Optimizing the AI Market for HR. The current relationship between HR and…
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, HR, AI, Strategy, Human Resources

The current relationship between HR and AI is riddled with complexities. On the one hand, AI has already considerably revolutionized the HR ecosystem by streamlining work processes. On the other, it still needs a lot of improvement in order to fully support the unique needs of the HR area.

What do we exactly mean by that? Let’s have a look.

AI and HR: A Picture of Complexity

Artificial intelligence helps HR to shift focus on processes that enhance and boost productivity. The existence of chatbots is an incredible example of the convenience AI introduces to HR activity. Chatbots function to take off the workload from an HR department by handling employee queries and questions.

It might seem like a trivial task, but it heavily contributes to seamless operations. More importantly, chatbots are only one part of what is a long list of the benefits AI brings to HR ecosystems.

AI solutions enhance almost every aspect of HR. For example, recruitment. AI helps automate the screening process, appointment scheduling, and out-boarding procedures for increased efficiency.

Additionally, AI also takes care of the talent management for HR departments. Everything from candidate acquisition, career counseling, and professional training can be made easier for HR by the AI. Even strategic decision-making aspects such as skills mapping, expert search, and reorganization can be tackled conveniently.

“Over the past two years, we’ve found that workers have become more optimistic as they’ve adopted AI in the workplace, and HR is leading the way. The 2019 study shows that AI is redefining not only the relationship between worker and manager but also the role of a manager in an AI-driven workplace.” — Dan Schawbel, Future Workplace.

All in all, artificial intelligence is an invaluable resource for HR. More and more companies and workers are moving towards AI dependency. As stated in an Oracle report, HR practitioners wholeheartedly welcome AI integration into their HR processes. Here are some other interesting statistics that will help you grasp how crucial AI has now become in the HR industry:

64% of HR practitioners reported in 2019 said that they would trust a robot over their manager for advice.

50% of workers are currently using some form of AI at work.

65% of workers are optimistic, excited, and grateful about having robot co-workers

Workers in India (60%) and China (56%) are the most excited about AI, followed by the UAE (44%), Singapore (41%), Brazil (32%), Australia/New Zealand (26%), Japan (25%), US (22%), UK (20%) and France (8%).

So, what’s the problem?

Well, for starters, AI for HR needs higher maintenance than normal AI. In general, the more data that you have, the better your AI product performs. This is the case for HR optimized AI. However, with the human-centered nature of HR, this dependence on data availability is a hindrance.

For AI products to adequately suit HR tasks, they must incorporate a balance between data centricity and humane methodology. This makes them highly advanced and virtually impossible to create without specific training and experience in the field of data as well as cutting-edge technology that requires big bucks.

All of this comes down to one simple fact: companies cannot create their own AI. It’s simply not possible. The amount of data that is needed to execute AI programs cannot be conceived by the average organization. The only solution that comes to light in this regard, therefore, is for HR departments to rely on third-party developers to come up with the AI they need.

Big software vendors seem to have this area covered pretty well — the future of AI concerning HR appears to be bright at the outset. But the reality is quite different.

How to Make the AI Market Fit for Human Resources?

1. Harnessing Data

Harnessing data is the first step towards creating an AI product. When it comes to AI for HR, this task becomes a huge hurdle. Why?

Here’s the thing: AI is better at handling quantitative data. Numbers, stats, and figures are AI’s domain. However, to optimize it for HR situations, you need to harness career data. Career data is different than the usual information

AI depends on it because it is entirely quantitative in nature. It was written by humans, to further deal with humans — which is why it comprises subjectivity, and subjectivity is something that AI is still in the process of getting a hold of.

The Issue of Complexity

Essentially, the AI used for HR processes needs to be special and unique. It should be optimized for more complex understanding that goes beyond facts and figures.

For example, an HR scenario might require the AI to interpret a term like “Dr.” correctly. Now, this word can be associated with multiple designations; it can be used for a physician as well as a Ph.D. holder. The current condition of AI does not allow it to be able to sort this out. However, for it to be efficient for HR purposes, it must be able to tackle such complex issues.

Different Levels of Consistency

The consistency that you require for HR based AI is a lot different than the consistency that you require for other AI. For example, someone lists “sales” as a skill. It does not always mean the same thing — it may be stretched across either B2B or B2C areas, may vary in time, the scope of activities, and space. The ideal AI would have a considerable grasp over all these issues.

2. Formulation of Models

Once the data collection and availability are overcome, the AI market will have to improvise and enhance its formulation methods to fit HR processes better. This will involve ensuring that the algorithms being employed are not biased, discriminatory or problematic in any manner.

They should be entirely exclusive of women, ethnic minorities, and other marginalized groups in society. As humans, we are conscious of these issues and strive to eradicate them.

However, for AI to be fair, it will have to be formulated in special ways, using complex yet unique algorithms and methodology. Moreover, it will also need to be regularly assessed and analyzed for such aspects to be executed seamlessly.

3. Adequate Adaptation

The last but certainly not the least important issue that needs to be addressed is that of refinement. Once AI has been optimized for the HR landscape, it will need constant adaptation and tuning.

It is true that all AI needs regular updates in order to keep it relevant and functional, but for HR based AI, this is of even more significance! The reason behind this is that the HR industry is far from static; on the contrary, it is a fluid space that evolves every day in accordance with the needs of humans.

4. AI Technology as the Backbone

AI software vendors, as of now, are quite strong. They have promising products in place and utilize the latest technology in providing an optimum experience for any AI user.

However, there is one problem: these developers see AI as merely a feature of the product, not its backbone. Powering AI through career data to help both HR and collaborators is not easy. It is a labor-intensive and long-term effort that must be made to reshape the industry.

You must be able to feed into a pipeline relevant and informative data combined with state-of-the-art models and technology. Empowering HR with AI is not just a nice-to-have feature, and prominent software vendors understand this. This is problematic because the entire AI market has to be optimized in favor of HR.

Key Takeaway: Hard Work That is Worth the Effort

So, what’s the key takeaway? AI tools have a role in easing the HR professional’s workload — it will perform all the heavy lifting, leaving time for workers to focus on individual growth and competence. Investing in AI for a better, fast-paced, and well-rounded HR world is the way to go!

However, it will be no magic — you’ll have to put in a lot of hard work that involves strong dedication, the diversity of experiments, a blend between qualitative and quantitative data, various customer pilots, and a vastly specific skill set. In essence, AI, in the HR ecosystem, is a fruit that is hard to ripe but is worthwhile.