When AI Takes Over My HR Job...

Just off of yet another call about AI in HR. This time from the good people at the Josh Bersin Academy . One was a researcher, the other an execution consultant - and the usual high-level discussion ensued. Major takeaways were that AI is your friend, a faithful co-pilot with clever and inspiring insights that will help trigger your thinking, help you look around corners, and reshuffle your thoughts with a healthy prompt to tease out a seemingly brilliant return. But again there wasn't much talked about in terms of what HR tech software is specifically doing, and where the AI or machine learning algorithms were generating exciting outcomes.

Perhaps it was an issue of time available, or a teaser to join the Josh Bersin Academy (of which I've been a loyal member for years now). But I find it hard to have this conversation with knowledgeable folks where we don't dive deeper into who is doing what for whom, in what capacity, and to what end. Instead, we're still talking a lot about the context within which AI is helpful, insightful or downright kick ass.

There seem no end-of-use cases where AI can add that extra level of insight - having aggregated a bunch of disparate data spread all over or HR tech estate. But I think it's important to move beyond this level of conversation and start talking about actual implementations, real company journeys, expectations vs. actual results, and what went wrong, went right, and otherwise changed things for the better (and why?). The context in solving specific problems is important to understand, however. Shiny, bright technology that promises miracles is something to be truly skeptical of, I can assure you. I've been that magpie.

Instead, understanding what AI can take care of for us, virtually eliminate as clever task agents with a gift of natural communication flow - and what that then leaves us to do every day. In response to the usual audience refrain, "What will we do when AI takes our jobs...", the JBA consultant's very clear solution was, "You will need to become a Strategic Consultant and engage with your business clients on what the data means, the impacts and implications, and importantly - what you would recommend, or at least further explore, to get to the desired answers and results."

So - then what skills does your newly minted job role require of you? I asked Google's Bard - "As you are an expert in professional services and strategic consulting, can you please provide me a skills matrix that strategy consultants need to have to be considered top performers within their specific sector focus? These would be the critical core skills that top-performing consultants at companies such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, Deloitte, and E&Y would likely possess. Please provide me with the top 20 skills - and offer a short but useful description for each fo the identified skills, and finally provide me with three online learning sources that would be useful for learning that skill. Please present this in a table with three columns, (1) Skill, (2) Skill Description, (3) Online learning related to that skill." Here's its answer (which having worked at Accenture, EDS and having run my consultancy for the past 10 years - is about spot on...

Required Core Skills:

Problem-solving: Ability to identify, analyse, and solve complex business problems.

Critical thinking: Ability to think logically, critically evaluate information, and make sound judgments.

Analytical skills: Ability to gather, organize, and interpret data to extract meaningful insights.

Communication: Ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely in both written and verbal form.

Interpersonal skills: Ability to build rapport, establish trust, and collaborate effectively with clients, colleagues, and stakeholders.

Project management: Ability to plan, execute, and monitor complex projects effectively within resource constraints.

Executive summary writing: Ability to condense complex information into a clear and concise executive summary.

Presentation skills: Ability to deliver compelling presentations that engage and persuade audiences.

Business acumen: Broad understanding of business principles, practices, and industry trends.

Financial modelling: Ability to create and analyse financial models to assess business performance and make informed decisions.

Data visualization: Ability to communicate data insights effectively using charts, graphs, and other visual representations.

Quantitative modelling: Ability to apply mathematical and statistical techniques to solve business problems.

Industry expertise: Deep understanding of a specific industry, including its dynamics, challenges, and opportunities.

Adaptability: Ability to adjust to new situations, learn new skills, and embrace change.

Leadership: Ability to inspire, motivate, and lead teams effectively towards achieving common goals.

Coaching and mentoring: Ability to provide guidance, feedback, and support to others for their professional development.

Self-awareness: Ability to understand one's strengths, weaknesses, and motivations.

Motivation: Passion for learning, problem-solving, and making a positive impact in the business world.

It's not a million miles - nor even one or two miles - off from how I've always understood the HR leadership role to be about. But one key area that comes along with the AI tsunami - are these:

Business acumen: Broad understanding of business principles, practices, and industry trends.

Financial modelling: Ability to create and analyse financial models to assess business performance and make informed decisions.

Data visualization: Ability to communicate data insights effectively using charts, graphs, and other visual representations.

Quantitative modelling: Ability to apply mathematical and statistical techniques to solve business problems.

This is the stuff we need to step up to, and fast. AI, machine learning, and people analytics is the new language we need to urgently embrace to stay relevant - because this is something that LLMs like ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, or whoever wasn't invented to do as yet. But these are the key disciplines that we'll need to become capable of because the data outputs that AI apps and their algorithms produce will need a story. They will need to link back to revenue, cost, analysis, recommendations, and action plans. And if we're stood in front of the board room pointing at lots of fancy dashboards with no rationale, sense of correlation, or causation - and no insightful follow-up - THAT'S when we'll get replaced!

I'm dedicating my consultancy to helping the HR world step into these capabilities and mindsets - but also to become an expert in AI, machine learning, data analytics, and thinking critically, logically, and intelligently about what fascinating outputs we're getting from our wonderous machines. Because THAT'S why I joined HR as a profession - to make a powerful difference in the lives of others, but to be revered as a dynamic, informed, and legitimate business person who solves people's challenges. It's been a great journey thus far - but nobody told me this would have been (a) my career pathway, and (b) my curriculum - as I found that all out the hard way. So let's solve that together as our rocketship has arrived!

PS - this article was NOT written by an LLM. The grammar was checked continuously by Grammarly. Wordle pinged me endlessly to let me know it could do a better job than I - begged me to have a go. God only knows what other extension, secret AI, or whatever is floating around out there in webworld might be watching me. Never mind - I'm still using my grey matter - and thus we all should. Singularity is a way down the road - so let's keep sharp, up-to-date, and relevant in the meanwhile.