HR Tech Number of the Day: AI in HR

As the world of talent management continues to evolve quickly given the accelerations caused by the pandemic and development of new working environments, HR leaders are increasingly leaning on technology to help their companies rightside their talent processes.

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Specifically, according to a new study by Eightfold AI, HR is nearly universally embracing the potential of artificial intelligence for the future of talent management. A survey of nearly 225 professionals, largely manager-level and above who primarily work in HR at large U.S. companies, found that nearly 82% of respondents said their HR teams will adopt more AI tools into their talent management processes in the next five years.

What it means to HR leaders

The transformations fueled by the pandemic–the widening of talent gaps, the changing nature of work itself–are necessitating a rapid reliance on technologies like AI, says Ligia Zamora, chief marketing officer at Eightfold AI.

“HR leaders are responding to today’s challenges by embracing technology, specifically AI, and bringing initiatives that were planned for the next several years into their current scope,” she says.

Nearly 60% of survey participants said their organizations are currently using AI for talent management, including to evaluate and match candidates to roles, personalize the candidate and employee experience, answer questions through chatbots, offer upskilling and reskilling, and map career paths.

See also: Why building employee trust is the next frontier for AI in HR

Hiring the right talent, providing a seamless candidate experience and improving technology integration are among the top-cited pain points respondents said they’re now facing, and areas where AI is primed to be influential. And looking to the next five years, participants plan to tap into AI most often to address turnover and retention and enhance talent acquisition on the hiring front, and will use it for upskilling/reskilling and to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within the talent management arena.

The key insight from the study, Zamora notes, is not necessarily what HR is using or plans to use AI for, but rather how prevalent it will be as a strategic tool for HR in the coming years.

“Forward-thinking HR leaders are not only ready to embrace AI,” she says, “but in many ways, they already have, and will continue to do so.”


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Jen Colletta
Jen Colletta is managing editor at HRE. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in writing from La Salle University in Philadelphia and spent 10 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before joining HRE. She can be reached at [email protected].