The lines separating human and machine work are rapidly eroding as the nature of work changes as a result of significant technological intrusion. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, robots, the internet of things, machine learning, etc. are revealing the two sides of this coin. On the one hand, there are predictions that massive automation will make human jobs obsolete. However, there is a focus on human professions that will be crucial in the future and require talents that are only human, like creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Here are some indicators of the expanding influence of AI:
- By 2030, it is anticipated that AI will contribute $13 trillion to global economic activity (Source: McKinsey).
- According to Richard Coombes, head of HR transformation practises, AI is projected to reduce behavioural and perceptual bias in human interactions.
- Deloitte research director Dan Schwabel claims that employees are now more hopeful as a result of using AI in the workplace.
AI in HR: The Advantages
Minimize Human Bias
AI eliminates the possibility for human perspectives to bias decision-making because it relies on data rather than human intuition and vision. In addition to preventing discrimination lawsuits, this can foster a more cohesive, open workplace.
Strengthen Connections with Current Employees
Through engagement surveys and other tools, different facets of AI can be used to identify the subtle individual traits of every employee in order to match their personalities and temperaments with particular tasks, departments, and co-workers.
Increase the effectiveness and clarity of the candidate assessment
Again, relying on its ability to recognise and interpret nuance, AI can transform straightforward resumes, cover letters, and conversations with prospects into insightful, powerful tools for quickly and efficiently determining whether a person is a good fit for a company.
Increase Decision-Making Using Predictive Data
The algorithms that give AI its insight and foresight enable it to evaluate data sets and build models that can be used to give decision-making a dependable, predictive quality where decisions that have an impact on the present and the future can be based on data from the past.
Make HR more of a resource
AI gives HR departments more time and freedom to focus on the human-based performance management duties that make them such an important part of any healthy business by reducing many of the resource-intensive tasks that have historically reduced an HR department’s overall attentiveness by reducing many of the resource-intensive tasks that have historically reduced an HR department’s overall attentiveness.
Develop into a Strategic and Tactical Asset
HR may become a potent source of useful knowledge for designing and implementing strategies that can boost operational efficiencies, all on the solid shoulders of data, by utilising the information obtained from people analytics.
Give HR more “people time”
Much like its ability to expand HR as a resource, AI may free up significant time for HR to devote to improving the employee experience in a hands-on manner that was previously not possible due to time limits and workloads.
Decision-Making Improvement and Results-Orientation
Again, using predictive analytics, AI may give management insight into employee satisfaction levels by projecting potential sources of turnover in the future. This will allow management to spot and address any individual, departmental, or systemic problems before they become costly and problematic.
Impact of AI in the HR sector
When examining several employee touch points, it becomes clear that we are in a new age of work where employees are tech-savvy and eager for a digital-first experience. Here, AI has incredible potential to make a difference:
Employee Engagement: Genuine feedback combines both quantitative and qualitative elements. By categorising comments into positive, neutral, and negative sentiment buckets, AI-based text analysis systems can assist in understanding the attitudes of an entire organisation. This speeds up the process of turning input into action and aids management in getting a good pulse on their company. Employee engagement, for instance, can be changed from a static, irregular picture of employee opinion into a crucial, ongoing examination of the social environment that underpins the entire firm. AI-assisted communication monitoring can be used to gauge employee happiness by quantifying the underlying emotions in natural language, as opposed to merely the message itself.
Recruiting and Onboarding: A powerful employer brand may be created by combining AI with human expertise to improve the candidate experience. To handle volume-intensive recruiter tasks like CV screening, interview scheduling, and open communication with candidates, AI-led intelligent applicant tracking systems are essential. According to studies, talent acquisition is an area where businesses enjoy notable, quantifiable, and quick improvements in time-to-hire, productivity for recruiters, and provision of a better, more seamless, easy, and intuitive applicant experience. An addition to this is onboarding technology. One of the most time-consuming HR activities may be made into a quicker, more accurate process with AI solutions, increasing employee loyalty.
Performance Management: The performance management process must be structured to be objective and in line with corporate objectives, from goal setting and management to staff appraisals to performance assessments. AI-driven PMS must be created by HR with participation from all stakeholders in mind. People can be prepared for great performance, for instance, by using continuous feedback mechanisms and 360-degree feedback loops with the appropriate notifications and intelligently linked with manager outcomes.
Total Rewards: Employees today expect choice in all facets of their work and personal lives. This implies that individuals must also be able to choose and choose from a ready-made “basket of advantages” the benefits that are most appropriate for them. An AI-based digital rewards network with individual sign-ons for employees can recommend appropriate perks to workers based on variables like life stage, prior behaviours, lifestyle choices, etc. The choice is up to the employee.
HR Ops: AI-driven technologies are the greatest way to support many administrative HR functions like managing payroll and benefits, time and expense reports, invoices, tracking business commutes, customising workflows, configuring policies, etc. The goal is to automate routine processes so that human workers can concentrate on work that adds value.
Learning and Development: As AI replaces complex tasks, knowledge of human behaviour will become a crucial source of data for AI systems. In the future, people will be in need of unique skills. For instance, a new role, such as t o enhance the employee experience, cross-company collaboration, productivity, and employee well-being, the Head of Business Behaviour will analyse employee behavioural data such as performance, personal, and environmental data. The Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer might concentrate on creating plans for using technology in an ethical and humane manner. HR executives need to start considering what new positions will be needed as well as how to develop new skills through an L&D plan that is focused on the future.
Many employee touchpoints are moving toward high technology, but HR must keep in mind that high touch shouldn’t be completely eliminated.
Final Thought
AI might significantly advance HR departments across all organisations. It is necessary for people to be prepared to work together with processes and technology. Organizations need to investigate this in addition to retraining and upskilling the staff for a digital-first ecosystem. In addition to enabling workers to thrive in a dynamic environment, this will normalize accepting AI as a basic component of HR.
The following article is attributed to Ms. Amandeep Kaur, Founder & CEO, Phoenix TalentX Branding
