The Future Of Human Resources

How artificial intelligence will permanently change the HR industry

Artificial intelligence is on the cusp of transforming major sectors across the corporate world, from health care to finance to media. And every sector has one important function in common: Human Resources.
 

AI — the use of computer systems to execute work that historically required human comprehension — has rapidly evolved and now is increasingly used to perform tasks that previously consumed substantial time for people.
 
Though AI has existed for decades, it has reached new heights in recent years — along with applicability in the workplace — thanks in large part to an escalation in computer processing power, data storage advances, greater bandwidth, and the pervasiveness of mobile devices. An “increasingly sophisticated understanding” of the human mind and how to build brain-like features into computer programs also has played a major role, according to researchers at Deloitte.
 
More than 40% of employers across the globe already use AI in some way, a Deloitte study found, with “exponential” growth expected over the next five years. The changes afoot stand to bolster the efficiency of companies and free up their people to focus on innovating and serving customers.
 
For example, news and financial information organization Thomson Reuters said it would soon roll out across its global operations an AI tool that will pour over data and identify potentially newsworthy patterns. The goal is to extricate journalists from tedious data analysis, and allow them to devote more time to what they do best: develop human sources, ask questions, discern context and make judgments calls on the importance of news developments to their readers.
 
The same kind of revolution is under way in HR. AI is helping to advance and improve hiring processes, onboarding, training, employee evaluations and career development. This evolution presents tremendous opportunity for companies that embrace it; those that do not, however, stand to fall behind on the technology curve.
 
At BizMerlin, we are using AI on multiple fronts to help HR teams work smarter, faster and more accurately.
 
With instant feedback and inbuilt sentiment analysis, the HR system is quickly able to infer who are the groups of “best friends” in the organization as well as using topic modeling, identify the basis of each feedback and endorsement. Such data is then used to seamlessly update the competency matrix, a feature that previously highly labor intensive and costly. With AI powered BizMerlinHR, this is simply a byproduct of the other business processes.
 
Another good example of AI is in hiring, where, for instance, automated software helps gather reactive information — from candidates responding to requests or actions — and reams of non-reactive data, which is publicly available via social media, Internet search engines and other sources.
 
AI is further used to search and combine the two sources. It starts with a special algorithm that helps understand what makes an ideal candidate — skills, traits, attitudes and behaviors. We then use the software to rapidly scan job seekers’ profiles to match their statements, sentiments, gestures and more with that of the job description to identify strong fits for every open role.
 
This does not replace HR professionals — face-to-face interviews and assessments are vital — but AI helps to quickly ferret out candidates who are likely unqualified or otherwise ill-suited for a position, while also spotlighting those applicants who meet hiring expectations and show strong indicators of meshing well with a company's workplace and workforce.
 
In similar ways, AI can be used to engage candidates, attract them to a company, and efficiently onboard them after hiring. It also can be used to identify effective ways to tailor training to workers’ specific development needs and, as they advance their skills, pair them with promotion opportunities within the company.
 
More broadly, AI can help growing companies assess current and future hiring needs — not just positions, or skills and experience needed for those positions, but also how long it is likely to take to fill each position and when a hiring process should begin.
 
These are only a few examples of what already is helping to power HR. Much more is on the way. HR leaders who want to ensure they continue to find, attract and develop top talent as they manage ever-evolving hiring and staffing needs should be examining AI options and assessing how the technology can help drive their processes and their businesses. Otherwise, they face a steep uphill climb to catch up when AI becomes the norm at peers within a few short years.