Our firm is often asked to consult with HR professionals regarding their need to cultivate new skills and understand the implications of using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Technical understanding of AI tools, data literacy, ethics, change management, and human-centered design thinking are key skills that we believe HR leaders need to develop.
In the landscape of today’s modern business, AI has become an essential part of business strategy and operations. Among the various departments that have been affected, HR stands out as an area experiencing substantial transformation due to the massive potential of AI.
The function of HR is undergoing fundamental shifts. The integration of AI in HR is a revolutionary change that’s redefining the way HR leaders and their teams operate. While HR has traditionally been viewed as a people-centric, intuition-based field, the advent of AI is supplementing this perspective even further with data-driven decision-making abilities.
The primary driving factor behind the rising integration of AI in HR is the evolution of AI technology itself. Over the past decade, AI has significantly matured, with improved abilities to analyze, learn, and even mimic human-like conversation and behavior. And with large language models, such as ChatGPT blasting onto the scene in a matter of months, today’s AI is more efficient, accurate, and versatile than ever before. Consequently, HR professionals now have powerful tools at their disposal that can automate repetitive tasks, predict future trends, and enhance the overall employee experience.
From talent acquisition and onboarding to employee engagement, performance management, and offboarding, there is hardly an HR process that AI cannot optimize. It can scan resumes more accurately than humans, saving time in recruitment. It can provide real-time feedback to team members and team leaders, enhancing performance management. It can even predict an employee’s likelihood to leave the organization, helping with retention.
To leverage AI effectively, HR professionals must acquire a new set of skills. These skills will not only help them use AI tools proficiently but also understand the implications of AI in the workplace, ensuring ethical, fair, and transparent use of the technology.
In the next three years, these AI skills will be indispensable for HR professionals. As AI becomes more entrenched in HR, professionals who can skillfully navigate this new landscape will be invaluable to their organizations. They will be the ones to bridge the gap between technological innovation and human needs, ushering in a new era of HR that is more efficient, objective, and impactful.
