemic, many organisations quickly adapted to provide solutions for remote working, however many of these were quick fixes and came with many problems. As a result, employees are used to having to perform ‘work arounds’ to find the information or perform the tasks they need to complete their roles. In addition, organisations began to rely on a wide variety of different technologies to help their employees communicate across the country such as Video calls, MS Teams, and Google Docs – all of which, all though very beneficial, came with their own problems (namely internet connection and the need for employees to work and speak over multiple channels and sources of information).
Conversational AI could help organisations and their employees overcome this challenge through creating a centralised hub for finding essential information and performing tasks. From HR requests such as ‘What are the companies Health and Safety measures for when I visit the office?’ to supporting customer service representatives in finding and updating customer information on a call, Conversational AI can help.
Conversational AI Assistants are an easy-to-use chat interface, powered by Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing to understand the true meaning and intent of a users request or query in far great nuance than a standard chatbot, delivering personalised responses in seconds. Supported by knowledge bases and integrations to leading business systems (HRIS, CRM, Supply Chain, and Finance) as well as RPA providers to support not just FAQs but also actionability.
This reduces the need for employees to send multiple emails, make calls, organise video meetings and navigate documents or complex internal systems to find out the information and perform the tasks they need. Saving individuals, a significant amount of time and frustration, improving satisfaction, engagement, and productivity.
Additionally, Assistants such as Humley’s can be deployed to a wide variety of communication channels from Slack to WhatsApp, meaning employees can interact with organisations in the channels they use. Making it infinitely simpler for them to access information, 24/7 and whenever they need it, increasing engagement levels with the technology.
With so many employees now requiring some form of hybrid-working support from their employer, Conversational AI Assistants could offer a solution to promoting an effective and happy workforce of the future.
If you would like to find out more about how Conversational AI could support your organisation and employees, visit Digital HR Assistant – Humley (humleyai.com) or get in touch today.