The implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has increased dramatically, impacting nearly every industry as well as people’s daily lives. Human Resources departments have embraced AI and ML instead of dismissing it—and it’s reinventing the field.
AI in HR is taking the place of manual operations to bring personalized human communication, intelligent decision making and operational efficiency. Lack of time and physical presence are the biggest challenge in today’s HR department’s landscape and AI will solve it.
How is AI revolutionizing the HR landscape?
1. It Keeps HR Human
The term “ghosted,” so prevalent in our daily lives, even extends to candidates searching for their next career. Ghosting means that an employer/candidate never responds to an opportunity. This phenomena is attributed to the high volume of applications being sent and received daily. The influx of information is overwhelming for all involved. According to the Federal Reserve Bank, there has been a 10-20% increase in “ghosting”. This is where AI comes in. To avoid being ghosted during the recruitment process, offer a high-quality candidate experience that prioritizes transparency and honesty to keep candidates engaged and interested in your organization.
AI applications automatically crawl résumés to find keywords and highlight if a candidate is a good fit for the position. These tools intelligently narrow down candidates from large data sets and the final résumés are put on the top of the stack and evaluated for final consideration before an interview is offered.
HR professionals with less applications to comb through are able to give more attention to their business partners and employees, all while qualified candidates get timely application status updates and correspondence.
2. Creates Actionable Insights for Decision Making
According to Glassdoor, the average cost to hire a candidate is around $4,000, taking up to 52 days to fill a position — but it could be as low as $1,000 for an entry-level service job, and it frequently tops $5,000 for larger corporations. This cost does not consider whether the hire fits the company culture or has the proper experience. In a Harris interactive poll (opens in new tab) conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder, 74% percent of employers admit having hired the wrong person for an opening and the cost was $14,900 for every error and losing a good hire costs on average $30,000. AI has the capability to evaluate your current workforce and help you make more informed economic decisions on the investment you will make on the next candidate.
AI and/or automation can be set up to reduce biases through an algorithm assessment platform with language that is bias-free to improve a diversified pool of candidates. The AI’s artificial neural networks and deep learning neural networks mimic how the human brain learns, however these networks can be audited and reprogrammed if a bias is discovered much easier than reducing unconscious human bias.
AI and ML also enables HR to create digital profiles of the most qualified candidates based on existing top performers, can predict high performers who may be a flight risk and better automate employee self-service. HR professionals can leverage the data derived from People Analytics, more commonly known as HR Analytics, as a source of more actionable insight to implement new strategies that increase efficiency.
3. AI Saves Everyone Time
Overall business process efficiency and accuracy is improved with the introduction of AI to HR. Most hiring teams are inundated with administrative work. HR professionals have estimated they spend around 40 percent of their working hours (opens in new tab) on résumé reviews, pushing candidates through the hiring process and tracking the progress. Automating administrative tasks can save hours per week, making time to improve employee experience.
AI automates recruiting technology to reduce repetitive tasks such as sourcing résumés, scheduling interviews and providing feedback that will allow recruiters and HR managers the opportunity to focus on strategic work that AI will never replace, such as connecting with top talent, providing a personalized interview experience, establishing training, team building and mentoring programs.
More businesses are implementing compliance training for employees to understand guidelines and regulations. Organizing, monitoring and checking compliance processes is tedious for HR. Fortunately, the process can be completely automated with AI.
In for the Long Haul
AI is truly having a positive effect on the way HR accomplishes the new style of work and it is opening up opportunity for new HR positions that never existed. Some of these new positions include: Financial Wellness Manager, Data, AI & Offering Strategy, Senior VP of Global HR, Performance and IT, Senior VP of Employee Well-Being & Benefits Head of Business Behavior, Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer and AI trainer. Professionals should prepare for AI to become more significant in how they interact with work currently; that it is opening up more time to leave a lasting impression on job candidates, address employee concerns and benefits administration by shifting away from tedious tasks to more strategic work.
