As the workplace evolves, the composition of the workforce is changing. We're seeing a blurring of the lines between work that is performed by humans and work that is performed by machines. There's been a lot of discussion about the implementation of AI as a replacement for human skills.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important focus in the field of Human Resources, because increasingly businesses are technology-driven. Studies show that 1 in 4 businesses are already using or planning to use AI in their HR system.

What does this mean for the future of HR? Read on.

AI Potential for Replacing HR Positions

There has been concern expressed about AI creating automation on a large scale - and making many jobs redundant.

The good news: this applies mostly to repetitive jobs that don't require a lot of human engagement.

While AI will make many jobs redundant, these will generally be low-to-mid-level positions, it also has the potential to create over 2 million jobs.

While some areas of HR - such as coaching and interviewing - aren't likely to be taken over by AI, there are some that could benefit from AI implementation.

Which Jobs Will Be Replaced by AI?

There are five primary areas that are already seeing the impact of AI:

1. Applicant Screening

Typically, HR departments (especially for large businesses) get hundreds of applications for each opening. These applications need to be screened to determine the best candidates.

This is time-consuming - but it can be expedited through AI. An AI tool can be programmed to learn about the company's hiring history, standards, and corporate culture. It can then rank candidates according to suitability.

2. Employee Surveys

Another time-consuming HR system task is the administration of employee surveys to assess levels of employee engagement.

An AI chatbox would administer a set of questions, record the answers, and assess the responses to gain insight into employee concerns.

This would not only save many hours of human work - such as cutting out the need for distribution over multiple channels, eliminating the need for follow-ups. This simplified, streamlined format would also encourage employee participation.

3. Passive Candidate Searches

Recruiters are increasingly reaching out digitally to discover 'passive candidates' individuals who have not directly applied for an opening, but could be potential good fits.

This necessitates reviewing of job boards, professional platforms, and social media to identify those potential candidates.

AI can search through many sources to generate a shortlist of prospects for review by HR. It can be integrated with historical corporate HR information to get a picture of past successful hires. AI can even identify which communication platform is most likely to be used by which candidate demographic - meaning the search can be more sharply focused.

The result: AI lays the selection groundwork - which means HR can focus on building a positive relationship with the candidate.

4.Pre-Hire Candidate Assessment

This stage of candidate assessment requires the HR staff to carefully assess candidates prior to conducting an interview. This is especially important in the hiring of mid- to senior-level employees. But it's a very time-consuming process, and busy calendars - of both the HR team and candidates - can make scheduling a challenge.

This is where AI can be very useful by providing video analysis. This makes it possible for candidates to shoot a pitch video to promote themselves at a time that works for them - then sharing it with recruiters. AI technology can be programmed to assess the candidates for cognitive capabilities, collaborative potential, work style, and more.

Of course, a 'human' member of the HR team will do the final pre-hire interview - but meantime, they'll already have a very good sense of the candidate's qualities thanks to the AI assessment.

5.Work Time Scheduling

This is another complex, time-consuming - but necessary - responsibility for the HR team. It becomes even more challenging with large workforces, contract workers, and remote employees.

Work time scheduling has traditionally relied on detailed lists, staff availability information forms, and spreadsheets. But scheduling this way can be problematic - for example when there's a spike in work volume, or there's an unexpected change in the availability of staff.

AI can optimize workforce deployment. It can generate schedules automatically to dovetail with employee requirements and preferences. Equally important - the HR team won't need to repeatedly perform manual updates, as the AI tool will be able to reconfigure work schedules automatically, and send out alerts when it receives new scheduling information.

Conclusion

AI has most often been portrayed in popular media as an alien and threatening technology composed of self-driven robots that will replace human beings.

In reality, it has great potential to be a beneficial tool for HR systems.

Yes, it will reduce or eliminate some positions. But the sectors being targeted are those that involve cumbersome, repetitive tasks. AI has the potential to take on those tasks - such as pre-interview resume assessment and workforce scheduling.

This will allow the HR staff to focus on what is most important: engaging a high-quality workforce, and ensuring a positive employee experience.