Foreseen Challenges and Growing Opportunities
Written by HRCap, Inc.
April 13, 2023
With recent technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has garnered much interest from students, attention from employees, and investment from global organizations.
AI has posed issues such as data privacy, security, misinformation, and legal and ethical concerns. As a result, many companies, such as Amazon and Walmart, have warned employees from inputting company-sensitive information into ChatGPT, while others have completely prohibited employees from using it.
Many workers are also concerned about what this may mean for their jobs, as AI can potentially replace certain positions. Generative AI can expose 300 million jobs to automation leading to partial automation of specific jobs or, in other cases, removing the need for the human workforce. Recently, among the staggering tech layoffs, Buzzfeed replaced 12% of its workforce with AI.
Though AI presents certain drawbacks, with the proper implementation of guidelines and policies, AI can benefit both employees and organizations that adopt the technology. 94% of business leaders are saying AI is critical to success in the next five years while 88% of global companies have already implemented AI in some way for HR. Organizations can save up to 60% on operational costs with AI-powered systems like ChatGPT and see a potential 37% increase in labor productivity by 2025.
Innovative Ways HR Uses AI
HR leaders and recruiters can leverage AI to optimize the HR function with operational efficiency and employee productivity:
1. Accelerating Recruitment
Recruiters can use AI to streamline the whole hiring process. AI can source and attract potential candidates and effectively screen best-fit resumes among a countless number of application submissions. AI can also step into interviewing candidates, standardizing the process, and removing human bias. Onboarding can be much more cost-effective and time-sensitive with AI as well.
PepsiCo has used Robot Vera, which is an AI-based software technology that is designed to provide an end-to-end solution for recruiting. It is a robot recruiter that can research, source, assess, screen, interview, schedule, and onboard candidates. It can interview 1,500 candidates in nine hours, which would take humans about nine weeks.
2. Improving Performance Management
HR leaders can implement AI to evaluate employee performance and provide constructive suggestions for improvement based on key performance indicators and objective business standards. Based on the AI’s evaluation, employers can apply workforce strategies based on the assessments for promotions and raises accordingly.
Johnson & Johnson uses an AI model to assess employees’ skill sets and uncovers development opportunities. This also gives the company an understanding of what skills they can hire for in the future.
3. Increasing Employee Engagement and Retention
Employers can also utilize AI to predict which employees are most likely to leave and suggest actions for managers on how to engage them to increase retention.
IBM uses an in-house AI called “IBM Watson” to predict employee flight risk and provide feedback on engaging employees to reduce turnover. According to IBM, it has a 95% accuracy “range” and has saved them $300 million in retention costs.
4. Personalizing Training and Development
HR leaders can leverage AI to assess essential skill gaps and then recommend critical skills employees must develop for business growth. Furthermore, employers can use AI to design training programs and develop a career advancement system promoting greater job mobility.
Newell uses Phenom Talent Marketplace, an internal talent system powered by AI, to support internal mobility and learning and development. It provides personalized job search, AI-driven skills matching, and enhanced referrals. As a result, Newell increased their internal applicants by 129% and decreased the time to fill from 45 days to 5 days.
Conclusion
It is evident that certain jobs may become substituted with AI with more companies implementing AI into HR Functions. The World Economic Forum estimates 85 million jobs will be displaced due to AI, but as many as 97 million new jobs across 26 countries will still be created by 2025. This signals the importance of reskilling and upskilling to stay relevant and competitive.
By adapting and developing as quickly as technology advances, we can build an understanding and the muscles to work and leverage these tools. More importantly, AI can never replace the human elements (empathy, understanding, and compassion) that ultimately connect us and motivate us to grow for the sake of others. Therefore, rather than fearing the future, we should learn how to utilize Artificial Intelligence and further develop our Emotional Intelligence.
Sources: Deloitte, SHRM, Goldman Sachs, ITP.net, World Economic Forum, CNBC, The Enterprisers Project, Forbes, Accenture, CyberWire
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