Start People uses chatbot to spread workload

Start People is number two in the Belgian agency staff market. The company puts ten thousand people to work every day. For the job applicants – people who hope to find work via Start People – the combination of online contact and the branch network are of great importance. For agency staff – who are already working via Start People – accessibility is essential. "Agency staff want to be able to ask questions easily and have them answered promptly," says Kelly De Regge, manager of the Mid-Office, the department responsible for contracts and the administration of agency staff.

65-70% of reports of sick leave that come in via chat are now done entirely with the chatbot.

Kelly De Regge, manager of the Mid-Office of Start People

Chatbot handles peak moments

"Of course, we have a team of employees and a good phone system," explains Kelly De Regge. "But that doesn't mean we don’t have to deal with peak times." Almost all agency staff who are sick report this around eight o'clock in the morning, resulting in increasing waiting times. "Employing more staff to deal with that peak makes little sense because, later in the day, the number of calls falls sharply." Start People saw the issue as an ideal test for a pilot project with a chatbot.

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Collaboration between chatbot and advisers

The first results are already very positive. The chatbot turns out to be perfectly capable of requesting all the necessary standard information from the agency staff. "Agency staff who are sick report this via the chatbot," De Regge explained. "The chatbot then gathers information from the agency staff as well as providing its own information: that the agency staff should consult the GP, for example, and that there will be a visit from a compliance doctor."

"65-70% of reports of sick leave that come in via chat are now done entirely with the chatbot." "If someone still has specific questions, an adviser takes over the conversation from the chatbot. Via chat or phone."

Processing is now 16 times faster

The use of the chatbot helps to spread the workload in the Mid-Office. The chatbot is available day and night. This means that agency staff also can report sick in the evening or at the weekend. They no longer have to wait until the morning of the next working day. "As some of the sick agency staff complete the registration themselves, that means that it is more spread out over time and that we can process the sick leave much faster. The turnaround time for sick leave has dropped from eight hours to 28 minutes."

Less repetitive work means more job satisfaction

This is not only good news for the agency staff who can see quicker that their report has been registered. "Advisers are also enthusiastic about chatbot support. They no longer have to answer the same questions over and over again. The chatbot does that in their place. This frees up time for the exceptions and the more difficult issues: the interventions and the expert advice where the advisers make the difference. That creates more job satisfaction for us."

The turnaround time for sick leave has dropped from eight hours to 28 minutes.

Kelly De Regge, manager of the Mid-Office of Start People

Pilot project with voicebot

Start People is now investigating the possibilities of expanding the use of the chatbot. “We have grouped the most frequently asked questions into a top 12," said De Regge. "Over time, we want to have 40% of those questions answered by the chatbot." In addition, a pilot project has been started with a voicebot. "People calling will now hear a drop-down menu. When the caller puts their question to the chatbot, they should get to the right employee faster." Start People wants to further improve the user experience for its agency staff by using chat- and voicebots.