9 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Reinventing Human Resources
Artificial Intelligence(AI) has grown exponentially over the last decade. It has revolutionized the way business is conducted. Recently, there has been a surge in innovation, which has seen the development of software and computer programs that can ‘think.’ Such software and computer programs can interact with their environment and react accordingly.
These smart utilities can perform complex tasks like learning, speech recognition, reasoning, sensory perception, problem-solving, among others. This evolution in Artificial Intelligence is greatly transforming human resources games. Although human resources are considered reactionary rather than strategic, the importance of Artificial Intelligence in HR is so immense and cannot be ignored.
Also Read: Contextual Chatbot Powered By Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Its Use Cases
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence is the capability of machines to perform cognitive tasks that usually require human intelligence. Such cognitive tasks include learning, decision making, learning, visual perception, speech recognition, among others. Simply put, Artificial Intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by machines. Artificially intelligent machines enable machines to mimic cognitive processes, including the ability to learn on their own and human thinking aspects.
Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in HR
Artificial Intelligence is expanding finding its way to various industries by simplifying laborious tasks for accuracy and better results. Companies are investing in Artificial Intelligence in HR, and there are numerous reasons why AI should be used in HR. The more clear benefits include increased revenue generation, better efficiency and accuracy, and significant time-saving. Other benefits include increased creativity and reduced stress for human resource professionals.
In this era of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence is increasingly becoming important. The increases in the amount of data in human resources imply more time spent is in data analysis. Fortunately, advancement in AI has seen the development of software that can recognize patterns in data and perform data-intensive tasks. Today computers can be used to pinpoint important information, identify mistakes, and inconsistencies faster and accurately than human resource professionals.
Revenue generation is one of the main priorities for any business. Businesses that invest Artificial Intelligence and collaboration between employees and machines generate more revenue. With AI, processes would otherwise take ‘forever’ to complete manually are completed within minutes. In a fraction of time, an artificially intelligent system can analyze a large amount of data that would take a human resource professional days or even weeks to complete. An AI system can also analyze contracts and other documents for inconsistent information, errors, and missing information. Consequently, time saved translates to an increased profit margin. By automating several processes, Artificial Intelligent is giving human resource staff more time to focus on other to deal with more complex tasks that require considerable human interaction such as creating a more engaged workplace and career development.
9 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Reinventing Human Resources
To AI or not to AI’ is no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’ Artificial Intelligence is helping human resources automate and streamline some parts of the workflow. Below are nine ways Artificial Intelligence is helping business:
Candidates Sourcing
Platforms that use AI to get the best available talent in the market for various companies are dominating this field of human resource. Recruitment officers need to analyze huge amounts of data to identify the best recruit consistently – there is need to find weak points in the organization that would benefit from the new workforce and then matches the right talent with the right position in the right organization. Data analysis compounded by candidate sourcing can be a very laborious task. This may include combining through hiring websites, in-house and external databases, and linked profiles in an effort to source candidates in a literal sea of data from several sources. In short, hiring can be a tediously long process, and this is where AI has come in.
AI has seen the development of smart recruitment processes meaning HR teams no longer requires to depend on manual talent sourcing. Example of AI-backed candidate sourcing platforms includes Arya, Engage Talent, and Entelo. Such smart recruitment platforms can:
- Source for talents form internal and external databases
- Predict whether a candidate will accept a job offer
- Find the qualified candidates
- Pick candidates that are most open to new job opportunities
Resume Screening:
Although resume screening is not a complicated task and does not require complex analytical skills or years of experience, it is a laborious task. All that resume screening requires is just a simple list of requirements that every candidate must fulfill to be shortlisted and plenty of time.
This is where AI comes in to completely replace humans in the equation. What is required is just to feed the information into an AI platform and let it do the magic. Apart from screening resumes, AI platforms can also dig into the internal database to find past candidates who might fit into new job openings.
Reducing Bias:
However, much recruiters try to be inclusive, they are humans, and they may subconsciously be influenced by factors that have nothing to do with a candidate’s competency for a job. As humans, recruiters are likely to lean towards candidates who are most like them. Ethnicity, language, gender, and even race can affect the perception of a recruiter. This unconscious bias can also find its way into resume selection and job description.
Automation and Artificial Intelligence is being used to eliminate biases by using algorithm assessment platforms that take into account these biases to ensure a diversified pool of candidates emerges from the initial screening. In case bias is discovered after an audit, the benefit of an algorithm assessment platform is it can be reprogrammed to eliminate bias.
This is much simpler than reducing human bias.
AI in Streamlining Employees Onboarding
After the completion of the hiring process, AI tools can be used to streamline and improve the subsequent onboarding and training. New employees usually require a lot of HR’s attention, but much of this attention can be greatly reduced by using AI programs to introduce them to various aspects and take them through routine procedures of the organization.
AI algorithms are retrofitted to eliminate the onboarding and training required for new employees that could otherwise take a human resource professional days or weeks. By inserting a new employee’s skills, affinities, and expertise into an artificially intelligent system can create the best training process for that specific employee. Intelligent bots can also be used to answer questions regarding policies, insurance, policies, among others. This helps HR teams to focus on what they do best: analysis, decision making, cultivating, nurturing, and working with talents.
Improved Training
Artificial Intelligence is providing a lot of solutions to HR teams when it comes to ongoing staff training and evaluation. AI tools can be used to identify skill gaps and develops programs to train employees depending on their specific needs. Although many companies still use e-learning programs for ongoing training, they are normally not organized, and employees do not get the best out of them. With AI tools, programs are perfectly organized and presented to offer a more targeted learning experience.
AI has also revolutionized ongoing staff analytics. Although they are not so different from on-call assessments, they are very important to an organization. Ongoing staff analytics helps HR professionals to determine the best course of action going forward. Such data dumps can assist HR professionals in identifying possible bottlenecks, transfer employees from one department to another or change their job description. Without these regular analytics done with AI, such assessments cannot be possible.
AI Personal Assistants in HR
In this digital era, AI personal such as Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa by Amazon, Microsoft’s Cortana among several others is all around us. These personal assistants are present in our smartphone, tablets, desktops, laptops, smart watches, smart speakers, and other smart devices. Such assistants are excellent for personal such as reminders, personalized search, scheduling, alarms, among other tasks, they cannot be used by HR professionals for organization-wide tasks. Luckily, there are HR-specific AI assistants created for organization-wide tasks.
Examples of HR-specific AI assistants include Amy Ingram and Leena AI. Amy Ingram is by x.ai.
- This AI software works wonders. It can:
- Schedule meetings and appointments
- Find common ground for two parties with a busy schedule to keep both of them satisfied
- Set up, reschedule or cancel meetings and appointments upon request
- Reminders for planned meetings and appointments
- Write personalized emails
Book conference rooms
AI, on the other hand, has the capability of building human resource chatbots. These chatbots can, in turn, be used to respond to an array of employees questions that are normally answered by HR professionals. Instead of spending time explaining the organization’s insurance policy, answering vacation queries or managing expenses, human resource professionals spend more time creating a happy and more productive workforce.
Automation of Administrative Tasks
Repetitive administrative tasks are the most laborious tasks in any HR department. The numerous correspondences, email follow-ups, document submissions, managing payroll, compliance management, scrutinizing performance review data among others can be very cumbersome. Such repetitive low-level tasks consume a lot of time that would otherwise be used solving work-related issues.
Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, most of these repetitive administrative tasks can be left for AI software. Administrative tasks such as the process of assigning tasks and coordinating workforce can be left for AI. Talks that require perfect accuracies such as payroll management and compliance are better to perform by AI systems.
Managing holidays and free days is usually under the human resource department or individual managers on every floor. However, an AI system can be used to streamline the process. For instance, a ‘check-in check-out system’ with clearly outlined holidays and free days can be used where employees manage and organize their absences and free days without too many manual tasks.
Enhancing Retention and Identifying Employees on Their Way Out
AI cannot replace HR’s one-on-one meetings and on-hand presence, but it is helping organizations alleviate their retention issues. This is through the development of AI systems that redirect employees to a development manager or an opportunity within the organization. Workers with access to such a support system are more likely to be content with their jobs. Lack
of attention or HR-ear to their staff can lead to low retention, but this can be resolved by AI implementation.
There are other AI systems that have been designed to single out workers who are on their way out.
Such systems analyze employees’ computer activities like keystrokes, internet browsing, and emails.
The system stores these data for some time and uses it to determine the baseline for normal activity patterns. Based on this information, the system detects a change in an employee’s behavior or communication and predict when they might be thinking of quitting.
AI in Calendar and Schedule Maintenance
Depending on the cross-functional organization of the company, scheduling all the daily tasks and activities can be a very tedious task. This is especially so for employees with personal worries and lack time and energy to maintain their company calendar. AI systems can be used to organize and manage every employee’s personal calendar and remind them of upcoming activities, duties, deadlines, and meetings. This helps the employees more time to concentrate on their duties, which increases productivity.
Endnote
When it comes to adopting disruptive technology, digitization, and data analysis, HR departments always hesitant. Artificial Intelligent is reinventing several aspects of our lives, and HR is not exceptional. HR teams can no longer ignore these changes. AI-based HR solutions have the ability to increase employees productivity and help HR professionals became better consultants that enhance the performance of other employees.
Embracing AI systems is freeing up a lot of time, not just for HR professionals but for other employees as well. With the automation of repetitive administrative tasks, HR professionals can focus on more important tasks such as decision-making, nurturing and cultivating talents, strategic management, among others. AI has streamlined the recruitment, onboarding, training, and ongoing staff analytics processes. However, as much as AI in HR s important, the human factor will always remain.