ChatGPT for HR (in 2024): What Can ChatGPT Do?
ChatGPT has been the most talked-about AI tool for months now. And rightly so, it creates an opportunity for almost every white-collar worker, including HR professionals, to save time and increase efficiency.
ChatGPT had 100 million monthly active users one month after its launch, setting the fastest-ever recorded growing user base. According to Sunweb’s estimates, ChatGPT saw a staggering 1.76 billion visits at the end of April. The market has seen the untapped potential of AI tools in streamlining how we search for information and work.
The tool is still in its research preview phase and is currently available for free, as the company beyond ChatGPT, OpenAI, gathers user feedback to learn about the tool’s strengths and weaknesses. Meanwhile, a paid version, ChatGPT-4, was launched in March 2023.
We will dive deeper into ChatGPT, discuss the benefits and risks to consider, and share a how-to on using ChatGPT ethically.
Curious how HR professionals can apply ChatGPT in their day-to-day work? Check out our ChatGPT prompts for HR list to get you started!
Contents
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT for HR: What can ChatGPT do?
HR jobs ChatGPT won’t be able to replace
ChatGPT limitations and risks for HR
ChatGPT ethics: How to use ChatGPT ethically in HR
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT consists of two parts: chat – which refers to its chatbot functionality, and GPT – which stands for generative pre-trained transformer.
Put simply, a generative pre-trained transformer is an algorithm that produces a chatbot’s human-like conversations by predicting which word is most likely to come next.
Other (large) companies have created their own GPTs too. There’s Microfsoft’s Bing AI and Google’s Bard; in the realm of HR, there is Beamery’s TalentGPT, for instance.
ChatGPT for HR: What can ChatGPT do?
It’s no secret that AI will become part of human resources functions. In our HR trends 2023, we predicted the continued rise and implementation of algorithmic HR for hiring, firing, and training employees. The HR trends report also highlighted that 40% of the HR functions within international companies have already implemented AI applications.
When utilized correctly across the HR function, AI can be an invaluable tool for HR professionals to:
- Eliminating repetitive tasks: HR professionals often deal with repetitive administrative tasks such as answering common employee queries, scheduling interviews, or updating employee records. ChatGPT can handle routine inquiries by providing information to HR professionals and employees so that HR can focus on more strategic activities.
- Accelerating the search for talent: ChatGPT can aid in talent acquisition by screening and shortlisting candidate resumes or applications. It can analyze job descriptions and match them with relevant candidates, saving time and effort for HR professionals. It can also help in formulating screening and interview questions.
- Help in reducing employee turnover: ChatGPT can help identify potential reasons for employee turnover by analyzing qualitative HR data such as exit interviews, employee surveys, or feedback. It can identify patterns, detect common themes, and highlight potential areas for improvement. This analysis can help HR professionals take proactive measures to address issues, improve employee satisfaction, and reduce turnover.
- Improving employee engagement: ChatGPT can provide personalized responses to employee questions, offer company policies and benefits guidance, and facilitate communication between HR and employees. ChatGPT can also assist in developing employee engagement initiatives, such as surveys or recognition programs.
- Analyzing qualitative HR data to identify trends and opportunities: HR departments often collect qualitative data through employee feedback, performance reviews, or cultural assessments. ChatGPT can analyze this data to identify trends, patterns, and potential opportunities for improvement. ChatGPT can provide HR professionals with valuable insights and enable data-driven decision-making by processing and summarizing large amounts of data quickly.
ChatGPT also offers multiple (and potentially untapped) application opportunities for HR across recruitment, onboarding, training, HR chatbots, performance management, and compliance.
HR jobs ChatGPT won’t be able to replace
As much as ChatGPT and other applications of AI for HR can make the lives of HR professionals easier, there are certain things that it won’t be able to take over. Here are a few examples:
- Providing emotional support to employees. ChatGPT is well-suited to take over operational support. However, it will never be able to replace the human touch or provide compassion. Nor will it be able to give emotional support or have empathy.
Particularly when an employee has an issue with a co-worker or manager that needs resolving or when assisting employees in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. - Developing strategies and driving change. While the AI-driven tool might help with writing (parts of) a strategy, it won’t be able to create and implement one.
This is also true when driving change; ChatGPT can play a supporting role in creating organizational change, but the change will still need to be implemented by the People Team. - Shaping organizational culture. HR is also important in shaping the company culture and influencing leadership. As such, they are responsible for aligning managers and employees with the culture, fostering a sense of ownership, and maintaining accountability throughout all company levels.
Various other activities will continue to remain the responsibility of HR, such as managing workforce ecosystems, redefining remote and hybrid work strategies, creating purpose-driven organizations, and reshaping workplace learning.
Knowledge, context and format
Three factors play a role in determining what ChatGPT can and cannot do. These are: knowledge, context, and format. While AI has tremendous amounts of knowledge at its disposal, it lacks context. As such, anything that requires a deep understanding of context (i.e. strategy and culture) is beyond the capabilities of AI.
ChatGPT limitations and risks for HR
While ChatGPT is an impressive piece of technology, the tool has its limitations too. Some commonly cited constraints include:
ChatGPT limitations:
- Limited data. Currently, ChatGPT’s training data doesn’t go beyond September 2021. This means that it doesn’t ‘know’ what happened after that; therefore, some prompts won’t provide an up-to-date result (or any result).
- Incorrect answers that seem right. This is also referred to as the ‘hallucination’ issue or overconfidence bias. It means that ChatGPT will answer questions that it doesn’t know the answer to by presenting factually incorrect information that implies it is correct.
- Biased answers. ChatGPT is only as good as the data it has been trained with, as with any other AI-driven tool. If the data holds biases or prejudices, the chatbot may generate answers that do too.
For example, the current data is predominantly English and contains a mostly Western worldview. This may lead to some cultural insensitivity and/or misunderstanding. - No sources. The tool doesn’t provide references, footnotes, or links for its answers, making verifying the information it provides difficult. In some instances, ChatGPT has also provided fake sources.
ChatGPT risks:
With these limitations in mind, ChatGPT presents potential risks for HR:
- Bias. If left unchecked, AI tools open the door for bias potentially seeping into various HR processes. This previously occurred at Amazon, and, more recently, Workday, where their artificial intelligence systems and screening tools allegedly disqualified applicants who were Black, disabled, or over the age of 40 at a disproportionate rate.
In the US, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination ) has also been exploring the use of AI in employment decisions in recent hearings. The outcome of these hearings may impact AI hiring policies in the future. - Incorrect information. Current training data goes up to September 2021, which could result in old or obsolete information. Cybersecurity. Employees are increasingly using ChatGPT secretly, potentially posing significant risks for companies when confidential information is shared.
ChatGPT ethics: How to use ChatGPT ethically in HR
Because of its importance, this topic deserves a much deeper dive. For now, let’s cover the basics of ethically using ChatGPT (and all AI-driven tools) in HR:
- Make a plan. Decide what you want to use ChatGPT for and what not to do. Identify what tasks or activities could be ‘ChatGPT’d.’ We’ll share some examples across the full employee lifecycle in the second part of this article.
As the tool is still in its trial phase, it might be wise to only use it for things that ‘can’t go wrong.’ Adopting a wait-and-see approach for the remaining tasks and activities until more (and up-to-date) information is available is advised. - Try the tool. Before integrating ChatGPT into the various stages of the employee life cycle, try it first! Assess whether ChatGPT holds value for your HR team, and determine its applications and rules for use.
- Do due diligence. As established, ChatGPT might not provide you with the most up-to-date or accurate information. Don’t take the output at face value. Fact-check and further research the accuracy of the results before including anything provided in a process or task.
- Don’t share sensitive or personal information. ChatGPT is still in the trial and developmental stage, which could mean that security on the tool is not yet up to scratch. For example, a recent ChatGPT glitch allowed users to see the titles of other users’ conversations.
- Create a ChatGPT policy for employees. As mentioned earlier, employees are increasingly using ChatGPT. Secretly. To (try and) avoid this, you should develop a ‘How to use ChatGPT safely’ policy for employees. Some (large) companies have also developed their own GPT. Others monitor the information shared on an AI platform or have introduced a company-sanctioned GPT in the workplace. Others, like Deloitte and JPMorgan, have simply banned its use.
- Consult with your IT and Legal department. Or with an external cybersecurity expert. This is unchartered territory, so get advice from people who understand the risks and security protocols.
In part 2 of this article, we will dive into ChatGPT prompts for HR and how you can use ChatGPT to get the best responses.
Key takeaways
- ChatGPT is a tool that allows almost every white-collar worker, including HR professionals, to save time and increase their efficiency.
- ChatGPT still has limitations, and its use is not without risk. Before integrating it into their day-to-day, HR needs to consider the ethical implications and make a plan for themselves and the employees in the organization.
FAQs
The term ‘ChatGPT’ consists of two parts: chat – which refers to its chatbot functionality, and GPT – which stands for generative pre-trained transformer.
ChatGPT is owned and developed by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research lab and company. OpenAI was founded in 2015.
ChatGPT can understand and generate human-like text responses, making it capable of providing information, answering questions, and engaging in discussions on a wide range of topics. ChatGPT can assist users in tasks such as generating creative ideas, offering suggestions, providing explanations, and can assist in analyzing data
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