Intranets and extranets play an important role in organizations. They’re a part of the internal communication system and they serve as a meeting place for employees. We can also use them as an information source when certain questions get frequently asked by specific teams or company departments. Today, we know that nearly 50% of answers can be automated with a chatbot. To witness what this tool is capable of, the only thing you have to do is to determine how it should help you.

How can a chatbot improve internal communication? 

1. It shortens the response time, quickly providing answers to questions frequently asked by employees

Imagine that your HR Manager has to deal with hundreds of frequently asked questions every day. This responsibility starts to be a heavy burden especially when there is a high turnover rate. When new employees arrive, most problems and questions remain the same. And they involve: 

• social benefits, 
• OHS training, 
• salary calculation, 
• remote working,
• other employee benefits,
• company equipment.

Most probably, the HR Manager will spend most of his time answering questions, like: “I forgot my company email password. What should I do?”, “How to book a conference room? Is there a special booking form?”, “Can you remind me what are the salary payment dates?”.

Isn’t that a huge waste of time and – consequently – money? All answers eventually end up in the FAQ section, which can be more or less easily found on the company website. Is that the place employees have to search for to find the right answers?

Chatbots can serve as your company knowledge base. Employees will find the information they need in a couple of seconds. They won’t have to spend so much time to manually search for answers. This will reduce operating costs and allow the HR Manager to deal with more important issues.

30% One of the most important reasons why chatbots are used is the speed with which employees receive answers.

2. It reduces employment costs and improves the recruiter’s performance 

Imagine how many CVs and information recruiters have to go through each day. Looks scary, doesn’t it? 🙂 A corporate chatbot will help you, for example, to verify candidates, analyze CVs, and find the best person for a specific job. How? It will ask applicants basic interview questions, collecting the necessary information to point the best candidate.

3. It simplifies onboarding processes 

Whenever employees join a company, they have to process a lot of new and important information. Onboarding is a significant process because it means giving new co-workers essential documents or account passwords. A chatbot will automate this process – it’ll send all the necessary guidelines and documents. In an engaging, natural conversation, it’ll also guide new employees through the process of filling out forms and required documents.

34% of people get more and more impatient when they don’t receive answers to simple questions. 

4. It shows employees around the company, checks their calendar of meetings

There are many places inside a company a new employee has to know about and be able to locate. Imagine a chatbot that plays the role of a concierge who leads freshly recruited employees to their workstations, shows them where to find the kitchen, escape route, toilets, or places where they can eat their lunch. What’s more, it can also book a conference room, notify other co-workers about it, arrange a meeting, and save it in your calendar. In a couple of seconds, it can check the availability of the conference room so you won’t have to do it by yourself.

5. It conducts assessment surveys

Gathering feedback from your workers is the key element for any employer branding activity and business in general. Imagine employees who receive links to long and complicated surveys, where you ask about company-related issues and display a quarterly evaluation form. Nobody likes to fill out such documents, including myself. You can use a chatbot to conduct short conversations with employees and gather the necessary information. And it doesn’t have to come down to just asking questions. The chatbot will analyze all the answers and put all the pieces of data into a structured report.

This is only a small part of what a chatbot can do to improve internal communication. It’s also able to:

• manage projects – keep track of the current tasks, set deadlines, and remind about them. 
• inform employees about new training courses or seminars – it will send notifications, provide workers with the necessary educational materials, and – at the end – hold a quiz to verify the acquired knowledge. 
• gather ideas for the development of the company – it will not only collect ideas that could be potentially implemented but also direct them to proper decisionmakers, who’ll make sure the ideas won’t get stuck on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder. 

42% of people like chatbots because they’re easy to use.

Chatbots are a must-have when it comes to internal communication

Remember that the things I’ve listed are only examples, which are supposed to help you define a specific problem inside your company communication. Now you know that chatbots don’t necessarily have to connote messaging apps. By investing in an in-house communication tool, you create a place to store, update, and expand the company knowledge base, and to see how frequently certain questions are asked by employees. What’s more, a chatbot gives new possibilities to personalize machine communication, as it’s a tool that constantly learns and increases its effectiveness.

Is it worth trying? Yes. Because in the long run, it pays off. 

Before you try, learn about the 5 steps to successful cooperation with a chatbot client and find out what technical questions you should ask a chatbot company.