A virtual HR assistant transforming internal support.

A European public agency operating in the maritime safety and environmental protection sector supports Member States with technical expertise, operational coordination, and monitoring activities.

With a growing volume of internal policies, procedures, and technical documentation distributed across multiple repositories, employees faced increasing difficulty in quickly accessing reliable information. At the same time, internal support teams were managing a constant stream of recurring HR and administrative requests.

The organisation needed a scalable, always-available solution capable of centralising internal knowledge access while reducing operational workload without compromising accuracy or compliance.

The challenge of scaling internal knowledge and HR support

As the organisation expanded its activities, the volume of employee inquiries grew exponentially. Most requests were repetitive (clarifications on HR policies, legal frameworks, benefits, and internal procedures), yet each required human intervention. This model created structural inefficiencies including:

• Increasing workload for HR and support teams
• Longer response times
• Inconsistent answers across departments
• Limited availability outside business hours
• Knowledge fragmentation across SharePoint and internal repositories

The agency needed a new operating model that could ensure consistent, reliable, and immediate access to internal knowledge without proportionally increasing staffing costs.

Generative AI-powered virtual HR assistant

Traditional HR support relies entirely on human intervention to answer recurring questions and guide employees through internal processes(legal, HR, benefits-in-kind etc.). While effective, this model quickly reaches its limits as request volumes grow, leading to delays, inconsistent answers, and heavy dependence on team availability. 

To overcome these limitations, a generative AI chatbot was developed using Microsoft Copilot Studio, connected to the organisation’s knowledge base stored in SharePoint. This solution enables employees to directly access structured internal knowledge through a conversational interface, available at any time from Microsoft Teams. 

This system optimises the balance between responsiveness, knowledge accessibility, and operational efficiency. The new solution is able to: 

• Provide instant, 24/7 answers to recurring internal questions through a conversational interface embedded in Teams
• Leverage generative AI connected to SharePoint knowledge to deliver accurate, contextual, and up-to-date responses
• Allow users to switch topics naturally, escalate to human support when needed, and provide feedback to continuously improve answer quality

The solution acts as a single, intelligent entry point for internal support combining knowledge retrieval, conversational AI, and workflow assistance.

What to expect with a virtual HR assistant  

HR teams independently of the size of the department can now ‘hire’ and train virtual HR assistants to support them in their activities and answer in a fastest and more efficient way employees’ questions.  

Beyond internal support, this type of chatbot opens the door to many additional high-value use cases across the organisation. It can be extended to recruitment and sourcing activities to assist HR teams in identifying profiles, exploring talent pools, and preparing interviews. In a services company, it can also support internal resource management by providing easy access to available skills, tracking assignments, and optimizing staffing decisions, leveraging the company’s existing data and knowledge repositories. 

Want to create your own HR Assistant?

Empower your HR team with an AI-driven assistant that centralises knowledge, reduces operational workload, and enhances employee experience. Contact us to design and implement your tailored Virtual HR Assistant!