AI Features Overview

Sparko is built with artificial intelligence at its core, providing intelligent automation and insights across all HR functions.

AI Philosophy

Unlike traditional HR software where AI is an add-on, Sparko was designed from the ground up to leverage AI. Our AI acts as three specialized advisors:

HR Business Partner - Policy expert and employee advocate
Career Advisor - Growth-focused development guide
Compensation & Benefits Advisor - Total rewards expert

AI Capabilities by Module

People & Organization

Feature	Description
Profile Verification	AI validates employee data completeness and accuracy
Org Insights	Identify reporting structure issues and span of control
Career Path Recommendations	Personalized career progression suggestions
Skill Gap Analysis	Identify skills needed for target roles

Recruiting

Feature	Description
Job Description Generator	Create compelling job postings from requirements
Resume Parsing	Extract structured data from resumes
Candidate Screening	Automatically prioritize candidates
Interview Synthesis	Summarize interview feedback
Offer Prediction	Predict offer acceptance probability

Performance

Feature	Description
OKR Suggestions	Generate relevant objectives and key results
OKR Cascade	Automatically cascade company OKRs to teams
Review Generation	Draft performance reviews from data
Feedback Quality Scoring	Ensure feedback is constructive
1-on-1 Agenda Generator	Create meeting agendas based on context

Compensation

Feature	Description
Salary Recommendations	Market-based salary suggestions
Pay Equity Analysis	Identify compensation disparities
Merit Increase Recommendations	Performance-based increase suggestions

Career

Feature	Description
Development Plan Generator	Phased growth plans built from skill gaps
Mentor Matching	Suggests mentors by skill and focus area
Skill Development Priorities	Prioritize what to learn next

Time & Leave

Feature	Description
Conflict Detection	Identify scheduling conflicts
Coverage Analysis	Ensure team coverage during absences

AI Assistant

The AI Assistant is your always-available helper accessible from any screen.

🤖 Sparko AI Assistant Your HR Business Partner 🤖

Hi Sarah! How can I help you today? I can assist with:

Time off requests
Career development
Policy questions
And much more!

<!-- User Message -->
<div style="display: flex; gap: 10px; margin-bottom: 15px; justify-content: flex-end;">
  <div style="background: #4f46e5; color: white; padding: 12px 15px; border-radius: 12px 12px 0 12px; max-width: 280px;">
    <p style="margin: 0; font-size: 14px;">How much PTO do I have left?</p>
  </div>
</div>

<!-- AI Response -->
<div style="display: flex; gap: 10px;">
  <div style="width: 32px; height: 32px; background: #4f46e5; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; flex-shrink: 0;">
    <span style="font-size: 14px;">🤖</span>
  </div>
  <div style="background: white; padding: 12px 15px; border-radius: 0 12px 12px 12px; box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.1); max-width: 280px;">
    <p style="margin: 0; font-size: 14px; color: #374151;">You have <strong>12 days</strong> of PTO remaining this year.</p>
    <div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 10px; background: #f0fdf4; border-radius: 6px; font-size: 12px; color: #166534;">
      📊 Used: 8 days<br>
      📅 Pending: 0 days<br>
      ✨ Available: 12 days
    </div>
    <button style="margin-top: 10px; background: #4f46e5; color: white; border: none; padding: 8px 12px; border-radius: 6px; font-size: 12px; cursor: pointer; width: 100%;">Request Time Off</button>
  </div>
</div>

➤

What You Can Ask

Time & Leave:

"How much PTO do I have?"
"Request time off for next Friday"
"Who's out of office this week?"

Career:

"What skills should I develop?"
"What career paths are available to me?"
"Help me create a development plan"

Performance:

"Help me write an OKR"
"Prepare me for my 1-on-1"
"Show my performance history"

HR Policies:

"What's our remote work policy?"
"How do I request time off?"
"When is the next company holiday?"

People:

"Who is my skip-level manager?"
"How many people are in Engineering?"
"Find me Sarah from Product"

Agentic AI: Actions With Your Approval

Sparko's AI is agentic: it doesn't just recommend actions, it executes them for you (with your approval).

How Agentic AI Works

Example: Creating a Career Development Plan

1 You ask: "Help me become a Senior Engineer"

<!-- Step 2 -->
<div style="display: flex; gap: 15px; align-items: flex-start;">
  <div style="width: 30px; height: 30px; background: #10b981; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; color: white; font-weight: bold; flex-shrink: 0;">2</div>
  <div style="flex: 1; background: white; padding: 15px; border-radius: 8px; border: 1px solid #e5e7eb;">
    <div style="font-weight: 500; color: #374151;">AI analyzes your profile:</div>
    <ul style="font-size: 14px; color: #6b7280; margin: 5px 0 0 0; padding-left: 20px;">
      <li>Reviews your current skills</li>
      <li>Identifies skill gaps</li>
      <li>Maps your skill gaps</li>
      <li>Searches for mentors</li>
    </ul>
  </div>
</div>

<!-- Step 3 -->
<div style="display: flex; gap: 15px; align-items: flex-start;">
  <div style="width: 30px; height: 30px; background: #f59e0b; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; color: white; font-weight: bold; flex-shrink: 0;">3</div>
  <div style="flex: 1; background: white; padding: 15px; border-radius: 8px; border: 1px solid #e5e7eb;">
    <div style="font-weight: 500; color: #374151;">AI proposes actions:</div>
    <div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 10px; background: #fffbeb; border-radius: 6px; border: 1px solid #fcd34d;">
      <div style="font-size: 13px; color: #92400e;">
        ☐ Create career goal: "Reach Senior Engineer"<br>
        ☐ Request feedback from your team<br>
        ☐ Connect with mentor: James Wilson<br>
        ☐ Add 6 development milestones
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

<!-- Step 4 -->
<div style="display: flex; gap: 15px; align-items: flex-start;">
  <div style="width: 30px; height: 30px; background: #6366f1; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; color: white; font-weight: bold; flex-shrink: 0;">4</div>
  <div style="flex: 1; background: white; padding: 15px; border-radius: 8px; border: 1px solid #e5e7eb;">
    <div style="font-weight: 500; color: #374151;">You approve, AI executes:</div>
    <div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 10px; background: #f0fdf4; border-radius: 6px; border: 1px solid #86efac;">
      <div style="font-size: 13px; color: #166534;">
        ✓ Career goal created<br>
        ✓ Feedback requests sent<br>
        ✓ Mentor request sent<br>
        ✓ Development plan ready!
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Agentic AI Features

Feature	Status
Career goal creation	Available (AI-enabled plans)
Development plan generation	Available (AI-enabled plans)
Mentorship match requests	Available (AI-enabled plans)
OKR creation	Available (AI-enabled plans)
Time-off requests	Available (AI-enabled plans)
Performance review drafting & approval	Available (AI-enabled plans)
Job posting creation & routing	Available (AI-enabled plans)

AI Trust & Safety

Human-in-the-Loop

All significant AI actions require your approval:

You review proposed actions before execution
You can modify or reject any action
Audit trail of all AI-assisted actions

Data Privacy

AI only accesses data you're authorized to see
Conversations are encrypted
No personal data used to train external models
GDPR compliant

Transparency

AI explains its reasoning
You can see what data informed recommendations
Clear labeling of AI-generated content

Getting Started with AI

Enable AI Assistant

The AI Assistant is enabled by default. Access it:

Click the AI button (bottom right of any page)
Press Ctrl/Cmd + /
Ask questions naturally

Tips for Better Results

Be specific: "Help me create an OKR for improving code quality" vs "Help with OKRs"
Provide context: "I'm preparing for my review next week..."
Ask follow-ups: "Tell me more about the first recommendation"
Try natural language: Talk like you would to a helpful colleague

AI Limitations

The AI assistant:

Cannot access external websites or systems
Cannot make changes without your approval
May occasionally make mistakes - always verify important information
Works best with clear, specific questions

AI Usage Visibility

Known limitation: there's currently no way for admins to see AI spend or token usage from within the product — the monitoring dashboard exists on the backend but isn't wired into any page yet.