The wide adoption of mobile access and shifting employee demographics are compelling organizations to engage with their changing employee workforce using emerging technologies. Chatbots can help organizations turn repetitive, transactional requests and inquiries into natural, conversation-like interactions using voice or text. The PeopleSoft Human Capital Management Absence Management chatbot, Absence Assistant, allows employees to take this approach when requesting absences, viewing balances, and more.

With continuous availability and reduced margin for human error, HR chatbots are emerging as a preferred medium for business and users to address employee questions quickly and efficiently.

PeopleSoft HCM Absence Assistant Overview

By leveraging the Oracle Digital Assistant (ODA), Oracle’s Cloud-based bot service platform, PeopleSoft has introduced its first chatbot application for Absence Management – the Absence Assistant.

Absence Assistant provides first-hand assistance with common absence transactions and quick turnarounds for frequently asked absence questions. Employees can interact with the Absence Assistant with direct questions and statements like:

• What is my vacation balance?
• Was my sick leave approved?
• I want to apply for leave tomorrow.

From there, the Absence Assistant works as a step-by-step, conversational guide that prompts users to provide the necessary responses in order to get the desired outcome.

The Absence Management chatbot helps employees with simple transactions like requesting or canceling an absence. It can also answer simple inquiries like looking up current or future balances and looking up submitted absence requests based on status, timeline, or absence name.

Example of Absence Assistant

Edmund, an employee, has been thinking of taking a vacation for some time but hasn’t had the time to plan one. He decides to use the PeopleSoft HCM Absence Management chatbot, Absence Assistant, to help. He starts by logging into his PeopleSoft application from his smartphone and taps on the Absence Assistant tile on the Employee Self Service homepage. The PeopleSoft Absence Assistant appears with a configurable description at the top.

Edmund uses the message box at the bottom to begin a conversation with the Absence Assistant. The chatbot responds to Edmund’s greeting and introduces itself with a list of services that it can help with. He can also type in what he wants the chatbot to do.

First, he looks up his available absence balance. Since he didn’t specify an absence, the chatbot shows a list of his eligible absences, as set by the administrator. Edmund selects “All Absences” to get a consolidated view. If Edmund prefers a guided conversation, he can select the prompt to view all of the chatbot supported features.

He can ask about his vacation by using direct questions. After her provides the required information that the chatbot requests, he will instantly receive a response with a list of the next logical actions. Edmund chooses to view the complete details of his denied leave. He decides to cancel his denied absence request.

The chatbot will then prompt for other details like the cancellation reason and comments, depending on the cancellation options that are set by the administrator. The Absence Assistant always confirms with the user before proceeding to complete a transaction.

If canceling an absence needs approval, the request is routed to an approver and the employee is notified with an appropriate response.

Now, Edmund decides to plan a two-week vacation during the holiday season. First, he wants to know if he has enough accrued leave, and he asks the chatbot for help with that. After providing the date and the absence name, the chatbot gets the calculated accruals. With enough leave accruals, Edmund decides to apply for vacations and enters the required details.

After confirming with Edmund, the chatbot submits the absence request on his behalf.

Before closing the messaging window, Edmund selects the option to add the chatbot application to his home screen for future use. Now, while at work today, Edmund is feeling under the weather and plans to take the next day off.

This time, he skips the greeting and starts the conversation with a direct request. The chatbot confirms that Edmund wants a single day leave and immediately creates and submits the leave request. He takes a quick look at the earlier vacation request and notices that it has been approved.

The conversational experience with the chatbot makes it easy for Edmund to get his tasks done. The PeopleSoft Absence Assistant is an intuitive, one-stop solution that serves absence related actions without requiring employees to remember and navigate different menus.

This PeopleSoft chatbot requires an ODA license and PeopleTools 8.57.07.