The Human Resources and Transformational Technology & Innovation teams are pleased to introduce Sammy. On July 1, phase one of this technology-enabled virtual assistant will be available to provide round-the-clock HR support to the campus community. This innovative approach will revolutionize the customer experience by combining technology and HR expertise.
Sammy is a chatbot developed to provide additional support to the campus community. Designed to fill a need, Sammy answers users’ commonly asked questions quickly, conveniently, and reliably. Sammy uses a conversational approach to respond to customer questions by leveraging data from the HR website and other sources, handling a limited set of inquiries from benefits questions to iO tutorials in its initial release.
While some may worry about losing HR’s human touch, Sammy is designed to complement, not replace, the invaluable personal interactions that define the Rice culture. HR continues to support the community through in-person, phone, email, Zoom, and ticket-based interactions. HR staff members actively manage Sammy’s interactions to ensure responses are complete and accurate. If a customer receives a less-than-satisfactory response, the HR staff is alerted so they can step in. Additionally, all chatbot interactions are automatically recorded for review later if needed.
The launch of Sammy is just the start! The team is committed to operational excellence, continually improving functionality and performance to meet the community’s needs. Using customer feedback, Sammy will be updated regularly to not only be able to answer more questions over time but also to provide increasingly accurate and relevant information.
Join in this exciting new phase of enhanced HR support at Rice by visiting the HR website or the KnOWLedge Café on July 1 to meet and experience Sammy, the new HR chatbot!
