It seems like all we’re hearing about in the work environment today is artificial intelligence. Even in HR, the most human-centric department, AI is growing in influence. However, despite what that may sound like, the future of AI in HR isn’t a bad thing in and of itself.
AI use in HR can cut down on monotonous tasks, streamline inefficiencies, and give you more time to nourish the human elements of your job.
In this post, learn how AI can be used in HR to streamline your workload without losing the human element that’s so important to human resources.
What Are the Capabilities of AI?
People are making a big deal about AI, and, in truth, artificial intelligence truly can transform the workplace in some impactful ways. You may even be using AI tools without realizing it, such as:
- Predictive analytics
- Personalized marketing
- Facial recognition
- Helpdesk chatbots
- Robotic process automation
And, of course, generative AI and chatbots, such as ChatGPT, that have been making waves in the world.
These tools can do everything from handling repetitive tasks to empowering brainstorming sessions to narrowing a marketing focus. But how can they help with HR?
Core AI Applications in HR
Here are a few ways that AI can make HR tasks easier and more effective.
1. Talent Acquisition
AI powers resume screening tools that can help HR teams quickly identify the best candidates for any job. AI tools can also help schedule interviews, send out emails to candidates, and keep everyone on schedule throughout the recruitment process. No more ghosting candidates due to human error or missing out on potential candidates.
This means that the HR team can focus on creating the best interview experience possible. By automating the time-consuming processes, you can really invest in the human element of recruiting.
2. Onboarding
AI has the power to create personalized onboarding schedules for new hires based on their new roles, existing skills, and interests. It can also send welcome emails, schedule training sessions, and ensure each new hire fills out any necessary forms.
Your team can then focus on welcoming new hires with open arms. With the logistics out of the way, you can plan a welcome party, create a personalized gift basket, or collaborate with the new hire’s manager and team to ensure their first days and weeks are memorable.
3. Employee Engagement
The simplest form of this AI use is automating the creation and analysis of an engagement survey. AI can identify trends and help you gauge the engagement and morale of your workforce.
Instead of trying to gather and parse a bunch of data, AI allows you to easily obtain organized data on employee engagement so that your team can focus on coming up with solutions to solve problem areas.
4. Professional Development
AI can be used to analyze each employees’ skills, interests, and ambitions. Then, it can recommend effective opportunities for employees to learn new skills and grow in their roles through workshops, training, or online courses. AI can also analyze employee performance in these courses and help them improve their performance.
Considering career growth is the #1 reason employees switch jobs, AI can make it easy for you to offer this benefit. Instead of you having to create customized development plans for each employee, you can hand it over to AI.
5. Performance Reviews
AI can measure and track employee performance across all departments. This not only helps managers see exactly where employees need to improve, it also helps them see which employees are excelling, which will help them recognize those employees.
AI’s comprehensive analysis ensures that performance reviews are objective and fair, giving managers and HR the information they need to help those who are struggling and celebrate those who are going above and beyond.
6. Benefits Management
Open enrollment. Did you just shiver in terror? For many HR teams, dealing with benefits can be a big time sink, but AI can automate benefits management, including enrollment, reminders, claims processing, and analysis of which benefits are being used and which aren’t.
This allows HR teams to focus on improving the work culture and benefits without worrying about the logistics as much.
Top AI Tools for HR
Want a list of all of the potential AI tools that can give you all of the benefits listed above? Check out Lattice’s list of tools. Here are a few highlights:
- ModernLoop is a platform that automates scheduling, interview training, and recruiting analytics
- Praisidio helps you get instant insights into your people data
- Personio offers automated solutions for employee records, benefits, and payroll
- Clockwise analyzes calendars and schedules, maximizing employees’ focus time and meetings
- ChatGPT helps HR teams do everything from writing a job listing to answering employee inquiries
- 360Learning is an AI platform that includes interactive courses, peer learning, and real-time analytics
How to Implement AI in HR: A Step-By-Step Guide
Here are steps you can follow if you want to implement AI tools for HR:
- Identify your needs. Where are you spending a lot of time? Are certain processes inefficient? Find out where AI can add value to your team.
- Choose the right tool. AI is the flavor of the month, so you’ll probably find dozens of tools that can help. Do enough research to get a good idea of which tools offer the specific capabilities you need.
- Implement the tool. Ensure everyone on your team is trained on how to effectively use the new AI tool and understands the purpose of it.
- Train anyone who will use it. For AI tools that handle training and development, benefits, or any other employee-facing process, make sure everyone understands how to use it.
Benefits and Challenges of AI in HR
As listed above, the benefits of AI in HR include greater efficiency and productivity, more structured processes, reduced time spent and costs for many HR processes, less repetition for HR teams, and more data and analytics for decision-making.
HR teams will have more bandwidth and time to focus on the things that only humans can do, such as connecting with employees, planning events, and building the culture of your business.
Potential challenges include giving AI too much responsibility, experimenting with AI too much, and ignoring its limitations. AI is a tool, nothing more, and while it can automate certain repetitive work and provide accurate data, it can’t replace the humans on your team.
Embracing AI for Future-Proof HR
Proactively adopting AI tools can make your HR team that much more efficient and effective. Artificial Intelligence, when used correctly, won’t eliminate the human element of HR—instead, it will simply save you time and effort so that you can focus on what’s most important: the people of your business.
Learn more about how Awardco utilizes automation and AI to make employee recognition, rewards, and incentives easier than ever by scheduling a demo today.
An avid lover of fantasy books, a proud Hufflepuff, and a strong proponent of escapism, Jeff has a love of good storytelling. He relies on that for both his professional work and his writing hobby (don’t ask about the 10+ novel ideas collecting virtual dust on his computer).
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