Revolutionizing HR and Talent Acquisition with Technology and AI - A Harvard Business Review

In this weeks exploration of modernizing HR through AI we are taking a look at what the top minds at the University of Harvard see as the upcoming trends, challenges and solutions for modernizing the Talent Acquisition department. Harvard is making a call to acknowledge the importance of HR in organizations and the need for more effective approaches.

While organizations universally declare that "people are their most valuable asset," their actions often fall short. Traditional HR and recruiting processes, reminiscent of the early 2000s, demand reevaluation. Technology and AI, rather than being seen as threats, are presented as powerful tools to alleviate HR professionals from repetitive tasks, allowing them to concentrate on higher-value activities. The success however, is very reliant on the willingness to adapt to this new technology. The challenge here is for the HR department to see AI as an opportunity instead of as a threat. In the Talent Acquisition department there are lots of opportunities to automate the more simple tasks such as sourcing, screening resumes, managing the interview planning, and even assessing candidates before the interview takes place.

The future is here

Consider a scenario where scheduling interviews is as simple as interacting with an AI assistant, enabling HR professionals to dedicate more time to candidate engagement and strategic planning. To illustrate, a large Fortune 500 company transformed its recruitment process by implementing automated interview scheduling technology. Recruiters could schedule numerous interviews with a single click, significantly improving efficiency and translating into substantial cost savings for the organization. As a consultant with KPMG I have often experienced more lengthy and less efficient forms, email processes, and even Excel docs that manage the interview process. There are multiple employees that are part of the hiring process that each need to do an action in order for an interview to be scheduled.

The broader implication is that this thinking can be expanded to other aspects of HR and recruiting, streamlining processes and minimizing wasteful practices. The ultimate goal is to facilitate a smoother workflow that allows HR professionals to excel in their core competencies, enabling businesses to hire top talent and innovate more swiftly. Imagine a Talent Acquisition department that uses AI to source for candidates, easily scraping through a variety of sources matching the required skills to resumes and profiles resulting in a list of candidates that actually have the highest matching percentage. The recruiter will only need to make a call to discuss the job role, afterwards the system automatically schedules an interview based on the candidates availability without the need for a talent acquisition specialist to contact anyone or to even dive into multiple (Outlook) calendars. Next up the candidate receives an automated request to do an assessment beforehand, which is also processed and analyzed using AI tools. The moment the interview starts the hiring manager and TA specialist have all the information at hand with minimal effort. They can now focus on finding the right fit in the organization, while being fully aware of the candidates capabilities.

How to start this journey?

The big question remains; AI is such a mountain to climb where and how should we start as a department? I often hear the argument that departments are waiting for the dust to settle before starting to implement AI tools into the organization. It is a newish technology, by many considered in its infancy still. But, AI has been around for over a decade now. It is quickly evolving and new practical use cases are being discovered on a daily basis. The important thing is to start adaption to working togerther with AI, and remember that it is a learning process. With a global shortage of employees, and an ever growing number of vacancies, we as a world need to be able to do more with less time in order to continue our economic growth. In order to improve productivity, and maintain the quality of live employees find more and more important every generation, the only solution would be automation and the use of AI. I hope that my bi-weekly newsletter is providing you the incentive to further analyze the possibilities for your organization to enter this new era of working. I can imagine it is difficult to determine where to start. The following steps can help guide you through these exciting times and get you started:

1. Listen to Top Performers:How AI Can Help: AI-powered sentiment analysis tools can sift through employee feedback, performance reviews, and surveys to identify patterns and sentiments among top performers. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms can analyze written or spoken feedback to extract valuable insights about their needs and preferences. This data can guide HR in tailoring benefits, career development, and work arrangements to attract and retain similar talent.AI Tool: "Culture Amp" utilizes AI-driven sentiment analysis to gather and analyze employee feedback, helping HR understand the sentiments and needs of top performers.
2. Leverage Data:How AI Can Help: AI-driven analytics platforms can process vast amounts of HR and TA data to uncover trends, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement. Predictive analytics models can forecast hiring needs, helping HR teams proactively address talent shortages. AI-driven dashboards and reporting tools can provide real-time insights, enabling data-informed decision-making for HR and TA strategies.AI Tool: "Visier" offers advanced HR analytics powered by AI, providing insights into workforce trends and predictive analytics to enhance decision-making. But more well known Core HR systems (SAP SF, Oracle, Workday) are also implementing more AI capabilities to help you manage your workforce. I will adress this in future editions of my newsletter.
3. Organizational Readiness:How AI Can Help: Change management is a critical aspect of organizational readiness. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide on-demand training and support to employees, answering common questions and offering guidance on new technologies and processes. These AI assistants can be available 24/7, ensuring that employees have the resources they need when they need them. AI Tool: ServiceNow for instance provides the opportunity for employees to chat with a virtual agent that can be embedded into Microsoft team to offer 24/7 support. Microsoft Viva is providing similar chat bot functionality more focused on learning new skills and fully integrated with Microsoft Teams, an online work environment that you probably already use for most of the communication within the organization.
4. Holistic Approach:How AI Can Help: AI can streamline HR and TA processes by integrating disparate systems and applications. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can automate data transfer and routine tasks across various HR platforms, ensuring data consistency and reducing manual errors. AI-driven integration platforms can unify HR data, providing a comprehensive view of the workforce. AI Tool: Reclaim and Fetcher are examples for tools that help you schedule interviews in calendars, and find the right candidate for the job.
5. Choose the Right Partner:How AI Can Help: AI-powered vendor selection tools can assist HR in evaluating potential technology partners. These tools can analyze vendor capabilities, assess their compatibility with the organization's existing systems, and predict their long-term adaptability. AI-driven recommendation systems can offer data-driven insights into the best-fit technology partners based on historical performance and industry benchmarks.
6. ROI Justification:How AI Can Help: AI-driven ROI calculators can provide accurate projections of the potential return on investment for HR technology initiatives. These calculators can analyze historical data and industry benchmarks to estimate cost savings, productivity improvements, and revenue enhancements resulting from AI implementation. They help HR build a compelling business case for technology investments.AI Tool: depending on what kind of ROI you want to calculate there are multiple solutions available. 360 learning for instance looks at the ROI of your learning and development department and how it can improve upon that.
7. Ownership:How AI Can Help: AI-driven project management and collaboration tools can assign ownership of AI initiatives within the organization. These tools can automate task assignments, track project progress, and send notifications to responsible parties. Chatbots and virtual assistants can provide support and reminders to ensure that AI projects stay on track and meet their goals.AI Tool: an already well known and widely used tool that is now also utilizing AI for project management is Trello. Another popular alternative is Notion, especially well known in the more software oriented space (No & Low code).

Ask for help

Starting your organizations journey in AI can feel like a tremendous effort to get the ball rolling. You might not have the time, knowledge or resources to jump into this unavoidable trend. That is why my advice is to not do this alone. Search for external knowledge, experts on the subject that can help you analyze the needs of your organizations and identify the opportunities, the "quick-wins" to increase the enthusiasm for change within your organization. Expand your ambitions behind the currently viewable horizon and discover the possibilities AI offers to improve productivity without having to put more strain on an already strained workforce.

Interested to learn more? Feel free to reach out to me.

Want to read the original inspiration for this article? You can find it here: Where AI Can — and Can’t — Help Talent Management ( hbr.org ) & AI Won’t Replace Humans — But Humans With AI Will Replace Humans Without AI ( hbr.org )