Dive Brief:
- A new report from the Hackett Group outlines efficiencies HR organizations can realize with automation. By integrating automation into their practices, "HR organizations can reduce costs by 17% and operate with 26% fewer staff hours," according to the report.
- The report's data reveals "world-class" HR organizations operate at 20% lower cost than non-digitally forward organizations. They also leverage 31% fewer staff members to provide the services required.
- The report said organizations will need to rethink their HR strategies and service delivery approaches in six main areas: tech, analytics and information management, service design, service partnering, human capital and organization and governance.
Dive Insight:
Automation's impact on jobs is still up for debate: 47% of HR leaders in tech said they think automation will create more jobs than it will replace, according to a KPMG report from July. Only 12% of workers surveyed in a Robert Half report said they worry that artificial intelligence will negatively impact their jobs. But 80% of managers surveyed in the same study said it will be hard to find talent with the necessary expertise to fill the roles newly defined by AI.
AI has made its way into HR, mainly in the recruiting space. Half of firms in a 2018 Montage report use AI to source and screen candidates, in addition to using it to schedule them for interviews. But this doesn't mean candidates prefer the entirety of their hiring processes to be automated. In fact, 69% of workers said AI has no place in some hiring tasks, according to a Yoh survey. Nearly 40% of respondents said AI should not be used in selecting new hires, and a third said it shouldn't be called upon to conduct virtual job interviews.
Outside of recruiting specifically, it appears highly automated workplaces benefit employees and employers alike. Workers in such spaces are more productive and creative, a ServiceNow report revealed. Workers in this type of environment said the technology simplifies their workflows, allowing them to spend more time pursuing creative ideas.
