Initial situation

For some time the Vorarlberg energy service provider has been experiencing an increasing number of repetitive enquiries to the HR department. Whilst in the midst of a digitisation process, they were also looking to create an innovative splash of colour in the HR system landscape. This is how the company became aware of digital HR assistance. After a brief period of research, they set up a plan to introduce our Sophie.

Solution

The workload in Illwerke vkw’s HR Services department has been greatly reduced by reminders and support in processing standard queries. Employees are also enthusiastic about the new, innovative way of delivering HR services.

Digital HR assistant Sophie reminds managers about team members’ birthdays, whilst complying with GDPR regulations. Before starting work, Sophie checks who has a birthday and sends a reminder to the manager via MS Teams. The manager has the option of starting a chat or holding a telephone conversation with the birthday boy or girl at the push of a button.

Employees from all departments can also ask any HR questions that crop up during the working day in Sophie’s FAQ module. Sophie offers 24/7 support via Microsoft Teams from anywhere, at any time. She provides independent, automated answers in a matters of seconds. Illwerke vkw AG can manage all the questions and answers in Sophie’s admin portal.

Project

The interfaces to the surrounding systems were developed during the project phase, and questions and answers diligently collated for the FAQ module. Once Sophie had built up sufficient knowledge the pilot phase launched in summer 2022. This was completed successfully in December 2022 and Sophie - your little HR friend was released for all employees. An expansion with a new module is already being planned and expected to be implemented within 2023.

Details

Company: illwerke vkw AG

Sector: Energy supply

Employees: 1,277 in Austria

Product: Sophie