Everywhere we look, AI is in the news. Like every other business function, AI will be transforming the workplace and HR.
Though there may be some hesitation to use AI, many of the applications that are in or about to be in the HR world can streamline work, give HR professionals more targeted information for better decision-making, and even reduce biases. Like any type of technology, there are limitations and potential vulnerabilities, but AI also provides the promise of making HR and our work cultures better for everyone.
Some companies are already using some form of AI for records management, benefits administration, payroll processing, and recruitment and hiring. Multiple surveys show that most HR leaders expect to increase their AI usage in the next 12 to 18 months.
One growing area is stack ranking. Stack ranking uses a statistical approach to comparing employees’ performance. After doing the analysis, the software recommends specific training to help improve performance for employees. It also shares information with managers to do specific types of interventions or even make recommendations about who to lay off.
There have been questions about biases in this type of software. The best practice is that companies should audit this type of software to make sure that recommendations meet with the company’s commitment to equitable treatment for everyone in the workforce.
Recruiting and hiring is another area of HR where AI is playing a bigger part. The best AI in this area of HR reduces the time spent on recruitment. It allows for creating specific sequences of messages for each candidate and improving the response rate. It also provides an easier way to track engagement and response rates. Over time, AI makes it faster to identify what is working and where there are gaps that need to be addressed for better recruiting and hiring. We will also be seeing more ChatGPT and generative AI to drive recruitment chatbots.
Some of the more administrative onboarding functions will also be automated by AI. There are three main areas where this can save time:
- Verifying employee documents
- Providing access to company hardware and software
- Providing introduction training
Though this may feel like less interaction with a new employee, it can mean that HR can better personalize the onboarding process, including specific skills and learning preferences so that training is more customized for each new hire.
AI can also help a company provide more customized training programs for their workforce. That can result in training that creates unique learning goals based on an employee’s career goals, performance, and what is most engaging for a specific employee.
There is also a trend towards using AI to provide a safer workplace and improve employee well-being.
Data and AI are being used at some organizations to better understand behavioral patterns and levels of stress to improve productivity.
“HR teams now have huge opportunities and big challenges that go with all that potential. Data and AI have the potential to redefine operations, and technology offers a wide range of possibilities for efficiency and enhancement — but HR technology shouldn't be implemented merely for its own sake.” Forbes, November, 2023
Like any new technology, the AI that HR decides to implement should be aligned with the company’s goals to improve processes. That should always be balanced with a focus on human interaction. AI is most beneficial to HR and the company when there is an understanding of where AI streamlines HR tasks and provides data and where there needs to be human interaction.