Will AI replace Human from Human Resources?

Human Resource will be taken over by Artificial Intelligence and there wouldn’t be a position for HR in the future. This is what we have been hearing for a long period. But the truth is that the future of HRM is bright and filled with a lot of opportunities. The pandemic has made HR managers the actual front line warriors. It is only the HRM field that has witnessed a drastic transition from being perceived as a “Rangoli making” manager to the front line warriors. The importance of HRM is often underestimated. When we ask what would be the first department an employee must engage with from an organisation the answer would always be HR. They are the ones who connect the employees and organisation.

Human Resource involves dealing with employees which could be irreplaceable by any automated machine due to the level of psychological and direct interactive expertise of humans. An HR professional will be able to hold more clear, precise, and direct communication with the employees and will also possess a better capability to both comprehend and relate to the employees as he/ she is also a human. Additionally, an HR professional will be able to judge potential candidates better based on their skills and attributes as compared to an AI bot. Of course, AI will be an add on but only as a tool for making work for HR professionals easier. Since emotional intelligence is involved AI cannot replace HR. Only humans have the accurate emotion recognition to connect with each other and make the right decision.

With all that being said it is also important for HR professionals to be regularly updated with new technologies and skills since the latest HR trends depend more on automotive capabilities. The workforce data helps HRM to make decisions that produce better outcomes. This is where HR analytics comes into the picture. In the future HR jobs will mainly involve analysing data’s. Human resource management is becoming more dependent on technology-based jobs. HRIS software is also a major part of HRM these days. Hence it will be mandatory for all HR professionals to be very well efficient in HR Analytics, automation and software. In HR we can see an inclination of changes in the thought process which started with the focus on the administrative system of work. It later shifted to HR practices which focused more on staffing, training, compensation etc. Digitization has helped HR managers to focus more on the management of their workforce.

 The only drawback I notice is that if the pandemic continues, people can be detached from the work environment and their managers due to the work from home situation. It becomes easier for the people in the organisation to be emotionally detached and leave the organisation. It is the HR Professionals who are eliminating this situation by implementing various strategies to reduce the employee turnover rate. It is evident from the current situation that they are the only ones who can emotionally bond with the employees and maintain the culture of the organisation.

 AI in HR is to combine technology to automate and simplify HR tasks. AI is a tool, not a complete solution. I feel that to upgrade the quality of service both HR professionals and AI technology should coexist without dominating one another.