The Urgency of AI Adoption
In today’s competitive environment, hiring and retaining the best talent requires a heavy lift from HR teams. HR has to deliver great employee and candidate experiences across recruitment, training and operations functions with speed, accuracy and personalization.
AI, if properly implemented within the HR domain, can greatly help. Some of the benefits and activities that can be beneficial.
• 24/7 availability. Chatbots, the friendly customer-facing feature of powerful behind-the-scenes algorithms, can now simulate person-to-person conversation very well. Available any time on any device, chatbots offer the immediate response time that today’s users expect when they have hiring questions, benefits concerns, or training issues.
• Automation. Think of AI as an intelligent partner to your HR professionals. With most teams trying to do more with less, AI platforms can support your workforce by automating transactional and repetitive work, freeing up their time to focus on other, more human, tasks that add greater value to the function.
• Personalized communications. With the personalized experience we are used to in our day-to-day lives, business user expectations are higher than ever as well. Candidates and employees alike expect real-time access to HR resources, up-to-date alerts and enhanced communications, such as personalized information based on their location and preferences.
• Real-time data. Nothing beats analytics when it comes to the rapid identification of emerging trends and problems. If significant numbers of your candidates or employees are asking the same questions or expressing similar concerns, you’ll know quickly and can move with speed to capitalize on opportunities and address problems before they escalate.
New Approaches to Old Challenges
AI also supports other positive changes across HR functions. With the right solutions and technology partnerships, AI can strengthen recruitment, employer branding, hiring and development and enable you to target and tailor your prospect outreach better and faster, making it more relevant and fruitful for both your candidates and your HR team. Plus, with deeper insights into your audience, you can promote your company’s culture and values in authentic, engaging ways, no matter who you’re trying to reach.
AI can also deliver important time savings in initial résumé screening. Today’s AI capabilities increase efficiency and can assess an applicant’s fit based on potential instead of past performance. The same is true for employee development and career pathing. Analytics can evaluate an employee’s prior work experience and performance, then suggest optimal development opportunities and potential advancement paths.
Leading the Way toward Acceptance
With the pandemic already accelerating existing trends toward AI and automation, it’s likely a matter of when, not if, your company will adopt them. And as with any new technology, disruption is inevitable. So how can you best prepare your company and HR teams for the impending change? It takes a multi-pronged approach that addresses the changes impacting your technology, people and processes.
As always, messaging and context are critical. Understandably, many employees fear that technology may make their roles redundant. It’s important to help them understand that AI is intended to support them, not replace them. The fact is, human resources will always require a personal touch. By automating routine tasks, AI can free up your employees’ time for the one-on-one interactions that matter most. In today’s world of hybrid work and in the midst of mass rehiring, AI helps overburdened teams manage the ever-expanding range of candidate and employee needs they juggle each day.
