AI Is the Future of HR. Yes? No? Not Sure?

Image source: Pixabay

Mention Artificial Intelligence (AI), HR and the future of work in a sentence and what reaction do you get?Typically, the reactions fall into 2 camps. They are twins called ballyhoo and brouhaha.

1. Ballyhoo. Get ready for a torrent of emotional sky-is-falling hype and Armageddon predictions. Rational common sense conversation flies out of the window and sensational Hollywood film fiction is predicted as fact.Ballyhoo is a group of conspiracy theorists who likes to take centre stage. With a fervour bordering on hysteria, they promote long held suspicions that schemes are secretly afoot to:

• Destroy the human race (The Terminator).

• Replace humans (I, Robot).

• Control all of humanity (The Matrix).

2. Brouhaha. I don’t know about you, but I get pretty dazed and glassy-eyed when I listen to overexcited hubbub about the latest app disrupting the HR space.I confess to zoning out as I read the jargon-packed hype about a new piece of technology that will finally replace the analogue HR function – and maybe even the practitioners too.From Silicon Valley to Shoreditch, the ‘boffins’ and technical wizards are excitedly dreaming up algorithms to streamline, simplify and speed-up common HR systems and processes.

Now this brouhaha and buzz is not a bad thing at all. As we all know, doing ‘what has always been done’ is not sustainable and is a sure-fire way to punch your one way ticket to insignificance. But there is a thin line between insightful and insufferable. So when I came across the article ‘Why AI Is The Future of HR’ by Greg Roche, you’ll forgive me for thinking that it is just more of the same Ballyhoo and Brouhaha.The fact that it was guest-posted in HR Underground X(a base camp for the Movement leading riotous change in the HR profession) was the tip off. But I missed the heads up. I am not too proud to admit that not only was I mistaken; I was seismically WRONG.

This article is different, insightful, real-world useful and filled with much needed intelligence.Roche is a voice of reason amongst the scaremongers and bandwagon-hoppers. Told as a compelling story, Roche simply explains the impact AI will have on HR; and in the face of this, the options available to HR practitioners.And options mean opportunities.Want to find out how you can take advantage of AI?Then read on.

They Think it’s all over, but it's just the beginning...

There is no need for me to rehash this stellar article. It is simply a must-read for any savvy HR pro with an eye on future trends.

I will share with you few of my Aha! Moments, useful calls to action and 1 Big Brainpoke which I took away from the wisdom Roche assembled in his article.OK, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.

1. THE CONTEXT: The irrefutable truth is that technology is moving and developing faster than we can imagine. The only way to deal with it is to embrace it and take action.

• Find and learn about the real options.

• Select and seize your genuine opportunities from those options.

• Use only those opportunities that will create authentic value and cultivate your success.

Don’t sit there bemoaning the fact that the world is changing and your sky is falling.Don’t be a technophobe, frightened of the new technology and hesitant to use it.Don’t be a Luddite, threatened by the new changes and trying to sabotage AI’s arrival. It is too late for that. You cannot stop the AI - technology juggernaut barrelling through the HR profession. You have to get on board for the ride.

How do you want to experience your AI trip? As a driver? A passenger? or roadkill?

2. HR ON EDGE: Yes, the edge is uncomfortable but it is where new discoveries await. If HR doesn’t move forward all the time it becomes a danger to itself and the organisation and employee community it serves.So, travel to the edge of the conventional. Journey to the brim of what you believe you know.It is where the interesting and transformative stuff happens.The edge is the spot where HR can contribute value and make a difference. See you there?

3.MEET AMY: Roche begins with an introduction – “Meet Amy”. Then sets the scene with a Film Noir style narrative. Classic!When you read the article, imagine it filmed in black and white, filled with stylish menace, a possible femme fatale, a meeting, a cynical anti-hero…OK, maybe I am getting a bit carried away, but he really does set the scene for the AI and HR encounter in a compelling way.

Find out who is Amy and learn about her friends.

4. AI FACTS VS.FICTION: He quickly debunks the Hollywood-fueled myths of what AI looks like but leaves the “technology and the science to smarter folk” with links to deeper reading from some of the brilliant minds working in this field.

5. AI in HR NOW: AI is currently ‘employed’ in a supporting role in HR. He dishes up lots of eye-popping examples of AI ‘team members’ in the work space. Read about Phil in recruiting, Obie in onboarding, Ellie in employee relations and Buck in payroll processes and compensation and benefits.

AI is picking up the slack, quickly processing and gathering intelligent data to inform smarter, more relevant strategic and tactical decision making.AI is displacing HR practitioners who are focused predominantly on delivering these tasks and roles.

6. SHOULD HR FEAR AI: According to Roche it depends...“As AI becomes more human, my entirely unscientific estimate is that it will assume 80% of the work that HR professionals are doing today.”“You should be concerned, and you should start looking ahead.”

“Let’s be clear, there is nothing so special about the humanness you deliver to your organization that cannot (eventually) be replaced by a machine. Email – where you spend the majority of your day in human resources – can be managed by artificial intelligence that feels no less human than the service you would have provided.”

So HR folks what are you going to do now that AI has freed you from the transactional tasks and low-hanging fruit activities?Time-suck process jobs and busy work will continue to be outsourced to AI.

With less distractions and places to hide what is to stop you from delivering strategic impact and value?

5 OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HR

Roche uses Bernard Marr’s summary to introduce us to Tom Davenport and Julia Kirby’s 5 things employees can do in response to the automation of their positions.

“Stepping Aside,

Stepping Narrowly,

Stepping Up,

Stepping In and

Stepping Forward”

Again, Roche provides links and appropriate credit to articles and books in his article. Check them out and add them to your reading list. They are on mine.

Read the full definitions and your options in the article.

These 5 actions are great sources of hope and opportunities for HR as AI’s influence in the discipline advances.

But one option-opportunity caught my attention the most.“Stepping Aside means leaving the machines to do what they do best, and picking a career requiring skills such as creativity or empathy”.

What career do you choose?I choose HR!

THE BIG BRAINPOKE

Being human or solely relying on your humanness as your unique value proposition (UVP) is notenough.

"Humanness as your unique value proposition (UVP) is not enough. You need super skills too"

You need special skills. Creativity and empathy are skills which I call super skills – and perhaps in the context of AI – superhuman skills.

They are not a clever tactic to be deployed but a mind-set to be adopted and a skill to be practised every day.They are the qualities that, when actively practiced, have the power to improve the lives of those you show them to, make you a better human being, more fulfilled and improve the community (organisation etc.) to which you belong.  Sounds super!

So Step Aside! Help yourself and the HR discipline be extraordinary by asking and seeking the answers to these 3 questions.

1. What are the other human traits, mind-sets and skills needed to thrive in this economy?

2. How do you develop it in yourself?

3. How do you attract it and make it blossom in the organisations in which you lead?

Image source: Pixabay

Roche et al have identified creativity and empathy as 2 super skills.I have started out on a journey to discover and classify other super skills and I will share my discoveries with you.

Yes! AI Is Part of HR’s Future

Make the time to check out the article yourself.  Read it to the very end. Then share it!

Indulge in some healthy skepticism. Keep an open mind. Draw your own conclusions.

Either way this is an HR changing read.Is the HR discipline changing? Of course it is – it always is.  The incredible speed of change these days can be disconcerting. But if you want to survive and thrive in this fast moving world, AI could just be the ticket to the relevance and success you need.

"AI is HR’s Red Pill Blue Pill moment."

"You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." Morpheus, to Neo in The Matrix

 So savvy HR doers and makers, the time is now.

• Red Pill or Blue Pill? You choose.

• Do you have the stomach for this thrilling roller coaster ride? You decide

• HR’s stage is set for a brand new tribe of heroes. Will you join?

Share your thoughts on AI and HR in the comments.

Let’s talk…