Rise of the Machines - (but not quite yet)

Apparently if companies don’t throw out their Human Resource Department first -in a few years we are all going to be replaced by robots or Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Sadly I am reading this a lot on LinkedIn by many ‘influencers’- so of course it must be true.

After really giving their comments some thought – whilst some of the arguments put forward make sense, for the moment, I am not really 100% convinced there is a complete end for HR. So, before you move straight to the comments section, fingers on the keyboard, whilst inhaling deeply – let me give you my thoughts.

For a start it really depends on your definition of what a Human Resource Department does. Unfortunately to the detriment of our own profession service delivery standards, outputs, capability and most importantly the actual business alignment and impact of HR departments varies widely across industries and companies.

At a guess the majority of the people who read this article will have had poor experiences of a reactive, admin focused and often inefficient HR department – and I agree over the next few years there will be a vast amount of much needed change in our profession - and it will be all be driven by digitization.

It is inevitable (and warmly welcomed by HR teams) that all transactional HR processes will be replaced by AI with the prospect of even simple ‘how to questions’ being carried out by chat bots.

All parts of the employee life cycle will benefit from the speed and efficiencies of digitization – and the reality is, that if administration is all you are doing as a HR department then yes, you will probably be replaced by a robot.

From my perspective where I see the future focus of HR and the continued value add, is the strategic influence by HR professionals across the 3 distinct (yet interlinked) areas of Talent, Culture & Capability.

Supporting this will be the required skillsets around the ability to read, interpret and act on the data that each vertical will produce – and how that data can be used to support business strategy.

Whilst these verticals will be enabled by digitization, they cannot function without the human element frequently calibrating their outputs and realigning them with the business. Within these areas there are too many subtle nuances that will need frequent readjustment - this for the moment will be beyond anything AI can currently do.

Until AI can really get the EI plug in – you will still need insightful human input into shaping HR Strategy in these verticals.

Talent

Building your EVP and brand online that encourages talent to choose you, streamlining applications, using online selection and screening processes and virtual onboarding can all be done digitally – but the intuition that comes with an experienced recruiter and their advice on cultural and team fit is still invaluable. In a disruptive and ever changing world all these processes will need frequent calibration and realignment with external environments and internal strategy. This cannot yet be performed by a machine.

Internal Talent can be identified through data mining, and algorithms can be used to predict future successes. Talent ‘potential’ meetings can be made quicker and more rigorous with more real time data and supported by predictive test results – but where will the challenge come from when asking - whilst the candidate ticks all the online boxes are they really future leaders? This requires a skilled HR influencer to facilitate and finalise these conversations.

Culture

I can use a bot on Workplace to give me a company pulse instantly, I can create online communications to celebrate success, share employee success stories and even ask our employees to showpiece culture through internal networks.

What we often forget is that culture is really ‘how we do things around here’ and there are certain companywide decisions and the communications that follow those decisions that require a seasoned HR professional to guide and influence the business. 

Quite often some of the most critical impacts that HR professionals have are when we are required to push back on senior management decisions that could have a devastating overall impact on the business through the disengagement of our teams.

Anyone remembering the redundancies by text a few years ago, will hope that this isn’t done by a chat bot next time.

Capability

Online learning, gamification, micro learning - they all work, but as part of a blended approach with a human element added.

The subtle nuances of years of working in complex organizations gives someone the ability to guide, coach and engage people through sharing their knowledge and experience - something online learning in whatever medium cannot yet fully do on its own.

There is also the more strategic aspect of looking into the future and asking what skills and competencies the business will require to remain competitive in the longer term and aligning this with strategic plans, until AI can understand context and can influence senior stakeholders – this will stay firmly within a human remit.

Overall decisions around people can never be simply just a matter of crunching data to solve an issue – decisions are also shaped by context, culture, values, experience and often a nod to the future. This will always require an experienced HR professional.

Whilst I disagree that HR will disappear completely - one thing I can be certain of is that change in our profession is inevitable.

Whilst there will most certainly be less of us in the HR department of tomorrow, who remains in these departments will simply be chosen through Darwinian evolution.

Only those in HR choosing to change will be part of the future.