Navigating the Uncharted AI Territory
Since ChatGPT made artificial intelligence (AI) accessible for millions shortly after its release in 2022, AI remains one of the most exciting developments to ever cross the desk of the chief human resources officer (CHRO) and continues to evolve at a frenetic pace.
It was only a mere 18 months ago that I attended my first "AI in Human Resources (HR)" conversation at an event with New York-based CHROs. As a lifetime consultant, I eagerly jumped up in front of the room, grabbed the mic and asked the 50 CHROs in attendance to share some actual examples of how they were leveraging AI in their HR team's day-to-day work.
Crickets.
Finally, one CHRO raised their hand and said their team was leveraging chatbots.
Today, the conversation would be very different. Before my recent return to consulting, I served as the Chief People Officer (CPO) for a global organization. My HR team was primarily leveraging AI for the automation of routine tasks — from drafting job descriptions and new policies to analyzing trends in employee data. Today, they eagerly continue to explore and experiment with new AI functionality and use cases after a challenge by their new CHRO to demonstrate quarterly progress with AI across their teams. And it appears they are not alone given the popularity of sessions delivered by HR technology vendors, consultants, and their CHRO clients on stage at this year's HR Tech conference held recently in Las Vegas.
I left the HR Tech conference with excitement and inspiration, in awe of the energy and momentum of tech vendors and practitioners alike. Admittedly, I was also feeling a bit overwhelmed until it dawned on me — innovation and transformation do not always require a reinventing of the wheel. When navigating new and uncharted territory, the most effective leaders often lean on tried-and-true strategies that have delivered results before. The familiar tenets of an organizational change management playbook can serve as a foundation for CHROs as they look to leverage AI.
As such, I thought it would be helpful to share a few themes with CHROs as they contemplate their own HR AI journey:
- Prioritizing and planning are still important. While the tech and tools may be new, the tenets of classic change management and road mapping playbooks still apply. While some CHROs presenting at HR Tech shared that they derived benefit by "just letting AI loose to see what happens," seasoned CHROs who know how to effectively drive change realize that successful implementation of AI technology will require a well-defined strategy, rigorous prioritization of AI opportunities, and a corresponding roadmap complete with resourcing, budgets, and timelines. They also understand that it is critical to establish clear governance and rules of the road while also demonstrating meaningful business impact and return on investment (ROI) as leaders and teams across their organization will be competing for the same AI investment dollars.
- Culture is still a number one priority. CHROs also need to make sure their organization's culture is one that embraces AI and encourages new ways of working. If you have not yet done so, ask your C-Suite if your organization's culture is ready for AI and assess whether leaders — including those in the almighty middle — are equipped to not only navigate but also accelerate the change coming from AI through leading by example across their teams. My guess is the answer will be telling for CHROs and will influence their ability to craft a tailored AI roadmap.
- You cannot do this alone. High-performing organizations are often a reflection of a high-performing C-Suite — one that truly collaborates to drive meaningful change, investment and outcomes. Now more than ever, it is critical for the chief information officer (CIO), chief financial officer (CFO), CHRO, and other executive leaders to be in lockstep on their organization's strategy and plan for AI. C-Suite teams need to ensure their organization has mechanisms in place to encourage and prioritize AI investments and initiatives while still protecting the enterprise appropriately through governance, use policy and a reexamination of the tech stack strategy. Building into the roadmap a plan to measure AI investment outcomes as a leadership team will also be important.
- Ensure your workforce is ready, and please do not forget about your customers. AI has the potential to impact all aspects of business operations, which will in turn impact your customer experience. Your HR team should already be having conversations with leaders on the skills needed to keep up with the accelerated pace of change that AI delivers. Do employees and teams have the skills and abilities needed to capitalize on the promise of AI? Are leaders themselves ready to lead their teams through what will likely be an acceleration of unprecedented change? A plan for the workforce that clarifies the "what, when and how" regarding reskilling is a critical component of any AI playbook. Of equal importance is the need to determine who has the responsibility to think about the new ways in which your external stakeholders — including your customers — are interacting with your organization in the era of AI.
- Everyone's AI journey will be unique. While the HR AI vendor landscape is broad and complex and presents what seems like endless options, many organizations may still struggle with foundational tasks such as moving beyond headcount reporting to game-changing talent insights. The struggle has long been blamed on inadequate functionality in legacy systems and a lack of investment in HR technology and capabilities that move the needle. Moving from incremental to meaningful impact — while staying ahead of the AI opportunity in HR — requires courage, commitment, investment, and real change management inside and outside the function. Ensuring that HR teams possess an appropriate combination of encouragement, skills, incentive, capacity, and support to successfully incorporate AI into their work will be essential. Sharing success stories and learning from peers in the CHRO community will be important too. Starting points will vary, but there is a shared end game — leverage AI in a tailored, meaningful way to drive business outcomes.
- It will not be free. Moving beyond incremental AI impact in HR will require investment of time, people, and budget. Successful CHROs will be those who understand how to best partner with their peers to prioritize investment recommendations and demonstrate ROI. Now is also the time to ensure you have the right resources with requisite skills to leverage the promise of AI inside all support functions, which will likely require reskilling and the creation of new roles across most teams to ensure the functions are leading the charge and not falling behind. This is the exciting stuff many leaders in HR have been hoping to achieve for years. The time is now.
- Curiosity is key. To quote a seasoned CHRO at the HR Tech conference, the most important skill CHROs and their teams need to successfully seize this moment is curiosity. But curiosity alone will not lead to meaningful impacts and outcomes. The good news is that the tenets of organizational change management and road mapping playbooks can serve as a valuable guide in unfamiliar territory.
There Has Never Been a More Exciting Time to Be in HR
AI technology and tools are not just knocking at the front door — they have already moved in and are rearranging the furniture so they can invite more people to the party, including future "digital colleagues." I personally have been waiting for teams of robots in HR for a long time. These new technologies and tools are not designed solely to replace jobs and lower operating costs but also to create capacity for human teams to focus on higher value work and foster a culture in which the workforce thrives.
By leveraging AI, HR teams have the potential to finally move from creating shiny talent strategy PowerPoint slides to focusing on outcomes-based interventions that drive business performance. This is an incredibly exciting time, and I cannot wait to see what these powerful AI tools and platforms will enable CHROs and their teams to achieve next.
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