What Is the Extent of AI’s Potential in Replacing HR Roles?
A lot has been said about how AI platforms will introduce large-scale automation, eliminating the need for some jobs. However, this is primarily limited to repetitive, process-based tasks that do not require too much human intervention.
As per a Gartner report, AI can eliminate “millions of middle and low-level positions” in the next few years. But it also noted that AI would create 2.3 million additional jobs, which is significantly more than the 1.8 that Gartner predicts will be eliminated.
Interestingly, the impact of this trend on HR is multifaceted. On the one hand, HR has several strategic roles (formulating recruitment plans, providing executive coaching, etc.) that are unlikely to be taken over by AI. On the other hand, HR also has large volumes of tactical responsibilities that could be replaced by AI-led automation.
“AI won’t replace all of HR, but it will cause significant change and disruption, including the elimination of some jobs,” Lazarus commented.
“AI can be viewed as an automation technology (but for intellectual work rather than manual), and like any automation technology, AI will have the most impact on tasks which are higher volume and lower decision complexity,” he added.
So, what are those specific tasks/jobs that will be taken over by AI? We have identified five impact areas, where we already see significant moves.
5 HR Jobs That AI Can Easily Replace – for the Better
In HR, there is a clear distinction between repetitive tasks and key decisions that require human judgment. Interestingly, most HR jobs involve a bit of both.
For example, a recruiter might have to sift through hundreds of resumes, shortlist them, and schedule interviews – a cumbersome and effort-intensive process that could be taken over by AI. But the recruiter also has to engage candidates effectively across the hiring journey, with regular communication and a personal touch.
“Roles that focus on activities like screening and scheduling will be automated, but roles with a focus on the complex decisions associated with key steps like convincing a candidate to leave one job for another will continue to be a very human endeavor,” confirmed Lazarus.
Here are five HR jobs that have immense AI potential:
1. No more paper resume screening, at least for entry-level roles
HR departments at large enterprises receive hundreds of resumes for every opening. And every resume deserves a look if you’re to identify the best-fit talent.
Expectedly, this takes up a lot of staff hours but cannot be automated through simple business rules either. Simple business rules wouldn’t be able to capture the nuances of what makes a best-fit candidate, the eligibility criteria you’re looking for, and how past hiring decisions inform the screening process.
This is where AI comes in. An AI engine learns from your hiring history, analyzes the company culture, and ranks applicants in order of their fitment. But remember that as a recruiter, it is your role to ensure that AI is doing its job well and not reinforcing biased hiring practices, for example.
A tool that is already making this possible is Cvviz.
2. “Bigger and better” employee engagement surveys, fully automated
Another HR job that requires both manual and intellectual effort is employee engagement surveys. But you can use an AI chatbot to ask employees questions, record answers, and analyze them for insights. It would save HR hundreds of hours every year, not to mention increasing participation rates among the workforce.
AI could eliminate employee engagement survey tasks such as distribution across multiple channels or follow-ups with employees. And you could spend more time analyzing the responses and crafting a personalized employee experience strategy for your team.
A tool that is already making this possible is Xane.ai, a chatbot that integrates with Slack, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and even WhatsApp to make employee engagement surveys dramatically simpler.
3. Passive candidate at your fingertips, with a high chance of first-time-right
In a competitive hiring environment, recruiters often turn to passive candidates to fill openings. This requires a careful study of social media, professional profile platforms, and job boards to identify potential prospects.
AI can scan a wide range of sourcing channels to auto-generate a shortlist of candidates for you to peruse. You can integrate AI with historical company HR data so that it can “learn” from past successes and failures. AI can go one step further to identify which candidate prefers what platform for communication – for instance, a Gen Zer might be more comfortable with Instagram while millennials may prefer Facebook.
All of this intellectual effort is put in by AI so that you don’t have to. You can then work on building a strong relationship with the candidate and giving the candidate experience a positive head start. And a tool that is already making it possible is Arya.
4. Low-effort pre-hire assessments through AI video analysis
Pre-hire assessments require the HR team to carefully evaluate each candidate before conducting interviews with the business team. This step in the hiring process is particularly critical for mid- to senior-level hires. However, it takes a lot of time, and HR often has to work around busy candidate schedules to fit in an interview.
Enter AI-led video analysis. This allows candidates to shoot a video at their convenience and share it with recruiters, with the AI analyzing video data to identify work style, collaboration potential, and general cognitive ability.
While a human manager conducts the final interview, AI can take over initial pre-hire assessments. A tool that is already making it possible is HireVue.
5. The days of trial-and-error in workforce scheduling are over
Workforce scheduling is always a complex task, and this becomes even more difficult when you have a large field workforce, contingent employees, or a remote team.
Traditional workforce scheduling relies on spreadsheets, to-do lists, and staff availability forms to keep running. But this often leads to a trial-and-error approach, particularly when work volumes spike or there is an unprecedented change in staff availability.
AI transforms this entirely by optimizing your workforce potential. It can auto-create schedules that match employee preferences while keeping a keen eye on labor law compliance. Further, HR doesn't need to update schedules manually – the AI engine can configure the schedules and send alerts whenever new data comes in.
A tool that is already making it possible is Legion.
AI Will Take Over Specific HR Jobs, not HR Roles
Science fiction often portrays AI as a futuristic technology driven by robots and autonomous machines. But the reality is different – AI can fit seamlessly into our daily lives, and while it eliminates certain jobs, it frees us up to route efforts in different directions.
And the same applies to HR as well.
“Will the future have ‘HR robots’ instead of HR professionals? Not likely,” said Lazarus.
“But AI is here to stay, and it will replace or assist HR with activities such as recruiting, engaging, evaluating, and retaining talent. HR professionals need to embrace and prepare for this reality, where administrative skills are less important,” he added.
Going forward, HR will be able to offload a significant portion of process-based tasks (both manual and intellectual) and cognitive decision-making. The future of HR centers on a brand-new set of priorities, such as selecting the right workplace technology and building the employer brand, instead of a narrow focus on the efficiency of existing processes.