When we think about how artificial intelligence has begun to impact the workplace, we often think about automation in areas like manufacturing, data tabulation or content creation. However, one area where AI is having a significant impact is Human Resources.
The integration of AI into HR departments is already changing how many organizations function.
From the implementation of more efficient data-driven decision making to streamlining the candidate vetting process to the creation of personalized training assessment for individual employees, AI is changing the field.
As of December, 2024, 92% of companies plan to increase AI investments in HR.
It should be noted that Human Resources is something that requires a fundamentally human touch. Recruitment and retainment of talent is not a process any company can completely outsource to machines. But human resource management, like so many aspects of corporate management, contains a heavy amount of routine manual work that occupies an unnecessary amount of HR professionals' time and energy.
Time and energy that could be better spent on more creative initiatives at the workplace such as Training & Development, Change Management and Employee Engagement, to name a few.
We don’t know the ways in which AI will revolutionize the field of HR in the future, but for now, here are three ways it’s changing the field for the better.
Automating Repetitive Admin Tasks
Of all the jobs one may be concerned Ai might take, repetitive admin tasks are not among them. HR teams can be overwhelmed by tedious manual admin tasks on a daily basis. These include:
Recruitment and Candidate Screening - This may involve sifting through hundreds of resumes. Analyzing qualifications, relevant experience and keywords one by one. The sheer volume of candidates to go through in order to create a viable shortlist can often burnout HR staff. With the right prompts, AI can filter candidates based on key criteria, generate detailed job descriptions and schedule interviews with the right candidates accordingly.
Payroll Processing: Payroll demands meticulous attention to detail. Wages, taxes, deductions and benefits all need to be tabulated within strict deadlines. The smallest error could spell disaster. Making multiple (agonizing) rounds of re-checking necessary. With AI, human error can be removed from the equation and all calculations made with precision.
Data Integration and Reporting: A spreadsheet-heavy process that requires the integration of data from multiple systems in order to generate several reports. The data extraction, cleaning and combination process was something that required a highly-skilled team long hours to complete.AI automation can streamline the entire process from consolidation of data to report generation.
In just these three crucial administrative tasks, the effective use of AI can significantly lighten employee workload, cut costs and reduce the risk of human error.
Employee Engagement and Retention
One of HR’s main directives is to ensure all employees are engaged and performing at their best.
Before AI, this would’ve entailed holding periodic surveys with the results only collected and analyzed annually or semi-annually. The problem was always that whatever insights could be gleaned wasn’t a real-time representation of employee sentiment, which ultimately meant the collected information wasn’t entirely actionable.
Performance reviews face the same problem. A review process conducted quarterly or sometimes annually and which relies on the subjective assessments of individual managers. Surveys have also found that performance reviews tend to be subject to the unconscious bias of their managers, which leaves employees feeling dissatisfied with how their contributions are unfairly overlooked.
With AI, HR teams can collect and analyze the results of employee surveys in real time. Allowing them to track individual performance continuously and providing managers with more comprehensive and actionable feedback.
Data-driven insights with AI could also reduce bias during performance reviews. Biased decision making tends to produce biased outcomes that leave a recognizable pattern. AI can flag those that rely on subjective interpretation instead of complying with tangible metrics such as productivity rates, project outcomes and peer feedback.
AI would also enable HR teams to analyze data from employee communications such as emails, chats and reviews to assess popular sentiment in the workforce more efficiently. Communications data from an entire company could be compiled, analyzed and inform a wider HR strategy in real time. Enabling HR to proactively fix problems such as:
One of the best features an AI-powered HR department could have is the ability to offer personalized solutions to keep employees happy and productive. If a team member is having a skill gap issue, a problem collaborating with their current team members or feels that they could be performing better in a different environment, AI could assess the root of the problem and present an array of options to resolve the situation.
Customized Training & Development
An organization is only as competitive as the quality of its workforce. And training that workforce is one of the most important tasks Human Resources is responsible for.
Before AI, a lot of company training content was pretty uniform. A standardized one-size-fits-all program that didn't have the time nor resources to explore the nuance of an employee's training needs. That’s all changing now.
According to HR Dive, a whopping 91% of employees want training that is personalized and relevant to themselves. With AI-integrated systems, HR departments can conduct a more customized training needs analysis for each employee that takes into account the specific training content and learning methodology most beneficial to them.
It’s not just about picking the right training program, the personalization of the learning journey for many employees also helps to align their goals and values with the company’s. Strengthening loyalty by making them feel like they have a strong stake in growing their career where they are.
AI is revolutionizing the field of Human Resources in ways we don’t even know about yet, but will certainly soon enough. As a department responsible for the recruitment, development and maintenance of talent in every organization, it’s essential that HR teams adapt and embrace the benefits that AI systems can offer.
As with the adaptation of any new technology, there are worries that AI could replace HR professionals.
We should keep in mind that at the end of the day, AI cannot exist for anyone’s benefit in a vacuum. Emotional intelligence, relationship management and empathy - all things crucial for human resources - are not something AI is capable of. Regardless of its advanced features, artificial intelligence cannot replace these things.
It can only serve to streamline and enhance procedures and decision-making around them.
AI is not here to replace HR, but to empower it. The future belongs to HR teams who can combine the analytical power of AI with the emotional intelligence only humans possess.
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