It’s no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are hot topics in the workplace.
The White House (or more precisely, the Office of Science and Technology Policy) recently released a blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights describing the challenges, opportunities, and non-regulatory guidelines around the use of AI and ML at work. While it’s not a set of enforceable regulations, it does show that the government is taking this topic seriously. The European Union is also on the way to drafting a similar policy.
The key component to AI is that when it’s applied ethically and responsibly, it can provide organizations with the insights needed to navigate the complexities of life and work.
Here, we unpack the value of AI when applied to HR technology and how you can navigate these complexities at your organization.
When applied ethically and responsibly, AI can provide organizations with the insights needed to navigate the complexities of life and work.
The Value of HR Technology and Artificial Intelligence
How AI is used in HR technology
The value of AI in modern HR technology is that it removes the need to manage processes like payroll and open enrollment manually and puts people at the center of the business strategy. As a result, insights are deeper, work is easier, and interactions have greater impact when the data is operationalized.
In modern HCM solutions organizations must first communicate that AI technology isn’t strictly about efficiency but also about finding the most human way of making business decisions. The desired result of automation is freeing up time to allow HR professionals to be more strategic and let them focus more on soft skills. However, you have to be upfront with front-line employees and provide reassurance to ease their concerns about computers taking their jobs or HR becoming so automated that systems remove their personal stories from the process.
For example, modern HR technology can offer sentiment analysis on surveys and recruiting evaluations, location-based scheduling recommendations, leadership actions for coaching and development recommendations, flight risk predictions, and more. The latest technology can also lead to workplace transformation through data-driven predictions by interrupting bias and offering recommended actions.
The way forward
Too many organizations are relying on older processes and internal systems and assuming that the technology alone will fix things like data security, unconscious bias, personal privacy, and more. But with a modern, automated HCM system that uses AI and ML, the technology has the potential to solve (or mitigate) so many of those problems.
For this to be effective, it requires a partnership between the technology providers and employers, and between employers and their employees. Transparent, clear communication about how and why data is being used, and purposeful human oversight are all key elements of this partnership.
Transparent, clear communication about how and why data is being used, and purposeful human oversight are all key elements of this partnership.
AI and HR technology: The takeaway
AI- and ML-backed automation must happen for any organization to be successful in the future. Global digital transformation can help create a more humanistic workplace by making communication more personal and impactful, retrieving missed nuance from everyday interactions, and creating connections that bring us all together regardless of location or time.
For any of that to happen though, we must all be mindful of how and, most importantly, why we use these new technologies. The goal is to make smart recommendations so that people can make smart decisions and build a culture of belonging for every person in the workplace.
Learn how automation and artificial intelligence (AI) can work together with humans to create a better work experience.
