Artificial Intelligence

HR Tells The Strategic Story

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Once upon a time the Human Resources role had little to do with numbers, data, and analytics. The numbers used to be in the purview of the organizational finance function. Data analysis, in its early stages, may have been linked to finance, but was usually found in the Information Technology department. The Human Resources (HR) function was associated with making sure people entered and exited the organization based on the needs of other business units. As these other functions were presumed to have control over numbers and data, the HR role was not seen the active driver for organizational strategy.

This story has changed.

According to a recent global research project comparing past and present use of data and analytics in organizations, HR is now the ‘most analytics function in business.’

Click here to read the results of the global research project and HR’s role.

As noted in the results, HR respondents outpace those from the finance areas in the use of artificial intelligence, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. These areas are used to track, monitor, and forecast key HR strategic planning elements such as supply and demand for human capital, succession planning, change management, downsizing, and restructuring. All of these are the elements of our studies and provide the focus for the strategic role of HR within any organization.

The tools provided through the use of artificial intelligence, including predictive and prescriptive analytics, are rightly placed in the realm of the HR function. Through the use of analytics, HR is both the transformational agent for, and the storyteller of, the strategic organizational plan. It is HR’s role to collect and control data, translate that data into information and use that information to shape and tell the organizational story.

That story is the tale of where the organization was, where it is and where it is going, as told through the power of analytics and HR.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does predictive analytics link to the forecasting of HR supply and demand?
  2. Why is it important for the HR and the Finance function to work collaboratively when analyzing workforce data?
  3. How can HR use predictive analytics to shape a pro-active succession planning model?
  4. What is the difference in predictive and prescriptive analytics? How can each be used for HR planning?

Managing Leadership by Bot

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Two of the essential objects of employee training include the development management and leadership skills. As noted from our textbook, management development is ‘complex’ and leadership qualities are those which are meant to ‘inspire others’. For the lucky few, it may appear that their management and leadership skills come naturally. For most people taking on the role of supervisor or boss, these skills need to be nurtured and honed in order to assume the characteristics of an effective leader.

Traditional management training programs have provided the context and support for this type of development in the past. We do not live or work in traditional times any more. With the increasing influence of artificial intelligence in the workplace, management and leadership training can now be delivered directly to employees on the job through their personal technical devices.

The influence of leadership apps, such as ‘Coach Amanda’ and ‘Humu’, are explored in a recent article posted in The Wall Street Journal.

Click here to read the article.

As outlined in the article, these types of coaching apps provide prompts or ‘nudges’ to evoke constructive leadership behaviour. The apps are designed to give feedback and repeated reminders of appropriate supervisory or leadership behaviour. On the positive side, this kind of prompting does provide guidance from a neutral space. Most employees are not comfortable telling their direct supervisor something negative about their behaviour that needs to change. Supervisors have often been promoted into their new roles, with little guidance or direction when needing to deal with day-to-day challenges. A personalized and direct coaching app may offer an alternative to what would otherwise be a difficult conversation to have with one’s boss, or (as is usually the case) the negative behaviours for a new supervisor are just not addressed at all.

The fact that a prompt provided by artificial intelligence (AI) is needed in order change human behaviour is more than a bit ironic and, as the article suggests, just a little bit creepy. No matter what one’s perspective on the influence of AI may be, the reality is that it is here to stay and our working world has changed, for better or for worse.

Let’s make sure we program the apps for the better.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Based on your own internet search, how many leadership coaching apps are you able to source?
  2. How does an app, such as ‘Coach Amanda’, influence management development?
  3. Would you use a coaching app for your own leadership development? Explain your rationale.
  4. How does ‘micro-learning’ influence on the job management development in a positive way?

Is Artificial Intelligence a Digital Doomsday or a Bonanza for HR?

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Artificial Intelligence (AI), natural language processing, and deep learning are all current technology trends which will impact the working world. What will all this advanced technology do to current workplace relationships and HR Departments?

Will it be a digital doomsday where intelligent machines radically eradicate all jobs with the precision of a laser cutting through butter? Or will it be a bonanza for workers and HR with the rise of intelligent, more productive machines that will allow humans to be more innovate and creative?

Let us discuss both perspectives. There has been a long understanding that during any technological revolution that disrupts society it will also displace workers.

At one point in time, there were only two jobs in society: hunters and gatherers. Then, we became farmers which lead to the displacement of 90% of the hunters and gatherers. Farm equipment became more efficient, which put 90% of farmers out of work and the farmers had to transition into factory workers. Then, the knowledge workers started to replace the factory workers.

You can easily see the historical trend in which technology disrupts the workplace.  We can see that AI may start to replace knowledge workers such as doctors, lawyers and accountants. Deep learning machines can now process information and learn from it much faster than humans do.  What will the workers of the future do?

Odds are that AI technology will significantly disrupt the traditional workplace. How can HR be a part of the digital AI revolution? According to an article published in HRD by Rachael Ranosa, which summarizes a CIPD study, there are five things an HR Department can do:  (Click here to read the article)

  1. Develop an implementation strategy for AI and current work integration
  2. HR needs to use AI to make new jobs more meaningful
  3. Allow employees to become more innovative in the workplace
  4. Involve employees in the technology change
  5. Continually develop employees

It may not all be doomsday for workers, according to CIPD. AI and technology are creating as many jobs as they are eliminating.

If history repeats itself, AI and new technology will disrupt a significant portion of the workforce, But if HR is involved and implements the correct strategies, it can lessen the impact on employees and create more meaningful jobs in the future.

Discussion Question

  • Research and create a list of which jobs or professions in the next 10 years may be displaced by technology. Pick two and develop a HR strategic plan to reduce the impact on those employees.

Should Robots Be Training Your Employees?

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Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock

Here is an interesting twist in the world of training and developing employees: Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be better at reading emotional intelligence than HR professionals.

Click here to read the article.

An exceptional human skill is reading people’s emotions, but robots may be better at it than trained HR professionals. A robot with the proper algorithm may be better served training employees, supervisors, and managers on the soft skills of emotional intelligence than an HR professional.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. By using AI and machine-learning algorithms a greater amount of HR data can be analyzed and evaluated at a level of efficiency and accuracy that no human can achieve. Could you image a HR professional evaluating an employee’s emotion with 87 per cent accuracy? Well, AI can reach that level of emotional accuracy. Researchers at MIT have created a wireless system called EQ-Radio, which uses wireless signals to scan an individual and identify if an individual is excited, happy, angry, or sad.

Click here to watch how MIT has developed an emotion detection machine.

Imagine what impact this type of technology may have on training and developing employees? Instead of using the end-of-training session reaction evaluations (commonly known as happy sheets), you can measure if your training had an emotional affect. In addition, there are many other HR applications of using emotions to understand employees at work.

AI and machine learning algorithms may just start to become mainstream in some workplaces. HR must be aware of the impacts of AI on the employees that work in organizations, how to use these new technologies, and how to manage the changes that these technologies will have.

Discussion Questions

Think about AI, machine learning, and EQ-Radio. How could these technologies disrupt training and development in the workplace?

Identify some of the potential ethical concerns that HR departments will need to address when companies start using emotional detection scanners in the workplace? What could HR do to reduce ethical and personal privacy concerns?

Strategic Funding

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Money talks.

3d rendering robotic hand holding gold coins isolated on white
Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock

To paraphrase a familiar saying, ‘show me your budget, and I’ll show you what you value’. The allocation of strategic funding sets up the symbiotic relationship between financial resources and organizational goals. Organizations need both the long-term strategic vision and the immediate allocation of resources to achieve that vision for the future.

When organizational planning take place within the broader context of environmental scanning, the future is determined by actions in the present. We can see an example of strategic forecasting through funding when we look to the 2017 Canadian federal budget announcements.

As part of these announcements, the federal government allocated $125 million to develop and promote Canada as a world leader in digital innovation.

Click here to read a summary of the funding announcement.

Click here to read the impact of the announcement on industry. 

From a Human Resources strategic planning perspective, this is a big deal.

The environment of the workplace being shaped now, through both funding and resource allocations is based in the digital world. This means that the workforce will need to understand and develop a proactive approach to artificial intelligence and digital infrastructures. The traditional approach to who performs the work and what work is performed is changing as we continue to deploy digital innovations in Canadian workplaces.

The breadth and scope of the implementation of artificial intelligence and digital knowledge ‎in those workplaces will determine who is part of the workforce of the future. Based on these funding announcements, it looks like the money might be on the robots.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the pros and cons of creating jobs that will be needed in the ‘fintech’ industry?
  2. As a Human Resources practitioner, how can you plan for the creation of jobs that are based in artificial intelligence?
  3. Why does Canada need to be part of a push for digital innovation?