A recent study shows that concern is growing about the role of artificial intelligence. In 2022, 38 percent of Americans surveyed expressed more concern than excitement about AI. In 2023, that number rose to 52 percent of participants surveyed.
These concerns indeed bleed into the workplace, and HR departments, in particular, are growing increasingly anxious. But why?
Humans are an organization’s most valuable asset. Thus, managing this asset is among the most vital roles of an organization. The cruciality of HR is coming to light more and more as time goes on, and the dedication to HR growth and innovation is ever-growing. As AI technology continues to improve, much of its utility has been geared toward HR– a thing that many may view as a potential threat to their livelihood.
But ultimately, are these innovations a positive or a negative thing?
Technology Is an HR Aid…Not a Human Replacement
Human resources is so named for a reason. The very function of human resources makes an AI takeover nearly impossible. HR must account for the range of human skill, emotion, and nuance, which is simply too advanced for machine learning to take on completely– and likely always will be.
It’s more realistic to think of AI in HR as a helpful aid to HR personnel. AI will always require management and oversight while people will make the ultimate moves and decisions. The technology will just better inform such moves and decisions while creating hiring, onboarding, and employee management efficiencies.
Here are some ways AI is currently aiding (and will continue to aid) HR departments around the globe.
1. The Obvious…Content Creation
One of the most helpful and trusted utilities of current machine learning technology is content creation, especially when touching on topics that require internet research and insights.
Let’s be real; AI can search through billions of online resources to gather the best possible information about a topic in the time it takes a human to click on the first link in response to their search query.
HR departments can have a heavy content load, tasked with creating resources for safety/health, workplace policy, training/development, recruitment, and more. Technologies like ChatGPT can act as a fantastic starting point for all things content and help human resource professionals save a considerable amount of time. Even simple tasks such as writing/reviewing job descriptions, creating email sequences for outreach, and summarizing LinkedIn profiles for recruitment can be made even easier with AI.
2. Employee Engagement (Particularly During Onboarding)
The power behind employee engagement is immense, helping organizations gather and utilize insights such as:
- Meaningful anonymous feedback from employees
- Morale indicators
- Position-specific employee experience markers/metrics
- Result comparisons across teams and departments
Employee engagement data has been shown to elevate workplace culture, boost retention, identify growth opportunities, streamline conflict resolution, and attract better talent. This can have a direct impact on a company’s bottom line.
There are many trusted employee engagement softwares with continually improving AI capabilities, including Leapsome and PerformYard.
3. Let’s Talk About AI Recruiting Tools
Finding potential candidates who are qualified and fit to fill your open seats is becoming easier. AI recruitment tools are offering HR professionals enhanced capabilities such as:
- Enhanced talent intelligence (locating potential hires across multiple online platforms)
- Skill assessments
- Resume parsing (included with most ATS)
- Automated candidate experience and streamlined interview processes
- Automation of administrative tasks
- Aid with recruitment marketing and company brand initiatives
Many of these valuable recruiting tools are becoming more available as ATS solutions grow their offerings or forge integrations with existing software. If you have questions about how to best leverage AI recruiting tools, a good place to start is with your ATS provider.
4. Metric Tracking and Performance Reviews
HR metrics are key data points that largely define the health of an organization’s workforce. Some of the most common and easily identified HR metrics include:
- Cost per hire
- Absenteeism
- Turnover rate
- Retention
However, there are lesser-tracked metrics that are becoming increasingly important. These include:
- Pay gap ratio
- Demographics of employees/diversity ratios
- Employee growth rate
- Revenue per employee
While these metrics are likely not tracked within one system alone, it is important to account for them all when possible. ATS, payroll, and employee engagement solutions will work in tandem to account for all these metrics and can help streamline and enhance your current processes through the use of AI.
5. Post-Hire Screening/Continuous Monitoring
Employment screening partners such as Peopletrail have been able to leverage AI and provide valuable post-hire and continuous monitoring solutions to organizations of all sizes. Such solutions include:
- Random/reasonable suspicion drug screening management
- Ongoing criminal history checks
- Ongoing social media checks
- Employment monitoring to prevent double-dipping
Thanks to AI, employers can now work with their screening providers and take advantage of these solutions to help ensure a safe and dependable workforce.
You can learn more about standard post-hire screening solutions here.
Conclusion
AI technology can make the life of an HR professional much easier. The first step is to embrace AI rather than fear it. Human resources will continue to be a human field as long as businesses exist. However, efficiency demands and expectations will continue to increase, and the aid of technology will become essential to meet them.
If your HR department isn’t currently leveraging AI technologies in your talent-seeking, onboarding, and employee management practices, now is a great time to start.
If you have questions about how to improve the efficiency of your screening processes, feel free to contact us.
