Technology helps us speed up and optimize workflows, but sometimes automation can lead not just to automatic success, but also automatic failure… 😬
Our company decided to implement an automated recruitment system to simplify and streamline the entire hiring process.
The system was brand new—only a month had passed since its launch—and any innovation inevitably comes with minor challenges, eventually turning into valuable lessons (and occasionally funny stories).
📌 What Happened:
Our HR team was busy recruiting for an important position. Candidates who weren't shortlisted were supposed to receive personalized automated rejection letters with correct names and details.
However, due to a minor technical error and lack of familiarity with the new automation system, something unexpected happened…
Imagine this: all candidates received the same rejection letter addressed to Narine Kochinyan, something along these lines: 😳
📩 "Dear Narine Kochinyan,
Thank you for your interest and desire to join our team. Unfortunately, we have decided to proceed with another candidate…"
Can you imagine the look on the faces of those candidates?
At the end of the letter:
📌 Best regards,
HR Specialist
Narine Kochinyan
📌 How We Fixed It:
✔ Immediate action – Our HR team promptly contacted all affected candidates, personally apologized over the phone, and clearly explained the situation.
✔ Managing consequences – We sincerely clarified that it was an accidental technical mistake and assured everyone it didn't affect the overall recruitment process.
✔ Preventing repeat mistakes – We learned from this incident and introduced a double-check procedure: every automated email is now first sent as a test to our team to ensure correctness and avoid such errors in the future.
📌 Lessons Learned:
🔹 Technology is wonderful but must be monitored.
🔹 Automated HR processes should never be left completely unchecked.
🔹 Apologizing is always better than ignoring mistakes.
Ultimately, this reminded us once again that HR isn't just about numbers and processes—it's about people and personal connections.