Artificial Intelligence use has become extremely popular. With the advent of ChatGPT, many HR leaders are exploring how to apply this tool to the industry. AI has many business leaders leveraging this technology to create first drafts of communications, more extensive documents and other administrative tasks. However, there are a few crucial factors to keep in mind when using this intelligence.
Leverage AI as a Tool
Just like any other breakthrough technology, AI bots should be perceived as a way to ease the job of HR leaders. In the past, technology has completely changed the workplace, including word processing software, personal computers, cloud-based systems and smartphones. Nonetheless, implementing these new technologies required a great deal of planning and, in many cases, encountered hesitation from workers accustomed to standard working methods.
While there is no way to predict the future of AI bots’ influence on HR, leaders must leverage AI as a tool to complement their work processes. Instead of seeing AI as a human replacement, HR leaders should use the tool to enhance their work and make it more efficient. Rather than focusing on repetitive and time-consuming tasks, HR leaders can use AI bots to help them devote more of their time to one-on-one conversations with leadership and staff, along with strategic planning for company growth.
Craft an Effective Policy
HR leaders need to remember that most of the office, in some way, could eventually use AI bots in their daily tasks. In certain situations, workers could use AI bots to lighten their workload without alerting management. Therefore, it is important teams discuss their plans for AI use to avoid mishaps and share ways on how to enhance productivity.
Depending on the type of job duties an employee has, AI policies may vary within the same team. For example, HR departments might allow their teams to use AI for internal communications like emails, instant messages and presentations. However, HR leaders may falter to permit workers to use AI-generated communication for external emails or public social media posts. So, organizations must adequately specify the guidelines in their policies when pertaining to AI use.
Humanize the Message
Leaders should identify when are the correct and incorrect times to use AI bots. Personal or highly sensitive subjects should be handled by a member of the HR department; this is not a time to use AI-generated communication. Even though an employee may not be able to differentiate between AI-generated and personally written communications, they may feel different once they learn the true author. Using AI bots to write such messages could result in a public relations crisis and negatively impact morale.
As for sensitive topics, some employees may feel disappointed in the company if they discover the HR team used an AI-generated messaging instead of thoughtfully crafting the content. It could be risky to generate a first draft of sensitive communication, even if substantial edits are made for a final version.
This standard also applies to celebratory moments such as promotions or new benefit offerings. When communicating these types of messages, it is best to write them without relying on an AI bot. Considering that workers are still becoming comfortable with AI, it would be a better option to write personal communications from scratch.
With pre-planning and strategy development, HR professionals can incorporate this new technology with ease.
Don Alix, a district manager with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources offering the most comprehensive suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace
