6 applications of artificial intelligence for HR

1. Recruitment and selection

One of the most promising applications of AI for HR is in the area of recruitment and selection. It’s tough to review hundreds of applications when you also have to facilitate employee orientation, handle compliance activities and attend local job fairs.

The good news is that AI tools can do much of the screening for you, giving you more time to focus on interviews, background checks and pre-employment assessments.

For example, many AI tools rank applicants based on how well they match the requirements listed in your job advertisement. Instead of reviewing dozens of applications yourself, you can choose the five or 10 people with the highest rankings and go from there.

You can also use AI to set up a chatbot on your company’s career portal or to help you with website accessibility. With the right training, this bot can answer common questions from job seekers, eliminating the need to have one of your HR staff handle routine queries.

This saves time, but it may also improve your company’s reputation by giving job seekers quick answers instead of making them wait several days to get a response.

2. Benefits administration

Although the development of HR information systems has made it easier to manage employee benefit programs, benefits administrators still often have a large administrative burden. They design appropriate benefit plans, manage the open enrollment process and track changes in benefits eligibility. One of the best ways to use artificial intelligence in human resources is to reduce this administrative burden.

For example, suppose you’re trying to decide which benefits package is likely to offer the best combination of coverage and affordability. In that case, you can use AI tools to do a side-by-side comparison. It’s also possible for an AI tool to verify employee eligibility without any human intervention, leaving your HR team with more time for strategic planning.

Once your benefits program is up and running, AI can even analyze utilization rates to help you determine whether the program needs a few tweaks. For example, if you find out that only 4% of your workforce is using the budgeting services included with your employment assistance program (EAP), you may want to replace those services with something else.

3. Training and development

If you’re interested in artificial intelligence for HR, try using a few AI tools to upgrade your company’s training and development initiatives. AI can help with everything from creating a training curriculum to conducting post-training assessments.

For example, if you need to create a quiz, you can use AI to come up with multiple-choice, true-or-false or fill-in-the-blank questions. If you’re not sure what to cover in your next training program, you can also use AI tools to come up with potential topics.

Artificial intelligence has several other training-related applications, including the following:

• Data analysis: With the right AI tools, you can quickly calculate your training cost per employee or course completion rate.
• Content creation: If you’re responsible for creating training programs, you can use AI to create presentation slides, handouts and other types of content. With the right tool, you may even be able to create unique scenarios for role-playing exercises.
• Learning paths: You can use AI tools to analyze training data and create unique learning paths for each employee. For example, if you have an entry-level employee who wants to progress through the ranks at your company, you can use AI to determine the best way to prepare them for their next role.
• Content summaries: If an employee misses a training session, you can use AI to create detailed summaries of the material. This way, you don’t have to deliver the training a second time, and you don’t have to find another way for the employee to gain knowledge or learn a new skill.

4. Legal compliance

HR professionals must comply with a variety of local, provincial/territorial and federal laws. This includes laws designed to prevent employment discrimination and protect employees from dangerous working conditions. As part of your compliance activities, you may have to submit reports to government agencies, conduct in-depth background checks or display posters and other materials in your workplace.

Although HR information systems have made it easier to comply with relevant laws and regulations, compliance is still one of the most challenging aspects of HR. You have to stay on top of reporting deadlines and keep up with changes in the law, all while handling other responsibilities.

Artificial intelligence for HR can help with these activities: For example, an AI tool can send you reminders one week, one month or one day in advance of an important deadline, so you don’t forget to submit a report.

5. Employee health and safety

HR professionals have long known that an employee’s personal problems may affect their performance at work. As a result, many companies now have employee assistance programs. EAPs usually provide access to mental health counselling and other services to help employees work through their problems. Some programs even include free legal advice and budgeting tools.

EAP administrators have many responsibilities, including choosing the services included in the plan, monitoring plan usage and responding to complaints about the plan. AI makes it easier to complete many of these tasks, thus increasing efficiency. The right AI tool may even increase the effectiveness of an EAP. 

For example, an AI tool can compare three or four options and determine which one is the best pick based on custom parameters. You can also use AI to calculate utilization rates and aggregate reviews of EAP service providers.

6. Succession planning

When you’re busy trying to fill current openings, it’s easy to forget about the importance of succession planning, or the practice of identifying your company’s future staffing needs. As part of the process, you examine your current workforce to identify potential gaps. This allows you to determine what changes you need to make to recruitment and training programs. 

For example, suppose you anticipate an opening for a senior manager in two years. In that case, you may need to provide management training to current employees so one of them is ready to step into the role.

AI makes it easier to analyze your workforce, assess each employee’s skills and determine what you need to do now to ensure you can fill important openings in the future. Instead of searching employee records manually, you can have an AI tool identify every employee who meets your criteria.