Artificial intelligence together with automation has been in use for a while now in order to improve business processes. Across different departments, companies use both solutions to cut costs, boost productivity, and enable overall business growth. Add the pandemic into the mix, and more automation and digitization on the horizon helps even further. From improving employee engagement to reducing menial workload, both AI and automation are becoming essential strategic tools for modern businesses.
Research shows that 31% of companies have automated at least one function within their sectors. The same article outlines that businesses recognize enhanced products and services and optimized internal processes as the most vital benefits of automation. Even though AI and automation have become popular in marketing, manufacturing, and accounting, HR is joining these ranks, too.
Numbers in the Littler study indicate that 25% of companies already use AI for applicant screening. Such a trend only has a tendency to grow, so we can expect more companies to rely on these technologies in the months and years to come. Knowing that, you can also leverage AI and automation in numerous ways to push your business forward in 2021 and beyond.
Employee education and training
Cross-referencing previous employee experience with their current job requirements can take a tremendous amount of time. Instead, AI tools can help your HR teams craft employee-centric programs to educate them based on their specific, individual needs. They can do that in the fraction of the time your HR experts can, simply because of AI’s capacity to process vast amounts of data.
In fact, many companies strive to build dedicated learning platforms with AI in mind to deliver those training modules more efficiently. Over time, your AI can automatically spot knowledge gaps and learning opportunities and regularly provide training to your staff.
Time tracking and attendance monitoring
Whether you run a small-scale team or a large organization, tracking attendance and monitoring shift allotment can be cumbersome. What’s more, it’s also prone to human error, as a single mismatched attendance sheet can lead to issues with shift allocation for the whole month. Leading to productivity loss and thus costing your business a fortune, such issues cannot be a daily occurrence for your company.
With the aim to improve transparency and simplify organization, companies now use automated time and attendance software with numerous smart features. Knowing when your teams work and where they are can help you organize shifts better and regulate projects depending on your available resources. If you notice that one team is struggling while the other is doing well, you can also organize mentorship programs and help your entire business advance.
Finally, tracking your employees’ time on each task and project gives you the chance to leverage data analytics for future decision-making. You’ll be able to recognize bottlenecks as well as the most productive patterns to improve all future projects and your overall time management.
Candidate selection and screening
One of the core processes every HR professional needs to tackle is finding the best talent for the business in question. Candidate selection is difficult, time-consuming, and it can be riddled with bias. This is especially vital in the early stages of screening when most HR officers will sift through piles of resumes without much success.
AI-based candidate screening tools enable automation to help single out the most qualified candidates whose experience and education match your needs. So, instead of dealing with hundreds, your HR team will then process far fewer interviews. This helps reduce their workload and time-wasting tasks, which inevitably helps with productivity and satisfaction.
It’s crucial to remember that AI has its limitations, especially with evaluating candidates for creative and flexible jobs. This is where combining your HR teams with AI and automation will be essential for success.
Onboarding processes
Once the selection is over, your HR will go through the complex process of onboarding. This often includes training, creating various accounts for software tools, and briefing about their daily work requirements. In fact, employee onboarding is a key piece of the retention puzzle, too. It sets the tone of your new employee relationship, reducing turnover with the right approach.
With that in mind, you want to provide your HR with the most advanced AI solutions available to ensure successful onboarding. AI can help with automating the briefing portion of the process, and you can use your tailor-made educational programs to help the employee adapt. What’s more, AI solutions can allow you to set up data access and accounts for your new employees. Overall, onboarding can be a much more seamless process with automation and AI at hand.
HR administrative processes
As every HR administrator knows well, sometimes the smallest of assignments can cause the greatest hassle in business. That easily applies to numerous procedures in HR administration, from ensuring compliance, auditing expense reports, to verifying business contracts. Even monthly, weekly, and daily tasks such as payroll management, assigning benefits, and dealing with your leave policy can be simpler with AI in the mix.
To put things in perspective, the JPMorgan Chase banking institution uses COIN, their proprietary software to evaluate commercial loan agreements. The software takes seconds to complete the task and eliminates human error. In contrast, attorneys used to spend 360,000 hours per year on the same type of work.
Your own HR department can begin implementing AI to automate everything from scheduling interviews to AI-based document verification to prevent fraud and increase business security. In one fell swoop, you can improve your business standing with better operational security and by ensuring less stress for your staff.
Much like your marketing team or your DevOps experts, your employee-centric staff needs to leverage automation and AI in their daily work. These technologies will simplify their processes, reduce low-value workload, and ultimately elevate the productivity of your entire business. Hopefully, 2021 will be the year of greater AI and automation implementation for modern companies. Only with such innovative solutions at hand can any business leader have satisfied, happy employees in their ranks.