Humans + Bots – HR’s Role In The New Blended Workforce

Allowing the bots to do their jobs, we can free up time to do uniquely human tasks

As we know, robots are eliminating the jobs of many skilled laborers and growing a more technological workforce. Speeding up the process, the pandemic caused a surge in digital transformations that kicked off in 2020 and shows no signs of slowing. While humans struggle to advance both mentally and physically in this 'new normal,' AI is emerging from this crisis stronger, with further-reaching applications than ever before. Robotics, chatbots, virtual assistants, surveillance systems, and communication methods brought to life the ‘future of work;’ moving our economy forward, not to mention help fight the virus. Advancements in AI are also helping markets persevere, industries survive, and humans finally work together in ways only previously presented by visionaries and researchers. In all this, who helps entrepreneurs and corporations alike navigate the highs and lows? Here’s how HR can play a critical role in equipping employees to thrive in this blended workforce world.

The Future of Jobs Survey 2020 by the World Economic Forum cites “information and data processing,” “performing complex and technical activities,” and “performing physical and manual work activities” as the top job functions that machines will take over from humans by 2025. While the WEF post-survey report doesn’t quantify a numerical impact in terms of employee numbers… it’s big. The same survey cites the top job titles in steep decline as “assembly and factory workers,” “bookkeepers,” and “customer service workers” with the top job titles in steep increase as “data analysts and scientists,” “AI and machine learning specialists,” and process automation specialists.” The evidence is clear, robots are eliminating the jobs of many skilled laborers and growing a more technological workforce.

There is a choice that every company, department, and hiring manager must face… rip and replace, or reuse and recycle the workforce. There are pros and cons to both approaches. In some cases, letting the skilled laborers go and hiring a new tech-savvy workforce in lieu of upskilling makes sense; but that only exacerbates the widening skills gap. Society is looking for businesses that will take the time, effort, and resources to invest in employees and equip them with the new skills needed to navigate new innovations. How? Success has been achieved by assessing the attitude and aptitude of a current workforce and upskilling those who possess both, then onboarding others with expertise to oversee them. With a blended approach, the experts oversee the recently trained to accomplish the work.

“Covid-19 was the digital accelerant of the decade,” the first headline of the Twilio Digital Engagement Report that surveyed global enterprise leaders and found “97% believe the pandemic sped up their company’s digital transformation” by an estimated “average of 6 years.” Six Years. I think it’s fair to say that more digital transformations happened in 2020 than in the 5 years before and if that is even remotely true, the workforce of yesterday cannot be the workforce of today; today’s most certainly cannot be tomorrow’s. Let’s forget Covid for a moment, a pre-pandemic 2019 employee survey conducted by Hibob found that “48% of the workforce is indifferent about the role of HR” and “18% believe HR takes away” from their work. There are many reasons cited, but “decreased productivity” is high up on the list. The pandemic caused a surge in digital transformations that kicked off in 2020 and shows no signs of slowing; companies are doing their best to keep up… and HR must do their best to keep up with them. A challenge that, if accepted, cannot be backed down from for even a moment.

John Sweller in 2011 wrote in the Psychology of Learning and Motivation of “cognitive load theory” to assist “instructional designers and teachers” with “new instructional procedures.” Simply, there is only so much brain space each person must learn and grow, even survive. While one is not thinking about the pandemic in the front of their mind at a certain moment, it lingers in the background and takes up space; add kids in school, parents health, strained relationships, not being able to eat at your favorite restaurant, churches closed, and hobbies disappearing… and you’ve got a huge subconscious cognitive load. There is only a small bit of space left for work, not to mention learning a new digital skill.

Human resources must go on the offensive. A proactive wellbeing initiative for employees which not only meets them where they are at personally but works with managers and leaders to train them in the art of empathy and the recognition of their employees’ cognitive load. In some cases, it can be seen physically. Multiple research studies have attempted to quantify the impact of shelter-in-place orders, physical workspaces and schools being closed. All the studies have found relatively the same results, the average individual while staying home gained approximately 1.5 pounds a month from less movement, more snacking, derailed exercise and sleep routines, and increased stress. Human resources can meet these individuals where they are by understanding their needs and doing their best to anticipate them.

Robotics, chatbots, virtual assistants, surveillance systems, and communication methods powered by artificial intelligence have jumped into the mainstream spotlight this past year. Advancements in AI are helping markets persevere, industries survive, and humans finally work together in ways only previously presented by visionaries and researchers. A study of 5,000 C-level executives by IBM shows that “82% of businesses surveyed are using or considering using AI.” The magnitude of impact these technologies have, and will have, on business is so significant that it may be impossible for human resources to staff and support employees working on them… unless HR understands them. Crash courses in AI and digital resources are of course one way to learn, but another is to dabble with the technology directly.

There are so many uses for AI in HR including talent acquisition, tracking systems, employee management, training and more. By not only understanding but embracing a machine learning algorithm to assist in your job, you are proving that you understand the impact and effect on the future of work. If AI can help fight the virus in so many ways: outbreak tracking systems, survival rate calculators based on blood samples, deep learning models, and more; it can surely augment your job functions as well.

While there are mixed emotions and thoughts about the human + bot workforce, I have clarity around one thing… humans are humans and bots are bots. At this time, bots can help reduce human workloads to let humans do what they do best… be human. Wiredelta’s report on “Things AI Does Better Than Humans” cites not only things like complex calculations, but entertainment as well; art, music, movie characters and book plot lines can be created by AI based on the likes and dislikes of the current market trends.

So what’s left for humans? Empathy. Communication. Strategy. Critical Thinking.

Humans have uniquely human traits that are all exemplified in a human resource professional. Everything discussed in this article to this point are recommendations that only humans can carry out. By allowing the bots to do their jobs, we can free up time to do uniquely human tasks. The future of work depends on HR professionals willing to help entrepreneurs and large corporations alike navigate the highs and lows. HR’s role is critical in equipping employees to thrive in this blended workforce world.