Artificial Intelligence has been a topic of conversation for decades. You do not have to go too far back to see cinema that hinted at it in the 1940’s to films that pushed us out of our comfort zone for AI, like “Star Wars” and “Blade Runner”. As we think about AI from a sci-fi point of view, it is fun, innovative and entertaining. The same should be said for bringing AI to the masses in a more meaningful way, like around engagement and interaction with talent and within teams.
So, why then is there still a fair amount of resistance to the idea of AI coming into the workplace? It may be that some feel the human element could be lost, or that AI might replace more people. I have uncovered lately though, that slowly but surely, AI is now being looked at through a microscope for People teams and in Talent Management planning, and this is a perfect thing.
AI now has the opportunity to enhance People and Talent Teams’ interactions with new talent, employees, any sun-setting employees and even the company’s retirees.
I spoke with Danielle Weinblatt briefly about this a few weeks ago. Danielle is the CEO and Founder of ConveyIQ, formerly Take The Interview. Danielle and her teams have been relentless in the recent year to develop a suite of products that are designed to enhance the talent, recruiter.
“Convey’ is an active word that means to communicate clearly and our product enables recruiters to do just that — not just with clarity, but also with creativity.”
Danielle Weinblatt
In an excerpt from her blog post, Danielle stated:
“But a real economic shift has occurred, as the skill gap has widened, companies are tripping over each other to convince great people to apply for their roles and to join them. This means that a platform centred around communication, clarity, and transparency during the hiring process was inevitable. It’s the same trend that gave birth to marketing automation over a decade ago.”
Danielle and the team have built in new AI technology into their tool that starts and keeps, conversations going with candidates. That is where to start AI in the Talent Management lifecycle. The Convey platform – including trigger-based messaging, digital interviewing, and smart scheduling, can reach passive talent, engage post-apply and post-interview, solicit feedback, and manage the experience, with AI as its supporting technology.
To see Danielle’s full blog post, link here.
When I look at what Danielle and her team have done, it is a sign of things to come. Danielle tells me that this is just the beginning of their product innovations. I anticipate a push deeper into AI from ConveyIQ and across industries tied to the new hire experience and people (employee) engagement.
The future of AI for Talent Management programs will not just be about acquisition or onboarding, or only as a feedback mechanism for engagement surveys. I believe that AI will continue to enhance the employee experience in ways we all wish we had time to do in real-time — as a way to keep employees motivated, connected, coached, challenged, and rewarded.
Now imagine how AI may help current employees in your workplace. Imagine a day when an employee arrives to work, either remote or onsite, early. An AI tool recognizes her early arrival and sends a message stating something like; “Hi Sarah, this is Jill, Good morning! It looks like you’ve logged in early today. How about some morning stretches to get your day started? Want to do this together? Press Play!” In this event, Sarah gets recognized for being the early bird but is also engaged with Jill (AI) to take care of herself before she starts her workday.
Whether Sarah takes advantage of the stretching exercise is binary to how this interaction makes Sarah feel about herself and her environment. Sarah may then respond to Jill and may continue to a brain teaser for 90 seconds that triggers a spark in critical thinking — a skill she needs to use almost every day in her role; as defined by her job competencies. This alone may set Sarah up for a very productive day.
This example is just one of many innovative ways that AI can integrate within the Talent Management and People story for a company. It will be interesting to see what new ideas and platforms are born in the coming years to enhance our workplace.
Special thanks to Amy Onorato and Danielle Weinblatt for contributions to this month’s article.
Click here to learn more about ConveyIQ.
