of Artificial Intelligence - Harbinger Systems

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The Stateof Artificial Intelligence in HRGetting up to speed on AI in order to gainmaximum advantage for the HR function

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2 www.hr.com | 877-472-6648

The State of Artificial Intelligence in HR

copyright © HR.com 2017

Contents

Executive Summary 3

An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 5

HR’s Knowledge and Usage of AI 6

The Features HR Pros Want Most from AI 9

AI in HR Today and Tomorrow 13

The Role of AI in Automation and Augmentation 15

Drilling Down into Talent Acquisition 20

The Conflicted HR Professional 23

Key Takeaways 24

3 www.hr.com | 877-472-6648 copyright © HR.com 2017


Executive Summary

Artificial intelligence will transform HR technologies over the next five years, suggests new research conducted by HR.com. In the meantime, though, HR professionals have much to learn.

Below is an overview of some of the key findings from the study:

• As a profession, HR is still toward the bottom of the AI learning curve. Very few (8%) respondents strongly agreed that they are knowledgeable in this area, and only another 27% even moderately agreed.

• Current usage rates are low but are expected to explode in coming years. Whereas only 7% of respondents say their organizations make use of AI to a high or very high degree today, over five times as many (39%) say expect their organizations will be doing so in five years. That number is higher (57%) among respondents who consider themselves knowledgeable about AI.

• AI has the greatest potential to enhance HR in five functional areas: analytics and metrics, time and attendance, talent acquisition, training and development (T&D), and compensation and payroll.

• The ability to analyze and predict are the AI features HR pros want most from AI-powered applications. The ability to personalize is the third most desired feature.

• HR professionals expect that AI will be used more for automation than augmentation. Over half (54%) agreed to a high or very high extent that using AI to automate various tasks will become prevalent in their organizations over the next five years. Only 35% agreed that the augmentation of employee abilities would become more prevalent, but AI-knowledgeablea respondents were much more likely to foresee employee augmentation.

• HR will make use of automated AI interfaces to aid employees. Seventy-percent anticipate that AI interfaces such as chatbots and virtual assistants will become an increasingly viable way for employees to get real-time answers to their HR-related questions.

• Your next boss may be an AI. Employees will increasingly take direction from AIs, according to 53% of respondents, whereas only 13% said this wouldn’t happen.

• More respondents predict job losses than job gains as a result of AI in their organizations. Although a majority of respondents do not think AI-related technologies will bring about a significant gain or loss of jobs in their organizations, nearly twice as many say there will be a net loss of jobs as say there will be a net gain.

About the Survey

The State of Artificial Intelligence in HR survey ran in August and September of 2017. It was conducted by HR.com. We gathered 995 usable responses from HR professionals and people managers in virtually every industry vertical, with the largest industry groups being services, manufacturing and computer/telecom. The participants represent a broad cross-section of employers by number of employees, ranging from small businesses with under 50 employees to enterprises with 20,000+ employees.



• AI is widely viewed as a valuable talent acquisition tool. Most (70%) respondents agreed that AI-based algorithms can be used to improve recruitment by scanning work samples, resumes and other materials and then predicting which ones are most likely to lead to good hires.

• Most HR professionals have conflicted feelings about the potential power of AI to monitor and report back on employees. Few respondents said they either love or detest the idea of using AI to monitor employees. Most said they either “like the idea but have some reservations” (34%) or “dislike the idea but it has some merits” (36%).



An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly pervasive in our technologies and, therefore, our work and personal lives. But what exactly is it? The English Oxford dictionary defines it as “The theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.”

The modern concept of AI dates back at least as far as Alan Turing, the English mathematician who proposed the universal Turing machine in 1937. It became the basis for today’s programmable computer. He also introduced the famous “Turing Test” as a way of gauging intelligent behavior in computers.

It was John McCarthy, however, who coined the term artificial intelligence in 1956. In the 1950s, much progress was made in the field, including the development of a checkers-playing program capable of challenging the world champion. Since then, of course, a great deal of progress has made in many AI subfields such as machine learning, case-based reasoning, data mining, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, game playing and more. In recent years, investors have bet on the idea that AI will play an integral role in a wide range of commercial applications. The research firm CB Insights reports that “combined, the 10 largest tech companies have acquired 50 AI companies in the last 5 years, targeting facial recognition startups, chatbots, chip makers, and more.” But it isn’t only the largest tech companies that are investing in AI. In 2016, AI attracted over $5 billion in venture capital (VC) funding, and some experts think it’s likely AI will continue to attract a very large portion of VC funding in coming years. CloudTweaks reports that “during the time of 2012 to 2016, the number of deals rose from 160 to 658 each year while funding hit a record high of $5.02 billion last year as compared to just $589 million in 2012.” These trends are already affecting the field of human resources. HR technology leaders foresee AI’s growing role in a variety of areas such as aiding recruitment, improving compliance, augmented training, streamlining onboarding and more. To gain a more detailed picture of how HR is currently using AI—and will use it in the near future—HR.com conducted “The State of Artificial Intelligence in HR” survey in August/September 2017. Following are the primary findings and insights from this large and detailed survey.

https://www.cbinsights.com/research/top-tech-companies-artificial-intelligence-expert-intelligence/

https://cloudtweaks.com/2017/09/ai-startup-vc-funds/

http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/ten-ways-hr-tech-leaders-can-make-artificial-intelligence/



HR’s Knowledge and Usage of AI

Finding One: As a profession, HR is still toward the bottom of the AI learning curve Most HR professionals still have much to learn about how to use AI to enhance the HR function. Very few (8%) respondents strongly agreed that they are knowledgeable in this area, and only another 27% even moderately agreed. This lack of knowledge is natural, given AI’s technical nature and its rapid evolution in recent years. However, the HR profession needs to “get up to speed” on AI technology because, as we will see, its influence and importance are expected to grow quickly in the near future.

For the purpose of this paper, we will use the data from this section to separate survey participants into two groups:

• AI-knowledgeable respondents: The HR professionals who moderately or strongly agreed that they are knowledgeable about the topic of using artificial technology for the purposes of enhancing the human resources function.

• AI-unknowledgeable respondents: The HR professionals who disagreed, to any extent, that they are knowledgeable about using AI for HR enhancement.

In some sections of this report, we will illustrate how these two cohorts view AI’s future in the HR function in different ways.

Survey Statement: I consider myself knowledgeable about the topic of using artificial technology for the purposes of enhancing the human resources function:

STRONGLY AGREE

MODERATELY AGREE

SLIGHTLY AGREE

MODERATELY DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

SLIGHTLY DISAGREE

27%

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FIGURE 1

Only 8% strongly agree they are knowledgeable about using AI in HR



Finding Two: Current usage rates are low but are expected to explode in coming years

Whereas only 7% of respondents said their organizations make use of AI to a high or very high degree today, over five times as many (39%) said they expect their organizations will be doing so in five years.

Survey Question: For HR purposes, to what degree is your organization making use of AI today, and to what degree do you think it will be in five years?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Percent indicating high or very high degree

7%

39%

Today

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Respondents forecast that by 2022, there will be more than a five-fold increase in the percentage of companies that use AI to a high degree

FIGURE 2



Finding Three: AI-knowledgeable HR pros tend to have higher expectations

The AI-knowledgeable respondents have even higher expectations for AI’s future in HR. Well over half (57%) predict that their organizations will use AI for HR purposes to a high or very high extent in five years. In contrast, relatively few (19%) of the AI-unknowledgeable respondents make the same prediction.

What accounts for that wide divide? Perhaps HR professionals with greater AI knowledge have a more accurate insight into the future of AI in HR. If so, then AI will soon become even more important to HR than the average response would lead us to believe. On the other hand, perhaps the AI-knowledgeable respondents are more passionate about this topic and so overestimate AI’s future influence, even within the context of their own organizations.

Survey Question: For HR purposes, to what degree will your organization make use of AI in five years?

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Percent indicating high or very high degree

AI-Knowledgeable

AI-Unknowledgeable

57%

Average 39%

19%

Among AI-unknowledgeable participants, only about a fifth said their organizations will make use of AI to a high or very high degree in five years

FIGURE 3



The Features HR Pros Want Most from AI

Finding Four: The ability to analyze is the most widely preferred AI feature When we asked participants about the feature they’d most like to see in an AI-powered application, their top response was the “ability to analyze.” This makes sense in light of the fact that 1) artificial intelligence, especially in the area of machine learning, is analytical in nature and based on computers’ ability to “crunch numbers” much more quickly than any human being can, and 2) AI-based analytics tools have been many of the first AI products adopted by HR.

As the Society for Human Resource Management recently reported, “Tools designed to help HR leaders understand and predict the impact of talent decisions were among the first to hit the market and now help forecast employee flight risk, identify high-potential employees, unearth engagement issues, recommend learning courses and more.” In other words, AI-based HR analytics can be applied across a wide range of HR functions.

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Survey Question: Select the features you would you most like to see in an AI-powered HR application? (select up to four)

HR professionals are most interested in AI’s ability to analyze, predict and personalize

FIGURE 4

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/technology/pages/artificial-intelligence-can-boost-hr-analytics-but-buyer-beware.aspx



Finding Five: Analytics is also viewed as the area of highest HR potential

When we asked respondents about where they thought AI has the greatest potential to improve HR in coming years, the most popular responses—by a wide margin—was analytics and metrics. Again, we believe this is because analytics is a natural AI strength and because it can be applied across many HR functions.

The other top-rated response items are more well-defined by HR function. They include:

• Time and Attendance• Talent Acquisition • Training and Development• Compensation and Payroll The vast majority of organizations, even smaller ones, need to track employee “time and attendance” as well as “compensation and payroll,” so applying AI to these data-heavy areas makes sense, especially from an analytics point of view.

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Survey Statement: Select the areas where you think AI has the greatest potential to improve the HR function in the next five years. (select all that apply)

IMAGE

AI is viewed as having the highest potential in the HR analytics functionFIGURE 5



Finding Six: The ability to predict is widely desired and is linked to talent acquisition

Prediction is the second most widely preferred AI feature (see Figure Four). Why? Because it is a major component of many HR professionals’ jobs. That is, they must be able to anticipate a wide range of factors, such as:

• Which job candidates will make the best hires• Which employees are most likely to leave the organization• What kind of compensation packages are most likely to lead to employee retention• What the need and availability will be for employees with certain skill sets• Which benefit packages are most likely to appeal to employees

This list, of course, could be much expanded, but one area worth focusing on is talent acquisition. As Figure Five shows, talent acquisition was the third most widely cited area where AI has the opportunity to improve the HR function. Even more interesting, 59% of AI-knowledgeable respondents chose talent acquisition, making it the second most widely chosen item among that cohort.

Successful talent acquisition largely hinges on predictive ability. AI-based algorithms can be used to scan work samples, resumes and other materials (see Figure Six) and then predict which ones are most likely to lead to good hires. Moreover, AI can potentially be used to analyze and predict based on a range of other types of data, from online candidate profiles to word choice and even facial expressions.

Survey Statement: Using AI-based algorithms to scan work samples, resumes, and other materials presented by applicants improves the recruitment and selection process

Seventy percent believe that AI-based algorithms can improve recruitment

19%

51%

19%

3%8%

STRONGLY AGREE

AGREE

NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

DISAGREE

FIGURE 6



Finding Seven: The ability to personalize is another preferred feature and is associated with learning and development

The ability to personalize was chosen as a key AI feature among 57% of respondents (see Figure Four). Although personalization can be applied across various functions, it is typically associated with employee learning and education programs. This connection probably helps explain why training and development was viewed as among the top four areas in which AI has the greatest potential to improve the HR function (see Figure Five).



AI in HR Today and Tomorrow

Finding Eight: Nearly a quarter say AI is already important to overall HR technologies today, and two-thirds say it will be in five years

Although there’s a consensus that AI will become more important in the near future, we should not ignore the fact that nearly a quarter of respondents (23%) said that AI is already important or very important to their overall HR technologies today. This finding emphasizes the fact that AI is not just a futuristic HR factor. It’s a current factor in many companies.

It is true, however, that AI will become even more important. In fact, two-thirds expect AI to be important to overall HR technologies in five years (see Figure Seven). For the AI-knowledgeable cohort, the number rises to 79%.

Respondents predict huge jumps in importance for other areas as well. One worth mentioning is learning and development. Not only do 63% expect AI to be important to T&D in five years, that number jumps to 72% for the AI-knowledgeable cohort.

At a more general level, AI is expected to have a major impact on overall employee productivity as well as what we could call “cognitive productivity” in form of better decision making and strategic planning.

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Overall HRTechnology

Learning andDevelopment

StrategicPlanning

EmployeeProductivity

DecisionMaking

TalentAcquisition

Survey Question: How important is AI to this HR area and how important do you expect it to be in five years? [percent important and very important]

In these six areas, HR professionals predict massive increases in the importance of AI

FIGURE 7



Finding Nine: There is a risk of AI hype in the HR function As the importance of AI in HR rises, the risk of market hype increases as well. In fact, the research and advisory organization Gartner reports that the growing interest in AI is “pushing established software vendors to introduce AI into their product strategy, creating considerable confusion in the process.”

Things have happened quickly in this area over the last couple of years. Gartner.com reports that in January 2016, the term “artificial intelligence” wasn’t among the top 100 search terms on its website but that by May 2017, it ranked as number 7. Gartner isn’t the only source picking up on the increasing popularity of AI as a search term. Google Trends, which is based on global Google searches, shows an increase from 27 in 2014 to 100 as of July 2017 (see Figure Eight).*

Amid all the general interest in AI—and the specific interest in AI within the HR function—HR vendors become more likely to tout AI capabilities of their products. As a result, HR professionals will need to hone their abilities to gauge the quality of those offerings and discern hype from reality.

*Note: Google indexes its data to 100, where 100 is the maximum search interest for the time selected. Other figures are a proportion of that 100 number.

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Arti�cial Intelligence as a Search Term on Google(July 2014 to October 2017)

UPGRADING NOW.....

UPGRADING NOW.....

FIGURE 8

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3763265

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=artificial intelligence&date=2014-07-20 2017-10-10#TIMESERIES



The Role of AI in Automation and Augmentation

Finding Ten: In general, HR professionals expect that AI will be used more for automation than augmentation Although HR focuses on human beings, today’s HR professionals generally believe that AI will be used more for automation than augmentation in their organizations. Whether or not this is true, it highlights the mindset that AI-based technologies will tend to take over certain tasks and jobs rather than amplify or supplement the skills that human beings bring to their work.

That mindset is understandable in an age when so many manufacturing jobs have already been automated and there are hundreds of articles on how self-driving cars and trucks are going to wipe out millions of transportation jobs. Some experts, however, do not agree that automation will trump augmentation in coming years. When the MIT Sloan School of Management hosted the 14th annual CIO Symposium in May 2017— “The CIO Adventure: Now, Next and… Beyond”—it put together an expert panel that discussed the automation vs. augmentation question. MIT Sloan Management Review reports the following:

In another example, a Boston University study recently found that “people hated talking to a machine during customer service encounters, even if it’s a supposedly smart, Siri-like interactive voice response system,” according to the Forbes article Why AI Should Augment, And Not Replace, Staff. But AI can help customer service employees quickly locate answers to typical customer questions, thereby enhancing the quality and productivity of such workers.

[MIT Media Lab’s Joi Ito] argues that augmentation—that is, using machine learning to improve industrial processes, workplace efficiency, and customer experiences—is the more common way to leverage the technology today, and the panel finds consensus around this idea. Azarbayejani’s firm, Cogito Corporation Inc., for example, employs AI to understand the nuances of how people use words in conversations, using the knowledge to provide real-time feedback to frontline staff in call center environments.

http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/augmentation-versus-automation-ais-utility-in-the-workplace/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2016/04/14/why-ai-should-augment-and-not-replace-staff/#675305f62398



Finding Eleven: Highly AI-knowledgeable HR pros are more likely to foresee high usage of AI for augmenting employees

AI-knowledgeable respondents were also more likely to give the nod to automation (69%) over augmentation (57%), but their responses differed in two ways. First, the predicted gap between the two uses of AI was narrower. Second, they were much more likely to believe augmentation would play a major role over the next five years.

Whereas 57% of AI-knowledgeable respondents said that augmentation would play a prevalent role over the next years, the same was true for only 22% of the AI-unknowledgeable cohort.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Automatingvarious tasks

Augumentingemployee capbilities

Enhancing managerialdecision making

Percent saying high or very high

54%

35%

35%

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57%AI-knowledgeable

35%Average

22%AI-unknowledgeable

Percent indicating high or very high degree foremployee augmentation

Survey Question: In your organization, to what degree will the following usages of AI become prevalent over the next five years?

Survey Question: In your organization, to what degree will the following usages of AI become prevalent over the next five years?

AI-knowledgeable and AI-unknowledgeable respondents view the future of augmentation very differently

Over half said automating tasks will become prevalent to a high degree in their organizations over the next five years

FIGURE 9

FIGURE 10



Finding Twelve: In terms of features HR would like to see, employee augmentation is little more than an afterthought

As Figure Four shows, the “ability to augment skills” was chosen by only 39% of respondents when they were asked about which features they’d most like to see in an AI-powered HR application. It was ranked sixth out of eight possible features. It seems most HR professionals are not focused on the topic of skills augmentation.

We must note, however, that many of the most desired features of AI-powered HR applications—such as the ability to analyze, predict and diagnose—could conceivably be used to augment rather than replace HR professional jobs. To a degree, therefore, some of the distinctions between automation and augmentation are a matter of semantics.

Finding Thirteen: There is widespread agreement that HR will use automated AI interfaces to respond to employee questions

Most HR professionals anticipate harnessing forms of AI to automate or augment a portion of their jobs, especially when it comes to responding to employee questions. Seventy-three percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “AI interfaces such as chatbots and virtual assistants will become an increasingly viable way for employees to get real-time answers to their HR-related questions.” Because such technologies can sometimes lead to high rates of frustration on the part of users, actual adoption rates will largely depend on how quickly these technologies advance.

Survey Statement: AI interfaces such as chatbots and virtual assistants will become an increasingly viable way for employees to get real-time answers to their HR-related questions

STRONGLY AGREE

AGREE


STRONGLY DISAGREE

DISAGREE

1%6%

25%

48%

20%

FIGURE 11

Nearly three-quartersagree that chatbots and virtual assistants have a future in the HR function



Finding Fourteen: Your next boss may be an AI

Employees will increasingly take direction from AIs, according to 53% of respondents, whereas only 13% said this would not happen. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of AI-knowledgeable respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this assertion.

Will AIs actually manage human beings? That depends on our definition of “manage.” AI-capabilities may well continue to improve project management software. Writing in Psychology Today, Ray Williams argues that “many routine basic administrative coordination and control tasks such as resource allocation, reporting and scheduling will be done by AI.”

AIs will not, however, soon be able to listen to employee concerns, make judgements, facilitate teams, address personality conflicts and the like. For this, human managers and leaders will be needed. Managers will likely view AI software as a powerful management tool and perhaps even a kind of colleague.

STRONGLY AGREE

AGREE


STRONGLY DISAGREE

DISAGREE

3% 8%

45%34%

10%

Survey Question: Over the next five years, employees will increasingly take direction from AIs that allocate and assign tasks to them (for example, by using automated project management software).

FIGURE 12

Nearly two-thirds of AI-knowledgeable respondents say employees will increasingly take direction from AIs

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201611/why-artificial-intelligence-will-replace-managers



Finding Fifteen: More respondents predict job losses than job gains as a result of AI

A majority of respondents do not think AI-related technologies will bring about a significant gain or loss of job in their organizations, but nearly twice as many say there will be a net loss of jobs as say there will be a net gain. The implication is that, while AI may not be the massive job killer some experts predict, it will lead to fewer jobs overall in existing organizations.

Although AI-knowledgeable HR pros are more likely than average to foresee job gains, they still tend to predict losses of jobs (30%) rather than net gains (21%).

FIGURE 13

Survey Question: How do you think AI-related technologies will influence the number of jobs in your organization over the next five years?

THERE WILL BE A NET LOST IN JOBS

THERE WILL BE A NET GAIN IN JOBS

THERE WILL NOT BE A SIGNIFICANT GAIN OR LOSS

27%

15%

58%

Nearly twice as many HR pros foresee job losses rather than job gains as a result of AI



Drilling Down into Talent Acquisition

As we noted previously (see Figure Six), most (70%) respondents agreed that AI-based algorithms can be used to improve recruitment by scanning work samples, resumes and other materials and then predicting which ones are most likely to lead to good hires.

But there are also areas related to talent acquitions where AI might play a role as well. These areas are potentially more controversial uses of AI because they go beyond just scanning materials presented by applicants. Following are two more areas related specifically to recruitment and selection.

Finding Sixteen: Nearly three-fifths agree AI can improve recruitment by scanning and analyzing social media posts and other online materials

Well over half (59%) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “using AI-based algorithms to scan and analyze social media posts, photos and other candidate-related online materials improves the recruitment process.”

This type of usage of AI, however, raises a number of issues. Should a job candidate’s online communications and images, which were often not intended to be work related, be used to make recruitment decisions? After all, such information was not typically available before the age of the social media and might be perceived by some as an invasion of their virtual private space.

Another issue is that such communications could reveal much about a candidate’s ethnicity, religion, gender, country of origin and other factors. This could potentially be problematic because Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, national origin, race, color, or sex characteristics.

Of course, it can be argued that AI does not change anything in this area. Using social media for hiring is already perceived as a risk that must be managed. “Social media profiles have become founts of information for recruiters vetting job candidates, presenting a risk not only to applicants whose personal posts may hurt their chances but also to employers who might discover details they don’t want seeping into their hiring decisions,” reports the Chicago Tribune.

So, the real question is whether a particular AI application somehow increases those risks. In a recent interview, data scientist Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction, addresses the topic of algorithms that help companies make hiring decisions. She argues that algorithms are sometimes based on historical data that includes decisions made by individuals that were, consciously or not, suffering from race or gender-related prejudices.

https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0914-social-media-hiring.aspx

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-social-media-job-candidates-0113-biz-20160111-story.html

https://qz.com/819245/data-scientist-cathy-oneil-on-the-cold-destructiveness-of-big-data/

http://crownpublishing.com/archives/news/weapons-math-destruction-cathy-oneil#.WeoU9GiPLcs

http://crownpublishing.com/archives/news/weapons-math-destruction-cathy-oneil#.WeoU9GiPLcs



Finding Seventeen: Fewer HR professionals agree that AI is a good way of assessing emotions and engagement

Only two-fifths of respondents agreed that “using AI-based algorithms to analyze interviews, facial expressions, word choice and other areas is a good way of assessing areas such as candidate engagement and emotion.” It’s likely that many respondents do not yet view AI as being adept at these types of skills, but this may change over time.

STRONGLY AGREE

AGREE


STRONGLY DISAGREE

DISAGREE

13%

46%

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Survey Statement: Using AI-based algorithms to scan and analyze social media posts, photos and other candidate-related online materials improves the recruitment process.

FIGURE 14

Just 15% disagreed that recruitment can be improved by scanning and analyzing social media posts, photos and other candidate-related online materials



Survey Statement: Using AI-based algorithms to analyze interviews, facial expressions, word choice and other areas is a good way of assessing areas such as candidate engagement and emotion.

Most do not yettrust AI to read candidate emotions in a dependable way

STRONGLY AGREE

AGREE


STRONGLY DISAGREE

DISAGREE

6% 8%

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FIGURE 15



The Conflicted HR Professional

Finding Eighteen: Most HR professionals have mixed feelings about the potential power of AI to monitor and report back on employees.

The application of AI to personnel and management issues is likely to trigger future quandaries for HR professionals. To further investigate this, we asked a controversial question: “How would you feel about AI software that tracks everything your employees do on their digital devices, analyzes those activities, and then regularly reports back to their supervisors with a summary and recommendations?” The results to the question highlight the fact that HR professionals, taken as a whole, have mixed or even conflicted feelings about applying powerful AI to people management. Few respondents said they either love or detest the idea. Most said they either “like the idea but have some reservations” (34%) or “dislike the idea but it has some merits” (36%). Although there was a slight edge in the direction of dislike/detest, the responses show that HR professionals are of two minds on this issue. The bottom line is that as AI becomes more capable and powerful, HR professionals as well other organizational leaders will not only need to determine what they can do with AI technology, but what they should do with it. Therefore, HR professionals should familiarize themselves with the nuances of AI-based technologies and clearly envision how these technology can and should be used.

FIGURE 16

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Survey Question: How would you feel about AI software that tracks everything your employees do on their digital devices (desktop, laptop, smartphone, etc.), analyzes those activities, and then regularly reports back to their supervisors with a summary and recommendations? (check one)

HR professionals are of two minds about using AI to monitor employees



Key Takeaways

In light of these research findings, what steps should organizations take? Below are eight key takeaways that may help.

1. Boost HR’s AI IQ. Few HR professionals believe they are very knowledgeable about using AI to enhance HR, so the first order of business is for more HR professionals to “get up to speed” in the area of AI. This means reading reports (like this one) and articles, speaking with internal and external experts, attending conferences, tracking trends, and otherwise climbing the AI learning curve.

2. Prepare for both advances and marketing jargon. There have been, and will continue to be, many amazing advances in the field of AI, and these advances will soon be applied to HR technology products. However, as AI becomes more integral to HR technologies, there will be a lot of hype from marketers. This is one of the primary reasons HR pros need to boost their AI IQ. Unless they do, they will not know how to separate the wheat from the chaff and so wind up spending a lot of money on products that cannot perform as advertised.

3. Determine where AI can help your HR function most. This will vary accordingly to organizational needs and the evolution of HR technology itself. For now, at least, HR professionals see the greatest potential in the areas of analytics, time and attendance, talent acquisition, T&D and compensation/payroll. However, we must take this with a grain of salt, given the fact so many HR professionals are still neophytes in this area. If your particular HR area is operating smoothly, there’s no need to go out and purchase the latest AI-powered option. But if your operations are clunky and inefficient, then it may well be worth seeking out an AI-powered solution that boosts performance.

4. Leverage AI’s ability to analyze, predict and personalize. These are the features that HR professionals want to see most in AI-powered HR applications, but they will help in some HR jobs more than others. Personalization, for example, is probably most applicable to areas such as learning and development and career management. Before adopting a new technology, determine what you’d like to see from it and how well it can deliver. Also, establish the degree to which the new technology can actually boost performance, as opposed to just seeming impressive.

5. Consider the bigger workforce picture. HR professionals are duty bound to think outside their function. AI is going to change more than the HR department. It is likely to change the way much, if not most, work gets done, and HR professionals should be part of these conversations. Should AI be

HR



used to automate a job or augment employees doing that job? This will become a more common debate within organizations, and HR should be able to bring a particular and well-informed point of view to the table. 6. Look for ways to augment employees. AI-based applications have the potential to dramatically raise the productivity of employees. This is true both within and outside of the HR function. For example, AIs may help healthcare workers diagnose patients more easily or aid financial analysts in spotting important patterns in recent sales data. Although HR professionals can’t possibly keep up with every AI application in every job category, they can become knowledgeable internal consultants on the topic of how to boost employee performance via AI-related technologies and how to estimate potential productivity increases.

7. Investigate how the “AI bosses” will influence employees. As more projects and workflows are “managed” by AIs, employees will be affected in multiple ways, from the establishment of new work processes to the development of new work attitudes. How will this change the need for human contact? Does it increase or diminish social skills and emotional intelligence? Are some types of employees more suited for AI-management than others? HR professionals will need to track these issues and help human managers cope with challenges as they arise.

8. Ponder the hard ethical and legal questions in advance. As AI-applications evolve, they will become increasingly powerful. HR and other leaders will need to distinguish between what’s possible and what’s desirable. If, for example, AI could be used to monitor employees more closely than ever before, should it be used for that? How will that impact corporate culture, employee retention and other issues? How can HR weigh the costs against the benefits? HR and corporate leaders have had to deal with similar issues before, such as drug testing or email privacy. AI will raise more of such issues, and HR must be prepared to address them.



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