Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into HR practices can be daunting for many organisations, especially those with advanced practices and policies. The promise of enhanced efficiency, personalisation, and innovation often clashes with practical hurdles like adapting legacy systems, ensuring user adoption, and maintaining a human touch in recruitment.

Certified Top Employer Postbank has embraced this challenge and turned it into an opportunity to lead by example. By leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies like the AI Story Builder, AI CV Assistant, and AI Interview Trainer, Postbank has redefined its approach to recruitment and talent development. These tools have transformed their gamified career website into a hub of personalised and dynamic candidate experiences, setting a new standard in the industry.

This is just a snapshot of Postbank’s innovative best practice; you can find the entire practice in our HR Best Practices database, which is exclusively available to Top Employers. Get inspiration and insight into the approach, challenges, and learnings from leading organisations. As a Top Employer, you can now access the complete best practice via thePortal. If you are not yet Certified, learn more about it here!

Reimagining Recruitment with Generative AI

Postbank’s AI Story Builder, AI CV Assistant, and AI Interview Trainer all use generative AI, like ChatGPT, to power these three AI features on its career site. These tools align seamlessly with the bank’s HR strategy, which prioritises gamification and personalisation. By openly embracing these priorities and using new technologies, Postbank is committed to candidate care and innovation in improving the workplace environment.

Why Postbank see AI as the future

Postbank’s strategic decision to implement AI began from a need to tackle the common challenges of recruiting younger talent. The banking industry has been known to struggle with recruiting young people because of its perception of being overly conservative. Postbank, one of Bulgaria’s leading banks, wanted to counteract this view proactively and for their organisation, AI tools provided a fresh perspective by:

Yordanka Kostova Postbank`s Director Talent Management & Employer Branding, further explained that some of the reasons they chose to implement AI in their recruitment wereinspired by “[several previous] who, despite initially lacking the conventional education or experience for a given role, have demonstrated skills and qualities that have led to their success. These stories have inspired us to embrace innovation and align with the growing trend that skills are the new currency. As part of this, we are introducing AI-driven tools designed to assess and develop candidates’ specific skills, helping unlock their full potential.” 

 

Innovative AI-Powered Features

In the first quarter of 2024, Postbank unveiled its new AI tools as part of a broader strategy to attract interns and young professionals during its annual Internship Programme. Here’s more on each feature:

1. AI Story Builder:

2. AI CV Assistant

3. AI Interview Trainer
 

You can also discover more about Postbank’s AI tools on their careers page!

Gamification Meets Personalisation

Postbank has also harnessed AI, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR) to create engaging and interactive experiences for candidates and new employees. These include:

Results of Postbank’s AI strategy

Postbank’s efforts in their AI strategy have not gone unnoticed. They earned gold at the Employer Brand Stars Awards 2024 for “Use of Digital” and “Candidate Experience” and at the Employer of Choice Awards 2024 for “Innovation in Selection.

Martin Stanoev, an intern at Postbank, shared his opinion of the organisation’s decision to implement AI features on its website. He shared that “the AI assistants on Postbank’s website are highly effective tools for job applicants. They operate intuitively, assisting prospective employees in preparing their applications. My preferred tool is a story builder; I can possiblyuse it in other areas as well. The AI Interview Assistant is also invaluable, as it helps me anticipate various scenarios during an interview.”

Additionally, as part of Postbank’s Summer Internship Programme, they hosted a series of webinars on “AI Tools for Career Development”. They found that the data reflected a positive reception of their AI tools. Some of the feedback they received included:

Postbank’s use of AI is an excellent example of crafting a recruitment experience that is personalised, innovative, and aligned with the expectations of a tech-savvy workforce. Postbank is building a more inclusive and forward-thinking recruitment process by focusing on skills and potential rather than traditional criteria. Postbank’s AI initiatives showcase how technology can bridge the gap between employer needs and candidate aspirations, ensuring a brighter future for both.

It is exciting to know that they aren’t stopping there. Silviya S. Todorova, Postbank’s Employer Branding Project Manager shared, “We are definitely exploring new opportunities to enhance the project further, with a focus on integrating advanced technologies such as AI, AR, and VR. By combining these innovations, we aim to create even more immersive and impactful tools that will drive our AI efforts forward and strengthen our position as an attractive employer for young talent. These technologies offer exciting potential for transforming talent development and employee engagement in ways that resonate with the next generation of professionals.

Postbank’s top recommendations

As we close our look at Postbank’s innovative best practice we want to leave you with some inspirational tips for organisations and HR teams looking to follow in their footsteps.

When we asked Postbank to reflect on their journey and anything they would’ve done differently, Silviya shared, “If we could go back in time, one thing we would focus on earlier is aligning our AI initiative more closely with user feedback from the start. While we did gather insights throughout the process, involving end-users – students, interns, and young professionals – right from the idea stage would have helped us tailor the tools more precisely to their needs. One of our biggest hurdles was ensuring that the AI assistants were intuitive and accessible for a diverse group of users with varying levels of tech-savviness. Another challenge was gaining buy-in from stakeholders, which required demonstrating the tangible benefits of AI in talent development and career progression.

Yordanka Kostova, Director of Talent Management & Employer Branding at Postbank, shared, “Our advice is to create a successful synergy between people and technology. It’s essential to integrate the HR mission into every aspect of the organisation—this is the foundation for success. Every employee has the potential to be an ambassador for your company, and technology offers tremendous opportunities to support and amplify this. Embracing this approach can drive both innovation and engagement across the board.

Remember that this article does not provide a complete look at Postbank’s inventive practice. You can find the entire best practice exclusively on the Top Employers Portal. If you aren’t a Top Employer yet, learn more about how you can access your one-stop online source of practical and proven HR Best Practices as implemented by Certified Top Employers across the globe. Build a better world of work with us as the #1 global authority on HR strategies and deliver excellent people practices with proven business impact as you attract, engage and retain top talent.

Table of Contents