According to a new study by The Access Group, HR and recruitment professionals have been among the most enthusiastic adopters of AI in the workplace.
According to the study, 68 percent use AI in their HR departments. This saves them on average three hours per week. The study found that 98 percent of those who use the technology believe it’s had a positive effect, and 89 percent claim it’s improved workplace standards.
In the survey of employees from 12 different industries, it was found that more than half of them now use AI. Technology leads the way with 74 per cent adoption, followed closely by HR. The not-for profit and health and social services sectors, however, reported the lowest AI use, with 29 and 30 percent, respectively.
AI has been cited by HR professionals as a primary benefit, since it reduces workloads and allows teams to concentrate on tasks with greater value. Data analysis (47%), ideas generation (46%), research (44%), and other applications are the most popular. ChatGPT and other generative AI tools have also eased the workload of 67 percent HR professionals, which is the second highest level across all sectors.
Charles Butterworth said that HR teams are leading the AI revolution at work, and it is not surprising they are the most enthusiastic about the technology. AI allows them to concentrate on more valuable tasks, such as employee engagement and talent strategy.
AI and Workforce Integration: Potential and Pitfalls
AI is seen as more than just a way to improve efficiency. It can also be used for inclusion in the workplace. Neurodiverse workers have benefited from the ability to manage large amounts of data, analyze it, and create a structured approach for written work. AI can help those with dyslexia and dyscalculia as well as ADHD by providing tools that allow them to work according to their needs. In turn, this allows organisations to create more inclusive teams that have a broader range of skills.
James Barton said that AI frees HR teams up to focus on strategic and people-centered work. AI-powered tools are able to sift CVs, schedule interview or provide data insight into workforce trends at a scale impossible for humans. The data AI can provide will lead to better decisions, which are more objective and fair.
There are some concerns that AI could worsen bias in the recruitment process rather than solving it. Lee Higgins of Diverse Talent Networks wrote that “If AI systems have been trained with biased data or algorithms designed poorly, they will perpetuate discrimination in hiring practices.”
Higgins said that a major tech-e-commerce firm was the site of a glaring AI bias.
He explained that the firm had created an AI-driven tool for hiring which unintentionally discriminated women. The system, which was trained using 10 years’ worth of resumes and a large number of previous hires, penalized applications that contained words associated with women such as “women’s” chess club.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that Google’s AI platform showed more job ads with higher salaries to men, than to women. This reinforced existing income disparities.
Security Concerns
The research revealed that 61 percent admitted to using AI for tasks that they should have done themselves. The research also revealed that half of HR professionals admitted to using AI in ways which they wouldn’t disclose to their employers. Data Security remains a major issue. Fifty percent of respondents expressed concerns about the risks. A quarter mentioned confidentiality as an additional challenge.
Marko Perisic Chief Product and Engineer Officer of The Access Group said that unregulated AI usage poses risks.
AI has grown in ways that no one could have predicted. But if it is not regulated, it can lead some employees to use it irresponsibly. This can be due to a lack of awareness about security risks, but according to the survey, many employees use AI to perform their jobs for them.
