Using AI in HR operations certainly offers efficiency and speed, but it is not without its challenges. Chief among them is the loss of personal connection.
For years, the banking industry has leveraged automation to improve efficiency. Previously, if you needed a temporary credit limit increase for travel, you had to speak to a customer service officer. Now, you can simply do it via the banking app, anytime, anywhere. No human interaction required.
Similarly, many HR professionals are turning to AI to automate tasks.
For example, instead of interacting with real HR personnel, employees can now consult chatbots for information on company HR policies.
From an HR professional’s perspective, this makes sense! Having to answer the same question hundreds of times a month is tedious.
While this information is readily available for employees to search, many still prefer to speak to a human and receive a direct answer.
According to Svetozarovová et al. (2024):
Mean values range from 3.0 to 3.3, indicating a largely neutral or slightly positive employee attitude toward their organization’s digitization efforts. Employees placed the greatest importance on the competitiveness of their organizations' digitalization efforts, with the highest mean value of 3.3 and a standard deviation of 1.3. Conversely, employees placed the least importance on identifying and analyzing their needs in the performance of their work tasks, where the mean value was the lowest at 3.0. This result suggests that organizations may have reserves in a personalized approach to employees and their individual needs.
So, where does this leave us?
One way to approach HR task automation is by using a 2x2 matrix, with:
- ease of task (ranging from 1 = easy to 10 = complex) on one axis and
- frequency (ranging from 1 = repetitive to 10 = unique) on the other.
Tasks that are easy and repetitive are ideal for AI-driven automation. Tasks that are complex and unique should remain human-led.
The remaining two categories, moderately complex or moderately frequent tasks, can benefit from some level of automation but still require a dose of human interaction.
By taking this approach, we ensure that HR automation enhances efficiency without eroding the human connection that employees value.