Apna, formally known as Apnatime Tech Pvt Ltd, acts as a vital link between recruiters and job seekers, serving a diverse clientele ranging from small enterprises to large corporations. The company takes pride in helping 22 million job seekers secure employment opportunities across 73 cities throughout India.

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The Problem

Apna initially provided support through website chat, but this approach had a flaw. Website chat sessions closed when recruiters left the website portal, preventing agents from being able to send them updates. To address this issue, Apna sent recruiters case updates via WhatsApp API on a third-party messaging platform.

However, this solution introduced a new problem: The WhatsApp messages weren't visible in the website chat interface so agents could not reference them for context when recruiters brought them up. Moreover, the web chat system didn't keep a record of conversation history, which made it even harder for support agents to obtain context.

Lastly, recruiters often accessed the website chat on their mobile phones, but this posed additional challenges. The website chat interface did not facilitate a smooth experience on phone devices, making many simple tasks such as sharing screenshots cumbersome. Consequently, recruiters expressed their preference for two-way communication on WhatsApp.

To tackle these challenges, Apna decided to seek an omnichannel support solution, aiming to consolidate website chat and WhatsApp in one platform to provide the necessary context for more effective customer assistance.

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The respond.io Solution

After evaluating various choices, Apna opted for respond.io’s Enterprise plan. This decision was solidified by respond.io's comprehensive features, seamless integration with Apna's existing software and its impressive growth trajectory.

The following solutions were implemented.

WhatsApp Business API was Connected as a Channel

Integrating WhatsApp Business API with respond.io significantly improved communication with recruiters. WhatsApp’s multimedia capabilities make communication a breeze, and sharing screenshots to provide context is not a hassle anymore.

What’s more, now agents can follow up with recruiters whenever needed over WhatsApp, something that wasn’t possible with web chat. By connecting WhatsApp Business API to respond.io, Apna achieved more efficient and satisfactory conversations between recruiters and support agents.

Messaging Channels were Consolidated in an Omnichannel Inbox.

Apna seamlessly integrated WhatsApp Business API and web chat into respond.io's omnichannel inbox and was pleasantly surprised to find email was a supported channel as well. Realizing the advantages of streamlined conversation management, Apna swiftly included email in its omnichannel strategy.

Apna's new omnichannel approach not only improved its operations but also positioned it for future growth. With the ability to handle multiple communication channels in a centralized inbox, Apna is now set to more effectively manage a growing user base and meet increasing demands for its services, as well as scale its teams quickly.

Comprehensive Customer Profiles and Conversation Histories Provide Context at a Glance

Managing conversations on multiple platforms comes with a major challenge: Recruiter profiles and chat histories are siloed. This makes gaining context difficult. At the click of a button, Apna’s support team can now merge contact profiles and conversation histories across channels, creating a single customer story.

In addition, Apna has access to ample customer context in the respond.io Messages Module. When a recruiter contacts the company, support agents can see past interactions over different messaging channels in a single conversation thread.

With first-hand access to customer context like never before, Apna’s support team is not only able to resolve cases more quickly but is also able to give more informed and personalized assistance.

"Respond.io provided a scalable, flexible and reliable chat solution during our hyper-growth stage, allowing us to support thousands of recruiters daily. Its advanced technology facilitates stable and efficient conversations with our team, which enables recruiters to optimize their recruitment processes and inspires confidence in our platform." — Zoyeb Batliwala, Director of Employer Success at Apna.

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The Results

Apna's partnership with respond.io transformed its communication strategy with recruiters and yielded remarkable results. By integrating WhatsApp Business API, web chat and email into a unified omnichannel inbox, Apna significantly improved its customer experience.

The metrics speak volumes. Now equipped with context, Apna’s support team achieved an impressive first response time of under 5 minutes for 80% of its customers, demonstrating a commitment to swift and attentive customer service.

Resolution times under 30 minutes for 80% of customers highlight Apna's ability to efficiently address user inquiries and concerns.

Most notably, a customer satisfaction rate that exceeds 80% is a testament to Apna's successful adoption of respond.io's tools and its ability to meet and exceed customer expectations. This underscores the positive impact of streamlined communication for customer support in the field of talent recruitment.

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