My Ten Rules for Effectively Integrating AI into HR Leadership

Yes, AI is changing (almost) everything in HR management. Here are 10 rules I've developed that have helped me integrate AI into HR leadership.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly infusing itself into nearly every element of human resource management, from recruitment to benefits management to employee onboarding. For HR leaders, the rapid rise of AI tools has created both opportunities and challenges. If you're at all like me, you've likely struggled to figure out how to harness the best of AI while protecting your organization from its more negative implications.

I've been making fairly extensive use of AI tools for about 12 months now. After much trial and error, I've developed a comprehensive (and slightly unconventional) set of rules to maximize this exciting new technology. While not every rule on this list will be equally applicable to every organizational context, I'm confident that most HR leaders will benefit tremendously from adopting as many of these rules as they can.

My Ten Rules for AI Optimization in HR Leadership

1. AI is no longer a tactical advantage; it's a critical must-have.

I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that, at least once a week, I encounter someone in the workplace who says something like "Oh, I'd never use ChatGPT - that's cheating" or "I don't understand AI and I refuse to use it."

A year ago, this attitude might have made some sense. At that time, consumer AI tools were in their infancy, and there was a great deal of public fear and skepticism about the ethical implications of AI, not to mention significant and justified skepticism about the efficacy of these tools.

Today, AI has transcended the role of a tactic enabler and has become an essential component of operational life, including in the field of HR management. From automating repetitive tasks to providing data-driven insights for decision-making, AI tools are now integral to staying competitive. HR leaders must embrace AI not just as a luxury but as a necessity to streamline processes and improve efficiency.

Think of it this way: if you're still refusing to embrace AI as a critical workplace tool, then you're a bit like those tech laggards in the early 2000s who were still using a typewriter (rather than a computer-based word processor). Sure, a typewriter might get the job done. But it'll take you at least 2 to 10 times as long to get that job done as it could take you if you were using MS Word (or back then you might have been using Corel WordPerfect. Ah, the good old days).

2. People are people, and machines are machines. Confusing the two can have grave consequences.

It's crucial to recognize the distinct roles of humans and machines. AI can handle data processing and repetitive tasks with remarkable speed and accuracy, but it can't replace the empathy, creativity, and nuanced judgment that humans bring to the workplace. Let people do what they're best at—connecting, innovating, and making complex decisions—while letting AI handle the rest.

To highlight where I think organizations often go wrong in this area, all you need to do is stroll the floor of a HR tradeshow, where nearly every vendor booth is now dedicated to some apparently novel HR tech platform. I can't help but cringe when these vendors tell you about how their product "harnesses AI and machine learning to help you make complex decisions in all areas of HR management", like applicant selection, employee promotions, and performance management.

Blah, blah, blah. Ask yourself this: why the heck would we want a machine to make decisions related to any of these areas? Not only is it lazy; it's incredibly unethical, for reasons that I hope are fairly obvious to any HR leader.

Giving machines the ability to make decisions that only people should make is also one of the most effective ways I can think of for giving robots complete control of our lives. Sure, we're not quite in full sci-fi territory yet as a society, but we'll get there a lot faster if we start letting machines make decisions about who to hire and who to promote. So, the next time you encounter a company bragging about how it's used AI tools to "optimize recruitment and selection", ask yourself if this is the world you want to live in as a HR professional.

Remember, resistance is NOT futile.

3. Experiment without reservation or fear.

The rapid evolution of AI technology means that staying static is not an option. HR leaders should cultivate a culture of experimentation, encouraging their teams and organizations to explore and test various AI tools and applications. This mindset fosters innovation and helps identify the most effective solutions tailored to the organization's unique needs.

Am I being reckless in suggesting this, given the rampant concerns about robot overlords taking over our lives? Maybe. But consider this: has any organization ever achieved incredible results without embracing some level of risk? Do you want your organization's HR practices to be cutting edge and innovative? Or staid and boring?

Sure, not every experiment will be successful, but even the failures will provide your organization with valuable insights.

4. Provide AI learning and training opportunities to employees.

Admittedly, this is not something most organizations do very well, either due to lack of knowledge, limited resources, competing strategic priorities, or a combination of all three. I'll be the first to put my hand up and proclaim myself guilty for not pushing this more in my own organization.

But here's the kicker: if HR leaders are not setting clear learning objectives for the adoption of AI within their organizations, then they're leaving a lot of things to chance, with the result being that some organizations will be well ahead of the game while others will become pathetic tech laggards (possibly compounding existing problems).

For AI to be effectively integrated into HR practices and procedures, employees need to be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge. Offering regular training sessions and learning opportunities ensures that staff can confidently use AI tools in a way that aligns with organizational expectations and priorities. This not only enhances productivity but also empowers employees to leverage AI to its fullest potential.

5. Don't confuse fool's gold with real gold.

In the burgeoning AI marketplace, it's easy to be dazzled by flashy new tools that promise revolutionary outcomes. As HR professionals, we've already witnessed the slightly helpful but mostly annoying and useless growth of "HR tech", with multiple companies promising to provide organizations with all types of amazing outcomes if only they would adopt so and so HR information system (HRIS). At this point, any seasoned HR leader will likely view these shiny objects for what they mostly are: fool's gold.

Sadly, the gold rush of HRIS platforms has now given way to a gold rush in AI technologies. But like individual HRIS platforms, not all AI solutions are created equal. In order to add real value to their organizations, HR leaders need to exercise discernment and mature judgement, thoroughly evaluating the relevance of AI tools before implementation. This means looking beyond marketing hype and focusing on tools that deliver tangible benefits and which align with the organization's goals.

6. Ethical guidelines are overrated. They're important for developers and governments, but I'm still not sure why most organizations need to develop ethical guidelines for the use of something like ChatGPT.

Don't get me wrong: if there's one thing that we need to get right as a society when it comes to the rapid rise of AI technologies, it's developing a globally-accepted set of ethical guidelines. In the case of companies that are in the business of developing AI technologies or governments that are responsible for deciding how such technologies should be regulated, it's probably not an overstatement to say that getting the ethics "right" has now become an existential issue.

But while ethical guidelines are critical in the development and regulation of AI, their direct application in organizational settings can be more nuanced. I still hear people expressing fears about employees using AI to "cheat", which strikes me as a highly distrustful, patronizing, and ill-informed approach to people leadership. In many cases, when I hear someone talking nervously about the need to develop ethical guidelines for the use of AI technologies in specific workplace settings, the sub-text is usually related to a fundamental distrust of one's colleagues. It strikes me as a complete waste of energy to assume that AI is somehow going to turn every honest person into a sleazy cheater.

Rather than worrying about the broader ethics of AI implementation within their own organizations, HR leaders should focus on practical considerations, such as data privacy, bias mitigation, and transparency. And yes, some organizations should absolutely develop clear AI ethics policies, if it makes sense for that organization's unique situation. But for the average small or medium-sized organization (and even for some large ones), developing a full-blown and sweeping AI policy strikes me as overly managerialistic, bureaucratic, and hierarchical.

Besides, if an organization is truly clear on its general standards of behaviour, then shouldn’t these guidelines also be applied to the world of AI?

7. AI is not one-size-fits-all. Figure out the best tools for your organization.

Each organization has unique needs and challenges, and taking a one-size-fits-all approach to AI will likely lead to more pain than progress. HR leaders should identify and implement AI tools that are tailored to their specific context. If your organization's level of digital maturity is limited, then implementing relatively advanced AI tools is probably going to create chaos and frustration.

When considering how to effectively integrate AI into an organization's HR practices, careful consideration should be given to a range of contextual factors, beginning of course with your organization's level of digital maturity, which includes not just the adoption of current technologies but the level of individual comfort you or your HR team has with technology in broad terms. If you or your team is still trying to figure out how to record a Zoom meeting, then you might want to avoid jumping head first into the adoption of advanced AI tech tools or taking drastic steps to integrate these tools into mission critical business processes.

8. AI is currently a tactical game-changer, not a strategic one.

While AI significantly enhances tactical operations by improving efficiency and accuracy, its strategic impact is still evolving. HR leaders should focus on leveraging AI to optimize day-to-day tasks and processes, while staying attuned to advancements that might unlock its full strategic potential in the future.

Strategic planning and thinking is hard work, but its very much "people" work. Yes, there might one day be a time when we can ask an AI to take the lead on developing strategic plans. Can AI help with SWOT analysis? Sure. But does an AI know your competitive landscape better than you do? Hopefully not.

We should also never forget that generative AI, in its current form, is designed to extract and summarize existing knowledge, rather than create new ideas or concepts. Undoubtedly, AI can be extremely helpful in serving as an effective brainstorming tool, and I know multiple people who effectively use AI as something akin to a thinking virtual assistant. But a generative AI tool is, by design, meant to think “within the box”, so asking ChatGPT (or any other AI) to do the hard work of developing a novel and innovative people strategy is a bit like asking a bus to fly.

9. If you're an AI user, don't stop at ChatGPT. Learn as much as you can about what AI tools can do.

AI is a vast and rapidly expanding field. Limiting oneself to a single tool, like ChatGPT, restricts the potential benefits. HR leaders should continuously explore the breadth of AI applications, discovering new features and capabilities that can be integrated into their work. This proactive approach ensures that organizations remain at the forefront of AI innovation.

10. Don't listen to gurus. No one can predict the future.

If you’re old enough, you might recall the first dotcom boom when tech enthusiasts claimed the Internet would revolutionize everything. In broad terms, they were right—digital technology has transformed nearly every industry. However, of the thousands of tech gurus making bold predictions in the late 90s and early 2000s, only a few, like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos, were truly visionaries. For each one of these visionaries, there were ten others who were completely wrong.

The lesson here is clear: no one can predict the future with certainty. So when a tech guru claims to know exactly where AI is headed, remember that their predictions are more likely to be wrong than right.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to AI and the future of HR practice, we're all on a journey.

I certainly don't claim to have figured out the perfect formula for leveraging AI in a truly transformative way, and I'm definitely not a tech guru, by any stretch of the imagination. However, by adopting a set of deliberate and strategic rules, my hope is that I'll be able to navigate the complexities of AI integration more effectively. The ten rules outlined in this article are the result of extensive experimentation, reflection, and learning over the past year. They are designed to help HR leaders make the most of AI's potential while mitigating its risks. But ultimately, HR leaders need to figure out what works best for them on an individual and organizational level. Like any type of innovation, our actions need to be guided by a willingness to experiment, a desire to break down barriers, and a strong commitment to thoughtful reflection.

And no, this article was not written by an AI.