HR leaders are welcoming AI technologies to strengthen productivity, belonging, engagement and more.
By Zee Johnson
AI has been all the rage this year and business leaders are looking more intently into how and when to use it so it can assist in achieving goals. While departments like the sales and marketing teams have been more prone to implementing AI tools into their daily processes, HR has been a bit reluctant to follow suit.
A recent report revealed that AI could replace 45 million jobs by 2030. And as people leaders, could this be the reason for HR’s avoidance of adoption?
Alejandro Agenjo, co-founder and CEO of Erudit, an AI SaaS platform, says that this angst is being felt for several reasons. “AI is a relatively new technology, and there is still a lack of understanding or expertise on how to properly integrate it into HR practices,” he says. “There are also concerns about privacy and amplifying existing biases.”
He advises HR leaders to channel this fear into putting safeguards in place to protect employee privacy and autonomy. This can be done through ongoing checks that mitigate the risk of bias and the constant verification of AI outputs to ensure accuracy and fairness.
But even during uncertainty, leaders must not ignore the many positives that AI can deliver. In fact, when leveraged properly, Agenjo says that AI tools can improve employee well-being and provide real-time data insights to support and strengthen HR.
“AI has the potential to revolutionize how we support employees,” he says. “By analyzing real-time data, we can better understand and address [employee] needs, ultimately making us more effective at promoting well-being in the workplace. We want to make it easier for leaders to effectively support their teams.”
For example, at Erudit, leaders use a people-first AI tool that analyzes employee sentiment on job satisfaction, the feeling of autonomy, alignment, and nearly 50 other metrics. From this data, leaders become aware of the areas that need improvement to ensure a standout employee experience.
Introducing new processes takes time and that same patience must be extended to people when getting them on board. New advancements bare imperfections, but if sorted through collaboratively and optimistically, the process becomes easier for all involved. “We need to have honest conversations about the potential drawbacks and limitations of AI and work together to create people-first solutions,” Agenjo says.
