So, HR executives need to know what AI is enabling. Let’s take a look at some of the best uses.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a fig leaf, it is actually transforming the way businesses deal with talent, engagement and change. In an era of merging work, technology and human possibility, HR professionals must become aware of how AI opens up possibilities for talent acquisition, organisational efficiency and workforce planning.
AI’s influence is already being seen in almost every nook and cranny of HR — from talent management to individualised learning curves and more. Below we share some of the promising AI in HR deployments as they become real.
1. AI to Work on Human Skills: Virtual Workmates and Life-Style Simulations
No sooner was human talent sought and sought-after. As work spaces change, companies have to find ways to train their employees on these skills. AI is coming on board, supporting this growth by providing technology-based coaching and practice rooms.
Attensi, Learning Pool, Tenor all built “audiences” with AI to model harrowing conversations, support interactions and sales calls. Attensi’s RealTalk solution, for instance, works as a self-coached virtual coach who provides employees with practice conversational pitfalls or problem-solving scenarios in a virtual environment.
With such tools integrated into their workflows, companies can give individualized practice to employees so they feel confident and proficient in the first instance before they go out and do it. It’s possible that in the next year we’ll see more AI-powered practice aids — not only to educate, but to give you hands-on practice for the real world. This is a greater concern as companies transition to changing fast paces and new work realities.
2. Skills Management: Enhancing Workforce Capabilities
In the best of all companies, for years the true promise of skills has been missing. As AI is collecting, analyzing and learning from skills data, skills development becomes a real and possible option for most companies.
AI solutions such as Eightfold.ai or Techwolf mine historical data and company data to identify untapped talent and make workforce forecasts. Employers can use these tools to go beyond reactive planning — pinpointing skills shortages before they’re a problem, and prioritizing employee development against the long-term.
The next year will see AI enmesh in skills management, which will allow HR leaders to design far more complex and responsive employee plans, learn what skills they already possess, what they need, and how to get them.
3. Personalized Development: Tailored Growth Opportunities
The future of employment is personalization, so AI is shaping the way employees learn to match their career objectives.
AI-powered tools design a learning path for you, using employee data, suggest courses, and layer different experiences to drive full potential. Companies like Degreed, Docebo and OpenSesame are giving companies the power to help employees own their own career development by providing individualized content relevant to their path.
Nudges are also being employed in personalized development by AI. Platforms such as Reejig and Enboarder deliver reminders and suggestions in real time that move your employees toward growth. These reminders keep people on task, think about what they’re learning and make a real-world move towards growing their skills and careers.
These examples give us a glimpse of what is feasible; perhaps one day we will all have our own AI mentor who will support us in both the career and the job.
4. AI Coaching: Taking Self-Cultivation to the Scale
Coaching is one field of HR where AI is proving to be a reality. Executive coaching in the old days is usually not scalable, due to budget and logistics. But AI-powered tools are changing that, offering virtual coaching of the same high but for a fraction of the price.
Tools such as CoachHub, Bongo and Learning Pool are some of the companies that are creating individual AI coaching sessions where employees can learn, reflect and get instant feedback. They’re conversational companions, and are meant to help people with tough conversations, learn skills, and uncover knowledge of their career development.
AI coaching will remain an important part of democratising career development that might open it up to more employees and growth beyond the top executives.
5. AI Copilots: On Demand Training for Field Agents.
Copilots are joining human labourers as AI copilots – especially in fast-moving business. Such companies as Augmentir and Disprz enable first line employees to receive live information to help them troubleshoot and execute processes so they can make the right decision faster and with more accuracy.
SAP’s SuccessFactors, for example, has an AI copilot named “Joule,” that automates actions such as benefit requests or data updates. When we can integrate AI copilots into the everyday workflow, employees in the front lines can receive real-time assistance with no downtime or lost productivity.
6. Automating Work: To Make Recruitment That Much Easier!
Human Resources always had the hiring curve achy — a process rife with red tape and inefficiencies. AI is taking the strain.
A.I. tools such as LinkedIn’s Hire Assistant, hireEZ and Paradox’s Olivia perform the tedious, mundane tasks of matching applicants and scheduling interviews for a more seamless hiring process. As HR teams delegate everyday admin to AI, they are free to focus on more important business tasks like talent management and culture transformation.
AI will help not only identify suitable candidates, but also run first screenings in 2025, allowing recruiters to allocate more time to relationship-building and candidate fit — making the hiring process more efficient and candidate-friendly.
The Path Forward for AI in HR?
Will AI take HR by storm in 2025 or is it still too late? AI adoption in HR is bound to be both a blessing and a curse. With the technology still in development, its real potential might rest in how judiciously it is placed within the anthropocentric fabric of work.
Whether AI can be used to support individual learning, effective recruiting and ongoing learning will depend upon whether HR managers think of it as just another tool or a partner in the pursuit of human potential.