Optimizing AI for talent management amid rapid change

AI is playing an increasingly pivotal role in talent management [1], including through intelligent sourcing and screening, customized learning and development, and AI enabled coaching.?

“Thousands of AI tools are coming onto the market daily” [2] with the global AI market forecast to grow at a CAGR* of 37.3% from 2023 to 2030 [3]. *Compound annual growth rate

As the landscape of AI applications and tools rapidly evolves, how can organizations optimize their use of AI to manage and grow their talent?

To tackle this challenge, leaders should:

• Approach AI with a strategic mindset
• Understand where human insight and intervention can powerfully combine with AI
• Encourage and bolster curiosity.

1)??Approach AI with a strategic mindset

There are numerous ways in which AI can help streamline talent management, e.g., by customizing job postings, accelerating candidate sourcing and resume screening, supporting virtual and AI-enabled coaching, utilizing VR scenario simulation for leadership development, and employing generative AI for corporate learning. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Given the myriad of options, organizations need to carefully assess AI tools to find those that align with their talent strategy and improve their business model, considering factors like company size, structure, and innovation appetite.

In parallel, as many applications are new and undergoing rapid change, organizations should encourage experimentation.

Experimentation allows organizations to understand how AI can be integrated into their workflows, pinpoint the best configurations, discover potential limitations, and find creative solutions.

Some areas of opportunity…

Coaching

AI Chatbots can help organizations of all sizes augment their coaching conversations, e.g., improving the quality of coaching questions to help a client reflect more deeply, expanding the knowledge base of the coach/mentor, and providing a broader set of perspectives and insight. AI/AI-enabled coaching tools can also improve goal attainment as they are mechanistic — good at keeping track.[8]

Larger organizations, that provide formal coaching programs to many, have the opportunity for efficiency gains from scalable AI platforms. Some vendors offer access to 1000+ coaches for 1:1 support, and broad educational content that can be accessed on mass 24/7 [9]

Scalability is a strong feature of these technology platforms. AI coaching offerings are also becoming more customizable and personalized as large language models (LLM) and Machine Learning (ML) abilities advance.?[10]

Hiring

HR departments are using AI in recruiting more than any other area.[11]

“As recruiters evaluate candidates, they must answer layers of questions” [12] about business and technical skills, experience, level and fit. AI tools present opportunities for AI to run behind the scenes sourcing and screening and deliver a shortlist of candidates for recruiters to evaluate. Not intended to replace recruiters, AI can automate repetitive tasks, and place the recruiter in a strategic talent advisory role.?

In high-volume hiring companies, sourcing automation tools can save significant time.[13] [14] [15]

Learning and Development

In corporate Learning and Development (L&D), AI offers the potential for “personalized content, real-time feedback, and adaptive learning paths.”?[16] For example, supporting the creation of customized role-playing scenarios that adapt to individual needs in real-time, providing practice opportunities.[17] [18]

As leaders, we can accelerate workforce learning, by leveraging AI and placing skills at the heart of talent management.[19]

2)??Understand where human insight and intervention can powerfully combine with AI

In people development, value comes not only from the process, but the humanistic component.

Uniquely human characteristics such as emotional intelligence and empathy allow human recruiters and coaches to build bonds with their clients that no AI can currently rival. The client – candidate, and client – coach relationship is highly personal. [20]

In coaching, without the building of trust, client openness and the desire to act and develop outside of one’s comfort zone will be limited.

In development, while AI tools are good at helping in capturing and tracking goals, humans can “engage in a more complex and nuanced discussion about goals” helping clients to achieve them. [21]

“AI does not (currently) have the ability to experience emotions or personal connections” often drivers of creativity. However, human creativity is limited by time, resources and current knowledge and experience. [22]

Behavioral change — a key area of coaching and development — requires a client to build awareness to change and to understand and eliminate barriers. This situation can benefit from encouragement and support, particularly during setbacks, which a human coach can excel at. [23] [24]

The interpersonal relationship skills that a good coach, mentor, or recruiter offers can deliver empathy, trust, active listening, emotional intelligence, and wisdom — areas where humans currently have the upper hand, and which can powerfully combine with the data analysis, translation and automation benefits that AI tools offer.

Overall, it is important to acknowledge the unique contributions, often complementary, that humans and AI can bring, understand where each excels and powerfully combine them.?????????????????????????????????

3)? Encourage and bolster curiosity

“Priming an organization to embrace AI will hinge first and foremost on culture.”[25]

In his article on preparing your culture for an AI-powered future [26], Jared Spataro, leader of Microsoft’s Modern Work and Business Applications team, recommends leaders take the following 3 steps:

• Choose curiosity over fear — empower staff to understand how AI works, its capabilities, and shortcomings
• Embrace failure — create an environment where people are empowered to experiment and set up guardrails to keep activities or processes on track
• Become a learn-it-all — embed educational opportunities into everyday business operations and keep staff up to date.

The rapid evolution of AI underscores the need for a workforce driven by curiosity and adaptability.

Curiosity about AI fuels learning, exploration, and innovation. It urges us to ask questions, seek answers, explore its potential, limitations, and implications, and cultivate “a workforce that imagines what could be.” [27]

Leaders can further increase their chance of AI enabled success through effective change management, including selecting AI champions and pilot program leads.

Summary

The future of talent management hinges on "Human + AI" synergy, at least for now!

To stay ahead, organizations must strategically assess AI, prioritize investments, harness what humans and AI do best, and foster AI curiosity among their teams.

References

[1] https://www.zavvy.io/blog/ai-talent-management

[2] https://contentatscale.ai/blog/how-many-ai-tools-are-there/

[3] https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/artificial-intelligence-ai-market#

[4] https://joshbersin.com/2023/12/ai-is-transforming-corporate-learning-even-faster-than-i-expected/

[5] https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/technology/ai-adoption-hr-is-growing#

[6] https://peoplemanagingpeople.com/tools/best-candidate-sourcing-software/

[7] https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/technology/ai-adoption-hr-is-growing

[8] https://www.bairesdev.com/blog/a-guide-to-inserting-ai-into-your-workflow/

[9] https://joshbersin.com/2022/01/online-coaching-is-so-hot-its-now-disrupting-leadership-development/, www.betterup.com,? www.coachhub.com;

[10] https://www.retorio.com/blog/what-is-ai-coaching, https://www.turing.com/blog/generative-ai-llms-developments

[11] https://www.unleash.ai/hr-technology/shrm-talent-acquisition-top-area-for-ai-deployment-by-hr-departments/

[12] https://hrexecutive.com/6-ways-josh-bersin-thinks-ai-can-superpower-hr-in-2024/

[13] https://fortune.com/2024/01/12/ai-playbook-c-suite-hr/

[14] https://clickup.com/blog/ai-tools-for-recruitment/

[15] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2023/12/19/how-to-improve-coaching-conversations-with-an-ai-chatbot/

[16] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2023/12/19/how-to-improve-coaching-conversations-with-an-ai-chatbot/

[17] https://www.continu.com/blog/ai-in-learning-and-development

[18] https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2023/03/20/the-future-of-ld-how-ai-is-revolutionizing-talent-development/

[19] https://hbr.org/2023/12/talent-management-in-the-age-of-ai

[20] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9212136/

[21] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9212136/

[22] https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2024/02/13/which-will-lead-ai-or-human-creativity/

[23] https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/topics/artificial-intelligence-in-the-workplace#s

[24] https://esmt.berlin/knowledge/will-ai-revolutionize-behavioral-change-executive-education

[25] https://hbr.org/2023/06/3-steps-to-prepare-your-culture-for-ai

[26] https://hbr.org/2023/06/3-steps-to-prepare-your-culture-for-ai

[27] https://community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/learning-stories-blog/why-ask-why-unlocking-curiosity-in-the-era-of-ai/ba-p/20010/jump-to/first-unread-message

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