The human resource department has a very critical role in any organization, big or small. With proper human resource management, companies can effectively recruit and retain employees, which can make or break any organization. With the advent of AI and its tremendous capabilities, HR departments of every organization are undergoing a radical transformation. A 2022 talent survey said that in the next 12-18 months, 92% of HR leaders plan to increase their use of AI in at least one area of HR. As we see the increase in penetration of AI for HR-related tasks and responsibilities, HR department will hold the power to transform from administrative units to strategic functions.
AI For HR: How Is AI Impacting Human Resources
AI can help HR leaders by boosting efficiency and accuracy during the recruitment process. In terms of recruitment and talent acquisition, algorithms can scan applications/resumes suitable for a particular job role. It can help reduce the burden on HR professionals, who must manually go through hundreds of applications to fill a vacancy. It allows HR to focus on more strategic tasks for the organization.
AI-powered algorithms can study patterns in employee attrition and help HR professionals understand the underlying reasons behind it and how to curb it. It can also help to understand employees’ knowledge gaps and recommend training programs to fill those gaps.
AI In Human Resource: Must-Have Skills
Understanding of data and insights
Data is everywhere, and not using that data to make evidence-based decisions can be a bad move for any business. As data analytics techniques have progressed, HR professionals no longer have to rely on their “gut feeling” to make decisions.To interpret the employee data available and provide insights to a company’s management, HR specialists must develop analytics skills to set a data-driven culture.
HR analytics (or people analytics) uses statistical and analytical techniques to extract meaningful insights based on the data available about a company’s workforce. Some crucial metrics that can be evaluated through HR analytics are attrition rates, employee engagement, employee performance, knowledge gaps, time to fill job openings, and employee satisfaction.
HR analytics can also use predictive analytics, where historical data can be used to make predictions about HR-related outcomes of the future. HR specialists should also possess some level of data visualization and dashboarding skills ( using tools like PowerBI, Tableau, or MS Excel) to present the analysis insights effectively to different company stakeholders.
Through analytics, HR professionals can identify cost-saving measures that can be implemented, such as optimizing staffing levels, reducing turnover-related costs, and improving resource allocation. By using analytics to show the impact of HR initiatives on the organization’s bottom line, HR professionals can demonstrate the value of HR and justify resource allocation to stakeholders.
Mastering Prompt Engineering
With the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs), prompt engineering is also a skill set that HR leaders must possess to grow in their careers. Prompt engineering helps to improve the interactions with LLMs to produce the desired responses. Though LLMs can understand and generate human-like text, they depend on the right kind of prompts to start the whole process. The way one frames the questions/commands has a significant impact on the end result. Prompt engineering requires a certain level of creativity, such as adding more context to a query, changing the command’s structure, and experimenting with the command to get the desired results.
In HR, Prompt Engineering Can Be Used In Various Aspects:
- Creating impactful job descriptions: Crafting compelling job descriptions is crucial for attracting the right candidates for an organization. To attract potential candidates, HR professionals can use prompt engineering to build engaging job postings with key details about the job role, company culture, and expectations from a potential candidate.
- Candidate screening and interview question generation: HR professionals can design prompts for AI-driven candidate screening. By giving the right prompts, HR professionals can generate questions to assess candidates during interviews, streamlining the evaluation process.
- Communication with employees: HR professionals can design prompts to assist in creating onboarding materials such as welcome messages, orientation guidelines, and training resources. They can create prompts to build personalized emails, announcements, or messages for different needs, like sharing company updates and informing about policy changes.
- Curating FAQs: HRs are often bombarded with a high volume of common employee inquiries. Using prompt engineering, HR professionals can generate scripts for such common queries, leading to instant responses and support for resolving doubts.
Exploring how AI & ML work
Every profession requires some amount of technical knowledge these days, and HR is no exception. Though HRs do not need technical acumen like techies, they should have a basic understanding of what AI is and how it works. As AI-based tools and algorithms increase in the HRs’ daily routine, they should thoroughly understand the logic behind machine learning models, NLP, and large language models. They should also be aware of the ethical implications of AI in HR and how biases can creep into algorithms and alter decision-making. Given the pace at which AI is progressing, HRs have to inculcate a mindset of continuously learning and updating themselves with the latest developments in HR technology.
Strategic thinking
As HRs can use AI-based tools to automate a major chunk of daily tasks that they previously spent a big part of their time doing, they need to cultivate strategic thinking skills. This will enable them to align human resources initiatives with organizational goals and effectively use the potential of AI. They have to work with other teams to successfully integrate AI into HR practices while promoting diversity, improving employee experiences, and maintaining a global perspective to keep up with the times.
Keeping the “human” touch in human resources
AI is a boon if used in the right way. It can streamline various HR processes, giving HR professionals the time to focus on more strategic activities for the company’s growth. But AI is only an enabler, and HR leaders must be careful not to get heavily dependent on it. While AI can excel in various domains, it cannot replicate the essential human touch that renders HR an exceptional and irreplaceable profession. To ensure that the human aspect of HR remains intact, it’s essential to strike the right balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and preserving the core values of human connection.
Tasks that require judgment and evaluation, like employee performance, performance improvement, and promotions, cannot be deployed to AI. It is important for HRs to build the right connection with the employees through meetings, team activities, and impersonal chats and gatherings to help them build trust in the organization and bring out their best performance for the company. The employees of a company need that human bond while navigating through the journey of joining a company and doing well in their job subsequently. HRs hold a key position to ensure that this journey is smooth. The human touch must never be lost to become a successful HR professional.
Conclusion
The interaction between HR and AI is reshaping the way organizations manage their people. In the future, the integration of AI in HR will play a crucial role in shaping the future workplace. Embracing HR is not an option anymore but a strategic move for HR professionals to stay in sync with the fast-evolving landscape.
