Ask BambooHR®
Purpose: To help you learn how to set up Ask BambooHR, which is a virtual HR assistant powered by AI, and what data employees have access to when using this feature.
Overview
Ask BambooHR is an AI-powered feature that empowers your employees to find quick answers to their questions regarding company policies and employee information in BambooHR. This feature also saves HR admins valuable time in their daily work, freeing them to focus on more strategic and people-centric tasks.
By using a conversational interface, employees can input questions about their PTO balance, benefits, company calendar (holidays), company policies, HRIS data, etc., and Ask BambooHR will provide quick answers based on the data contained within policy documents and employee information in BambooHR.
Important: When using AI in our product, you are dealing with an artificial intelligence system and not a human being. Consider double checking all important data delivered by AI in your account.
Have questions about BambooHR AI? Please refer to AI Security & Privacy FAQ and BambooHR AI for more information or reach out to our Customer Support team.
BambooHR Learning: We offer a BambooHR Learning course that covers the basics of Ask BambooHR and will help you better understand the setup process. Click here to learn more!
Ask BambooHR compiles data in their responses from two sources in BambooHR, depending on the package purchased:
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HRIS data (Core & Pro packages): This source is automated, meaning Ask BambooHR will pull data from the employee's Time Off tab, Benefits tab, and the company directory and calendar to provide answers based on the employee’s access level settings to that data.
- If you are using the BambooHR Slack integration, employees can ask questions through Slack to receive responses generated by Ask BambooHR.
- Policy documents (Pro package only): In addition to HRIS data, this source requires manual upload of PDF files containing your company’s policies to the Files tab. Then, you will be able to select those documents in Settings > Ask BambooHR. (Please do not upload files with personal identifiable and sensitive information.)
The following are some examples of questions your employees may be able to ask based on how you have set up Ask BambooHR.
- "What are our company holidays?"
- "How much time off do I have?"
- "What is my pto balance?"
- "Who's out today?"
- "Who am I?"
- "Who is [Employee Name]?"
- "Who is out today in my department?"
- "How many days have I been with the company?"
- "What benefits am I enrolled in?"
- "What is my medical insurance group number?"
- "How much is my deductible?"
HRIS data
If you have the Core or Pro package, you can enable Ask BambooHR to answer your employees' questions about HRIS data, including time off, benefits, and company directory information. Employees can also ask how-to questions for managing their personal data on their employee profile.
Navigate to Ask BambooHR in Settings. On the Ask BambooHR page, you will have the option to preview the chatbot before enabling the feature for all employees. Once everything looks correct, click Turn on Ask BambooHR.
Employees will only have access to the data they are permitted to view based on their access level settings.
With the feature enabled, you can review any of the questions your employees are asking by downloading a conversation log. Click Download Log to receive a .csv file with all the necessary data to ensure your employees' questions are being answered.
If needed, you can turn off the feature at any point by clicking Turn off Ask BambooHR in the top right corner.
Policy documents
In addition to HRIS data, customers with the Pro package can upload policy documents.
Files tab
The functionality of policy documents in Ask BambooHR is tied to the Files tab in BambooHR.
All shared files on the Files tab will appear in a list for selection when setting up Ask BambooHR. Shared files are the files you have shared with specific people or all employees.
If you have access permissions set on certain files, employees will receive answers that are specific to the files they have access to view. Whenever an employee asks a question in Ask BambooHR, the system will check their permissions and will only provide answers from documents that the employee has access to.
Example: Employee A is an intern and does not have the Benefits Overview file shared with them, and Employee B is a full-time employee and has access to the shared file. Then, the HR Admin adds the Benefits Overview file to Ask BambooHR and enables the feature for employees.
Employee A enters a question about benefits, and they do not receive an answer with information from the Benefits Overview file, but Employee B will receive an answer with that information since they have access to the file.
Need to upload policy documents to the Files tab? Please visit our Upload a Document or File help guide.
Add policy documents
We use LlamaParse to understand the content of your policy documents. For more information, click here. See also LlamaParse Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
To start adding policy documents, navigate to Settings > Ask HR and then click Set up Ask BambooHR.
The Ask BambooHR settings page will then show you information about removing any personal identifiable information from your policy documents. You can also review our legal resources (Terms of Service, AI Addendum, etc.) directly from this page. These resources reiterate our commitment to be transparent in how we use AI, ensure that it is ethically created and deployed, and employ top-notch security measures to protect your data.
Select +Add Documents above the table, and then select the files you want to add from the dropdown list. Please note that the list will only contain PDF files from your Files tab. If you cannot find your desired files, you can navigate to the Files tab and make the appropriate changes there.
There is no limit to the number of files you can add, but the size limit for each file is 20 MB. Additionally, PDF is the only document type that is indexed by Ask BambooHR. (For a seamless upload process, please ensure you have “.pdf” included in your file names.)
After selecting your documents, click Add Docs, and your chosen files will be set to “Processing.” Documents may take up to a few minutes to process. Depending on the size and numbers of files, processing times vary from 0 to 10 minutes. You can navigate away from this page and come back at a later time to check in on their progress.
After all documents have been processed, you will be able to preview the chat via Preview Chatbot and enter some test questions to ensure everything looks accurate.
In the example above, I asked "How much volunteer time off do I receive per calendar year?" and Ask BambooHR pulled data from the Volunteer Time Off document to answer my question.
Launch Ask BambooHR
When you are ready to launch the feature to your employees, click Turn on Ask BambooHR.
Sample rollout email
We have provided the text below to help you communicate the rollout of Ask BambooHR with your employees.
We are excited to introduce you to Ask BambooHR, our new AI-powered HR assistant! At [Company Name], we value open communication and want to ensure you have all the tools you need at your fingertips.
What is Ask BambooHR?
Ask BambooHR is a friendly chat-based feature right in our BambooHR profile. Think of it like your HR fast pass that gets you quick answers to your common HR questions without waiting for a response from HR.
How Can Ask BambooHR Help You?
- Instant Answers: Have questions about time off, company policies or benefits? Just ask!
- Easy Access: Find reliable answers directly in BambooHR, anytime, anywhere.
Where Can You Find Ask BambooHR?
- Log in to BambooHR.
- Click on the “Ask” button in the top right-hand corner.
- Type your question and get instant answers!
What Types of Questions Can You Ask?
- “When is our next company holiday?”
- "What is the group number for my medical insurance provider?”
- “When is our next payday?”
- “Who is____ (name of someone at your company)?”
Watch for the Ask BambooHR button in your BambooHR profile starting on [enter date], and feel free to reach out to HR if you have any questions.
Happy chatting!
Using Ask BambooHR for Your HR Questions is a great resource for employees to learn how they can use Ask BambooHR.
Upload or delete a policy document
- To upload a new document from the Files tab, click +Add Documents.
- If you find that you need to delete a document, simply hover your cursor over the applicable document and select the “x” at the left of your screen.
If you need to upload a revised document, delete the original file from Ask BambooHR and add the revised version to the Files tab. Share the file with the people who should have access to it. Then, add the revised document in Settings > Ask BambooHR > +Add Documents.
View the conversation log
Once your employees are using Ask BambooHR, you will have a conversation log available for download in Settings > Ask HR. The conversation log lists every question asked, who asked it, and when it was asked. If you need this information, click Download Log, and a .CSV file will be downloaded onto your device for your review.
Turn off Ask BambooHR
If you need to turn off access, click Turn Off. (Turning off this feature will not remove any documents you have uploaded.)