AI in HR: 2024 Guide to Opportunities and Applications in HR
The use of AI in HR is growing fast. A recent survey by Eightfold AI of more than 250 HR leaders found that 92% plan to increase their use of AI in at least one area of HR. Steadily, AI is finding its way into every part of the HR field, from recruiting and onboarding to performance management and evaluation via employee engagement and workforce planning.
Let’s explore the state of AI in human resources, its opportunities and challenges, and the implications for HR professionals.
Contents
AI in HR: Past and present
Will AI replace HR?
The benefits of AI in HR
Applications of AI in HR
AI tools for HR
The future of AI in HR
AI in HR: Past and present
The past: Early exploration and experimentation
The first AI-powered HR tools, such as applicant tracking systems and resume screening software, appeared in the early 2000s. As technology developed further, the 2010s gave birth to a broader range of capabilities for AI in HR. Early adopters could now experiment with HR applications for talent acquisition, performance management, and employee engagement.
Significant investments in AI-driven HR technologies have led to more sophisticated machine learning algorithms in recent years. That enabled systems to learn from data, adapt, and improve over time, giving rise to predictive analytics and intelligent insights.
The present: Rapid advancements and AI integration
It’s evident that the use of AI in HR is growing fast. According to IDC’s Future of Work research, 80% of global 2000 companies will use algorithmic managers for hiring, firing, and training workers by 2024.
The Future of Work survey by Eightfold AI found that the top 5 functions where HR departments are currently using AI technology are:
- Employee records management (78%)
- Payroll processing and benefits administration (77%)
- Recruitment and hiring (73%)
- Performance management (72%)
- Onboarding (69%).
The boom in generative AI
It’s impossible to talk about the current, rapid advancements of AI without mentioning generative AI and, more specifically, ChatGPT. There are various ways in which ChatGPT can be used by HR professionals, including:
- Eliminating repetitive tasks
- Accelerating the talent search
- Analyzing qualitative HR data.
We will take a closer look at how HR is currently using AI in the section about applications of AI in HR.
Why this matters for HR professionals
The developments we see when it comes to AI in human resources will undeniably have an impact on HR’s role, the skills HR professionals need, and the way in which people are managed.
Will AI replace HR?
Various myths exist about AI in HR and whether this technology will replace people in their jobs. In an article on whether AI has the potential to replace HR, Gartner explained:
“AI tools are designed to enhance human capabilities and can be useful in delegating tasks. Technology will be pervasive in most employees’ activities instead of replacing employees altogether.”
That being said, the field of HR will not be immune to the effects of adopting AI and automation. Unsurprisingly, more repetitive and less complex jobs are vulnerable to automation, while roles that require problem-solving are less likely to be automated.
To understand which HR roles are at risk, Dr. Dieter Veldsman, Chief HR Scientist at AIHR, divided 55 of the most common HR roles into three categories from high-risk to low-risk:
- High-risk: These include HR Administrators, DEIB Consultants, and Payroll Team Leads.
- Moderate risk: These include L&D Specialists, HRIS Analysts, and HRBPs.
- Low risk: These include Senior HRBPs, HR Specialists, and Data Scientists.
If an HR professional’s role is at risk of automation, Dr. Dieter Veldsman advises on steps you can take. These include:
- Considering whether they need to upskill or broaden their skills
- Learning how to apply their skills in different contexts
- Considering moving to roles that require more critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
The benefits of AI in HR
Despite the automation risk in certain HR roles, there is still a multitude of opportunities that AI in HR offers, such as:
- Improved efficiency and productivity
- Better structured processes (in onboarding and offboarding, for example)
- Reduced costs
- Less repetitive and time-consuming tasks for People Teams
- More data-driven decision-making.
Applications of AI in HR
Let’s take a closer look at how HR uses AI.
1. Recruitment and hiring
Recruitment and hiring were some of the first areas where AI was applied to improve processes. As such, AI has been incorporated into every single part of the recruitment process, from sourcing and pre-selection to interviewing and developing fair compensation. For example, AI-driven applicant tracking systems (ATS) can be used to scan resumes to identify key qualifications and match candidates to job descriptions.
More recently, ChatGPT has also been used for recruiting. Recruiters and talent acquisition professionals are able to use ChatGPT for various tasks across the stages of the hiring process, including:
- Writing a job description
- Boolean string generation
- LinkedIn posts
- Providing pre-interview briefings to candidates
- And so much more.
2. Onboarding and offboarding
Great employee onboarding can improve retention by 82%. AI-driven onboarding platforms can support organizations and HR in creating an engaging experience for their employees by ensuring the necessary forms are filled in, relevant policies are shared, and training sessions are scheduled. For example, Levity enables organizations to automate their entire onboarding workflow with the help of AI.
Offboarding is no different. When an employee leaves the company, an AI-powered solution can, for example, send out an exit survey, documents related to the return of company assets, and emails to revoke the employee’s access to various systems. Ciphix has created an RPA solution that fully automates administrative offboarding, such as removing the VPN connection and deleting all accounts of the exited employee.
3. Workforce planning
AI can also be very useful in workforce planning. Analytics platforms equipped with AI capabilities can crunch vast amounts of employee data to uncover trends, predict turnover, and highlight potential skills gaps.
This, in turn, enables HR professionals to develop targeted training programs and solid succession plans so that their workforce is ready to meet future business needs.
Quinix, for example, has created an AI-powered forecasting and automation solution that lets companies analyze thousands of data points to anticipate peak and down periods in demand and automatically schedule the exact number of employees they need.
4. HR chatbots and virtual assistants
Chatbots and virtual assistants are among the more commonly known types of AI in HR. A chatbot that serves as an HR assistant can respond 24/7 to employee queries about, for example, leave policies and benefits.
These simple tools can improve an organization’s overall employee experience while saving HR teams from answering frequently asked questions or providing commonly requested information.
DRUID has developed conversational, AI-driven virtual assistants that can support HR teams with various processes, including recruitment and onboarding, compensation & benefits, and admin tasks.
5. Learning and development
There are also various applications of AI in learning and development. For example, AI can enable personalized learning experiences for each employee. AI tools can analyze the learner’s performance and adapt the curriculum or content to their needs and preferences.
Other examples include automated learning content creation, predictive analytics, and intelligent tutoring systems.
Novoed has created an AI system that can personalize the learning experience for teams. It analyzes learners’ profiles, preferences, and activities and gives employees tailored course recommendations to map their unique needs and interests. The tool also has AI-driven chatbots that offer learning support.
AI tools for HR
There are many AI tools that HR can use. The section below offers a brief overview of some of these tools you can incorporate across the various stages of the employee lifecycle:
Employee life cycle stage AI tool for HR What is it? Main features Attraction Textio An AI-powered augmented writing platform that optimizes (recruitment) language. Optimizing job posts, sourcing emails, and employer brand content by eliminating bias. Suggesting inclusive alternatives. Recruitment Beamery An AI-driven platform for talent lifecycle management. Personalized candidate experience. AI shows recruiters where teams have skills gaps. Onboarding Talmundo A platform that helps its customers optimize their onboarding, offboarding, reboarding, and more. Eliminating repetitive manual work. Connecting with existing HR systems. Securely gathering employee data. Retention (engagement) Leena AI An AI-enabled conversational platform designed to help organizations deploy an automated helpdesk with a virtual assistant to improve employee engagement. Engagement level assessment throughout the employee life cycle. Uses generative AI to create personalized action plans based on employee feedback. Development eduMe AI A mobile-based training platform for the deskless workforce. AI lesson generation.Social media-style formats. Custom learning experiences. Offboarding Sanka An online service that helps you automate any task in minutes across the business. The platform uses advanced AI to automate your offboarding process. It seamlessly connects with existing employee data for an efficient, consistent experience.
The future of AI in HR
The future of AI in HR not only holds significant promise, but also transformation within the HR profession. As AI continue to reshape how HR professionals operate, it will be imperative for them to develop new skills to remain relevant and drive business value. Here are some of the key roles HR professionals will need to play and the impacts on the HR profession.
1. HR’s role in AI adoption
AI will not only become ubiquitous across the employee lifecycle, it will also form part of the workforce that HR needs to manage. Currently, the workforce consists of traditional employees, gig workers, vendors, or contractors who conduct the work. In the future, HR will also need to manage co-bots working with employees to get work done.
In the future, generative AI will be able to take on full responsibility for specific tasks and activities. This will impact work design and how HR develops capacity planning in the future.
To manage the workforce of the future, Dr. Veldsman predicts that HR professionals will need to:
- Understand the value AI bots bring to the table
- Determine how these bots can be incorporated into workforce plans for the future.
2. HR’s role will change
The future will also bring changes to the HR practitioners’ work. As AI removes most of the repetitive, operational work, HR will shift its priority to supporting the adoption of AI across the organization, and providing more strategic value to the business. HR professionals will need to develop new skills to adapt to this change.
Additional skills HR practitioners will need to develop include:
- Business acumen: Truly understanding the business is the starting point for aligning HR solutions with business needs.
- Communication skills: The ability to connect well with all kinds of people and leave a professional and positive impression is essential for HR professionals.
- Delivering through technology: Being able to effectively implement technology into HR solutions to drive efficiency, scale, and business impact.
- Active listening: Active listening goes hand in hand with empathy, the ability to see situations from the perspective of all stakeholders. An important skill when navigating the adoption of AI across the business.
- Generative AI: Being able to integrate AI into their daily activities and understanding how to work with AI technologies responsible for adjacent tasks.
- Problem-solving skills: Finding new solutions within a digitally enabled workforce that help the business win in the marketplace.
- Curiosity: Keep asking questions, staying open-minded, wanting to learn, and being curious.
3. Driving responsible AI use
HR will need to become the gatekeepers for responsible use of AI across the organization, now and in the future. Dr. Dieter Veldsman suggests several ways that HR practitioners can contribute to a responsible adoption of AI:
- Know where the data comes from
- Get a task team together to develop guardrails and guidelines
- Experiment with its use, but do so incrementally
- Build trust and transparency in the technology, but be aware of its limitations
- Contribute towards the bigger discussion on the AI future.
Key takeaway
The use of AI in human resources is rapidly growing. There is an AI-driven solution for virtually every area of HR. To fully benefit from this technology and drive the adoption of AI within the organization, HR practitioners will need to level up their skills and establish best practices around the responsible use of AI.
Weekly update
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, trends, and resources in HR
Learn more
Related articles
Are you ready for the future of HR?
Learn modern and relevant HR skills, online
