The power of integrating AI models into HR departments

Will a working knowledge of AI-based technologies become a near indispensable skill set on CVs in the future? Will it be as fundamental a requirement as a knowhow of the operation of word documents was two decades ago when hiring individuals?

Microsoft isn’t standing by idle waiting for answers. Instead, it decided to set up its AI Business School a year ago to help leaders and organisations better grasp the potential of AI within their business models. The model is based on six principles they believe should guide AI development and use. These are fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability.

International business school INSEAD has partnered with Microsoft to build the AI Business School’s strategy module. The school delivers free online course materials including video lectures and sessions moderated by experts within the AI field, lending their perspective on various dimensions of AI – spanning from its ethics and recent advances in the field, to cautionary tales around its use and applications across various verticals within companies.

One of those verticals where AI can be gradually implemented in companies is in non-critical functions like HR. While human intervention is still required for critical tasks of HR such as interviewing process and employee conflict resolution, there are other activities that can be easily automated. These include mundane tasks like elements of the onboarding process, payroll, leave and attendance, as well as powering smart searches for talent acquisitions.

Doing so allows the personnel working in the HR departments to effectively dedicate themselves to other tasks that require their attention.

A recent Future of Work Report from IDC examines insights, trends and challenges that the region is facing amidst their digital transformation journeys. The report highlights that 90 per cent of organisations in the UAE are implementing their digital transformation initiatives, yet there remains a gap in the depth of AI  experience and skills, specifically in business functions like marketing, sales and human resources.

But does the implementation of AI as a routine part of HR department operations mean that a company’s human workforce will eventually be trimmed?

Microsoft AI is all about empowering people, not replacing them.  If a company says, ‘For me, it’s important to be fair’, then you need to make your AI look at your data, not bias, and make sure that it  amplifies human ingenuity by infusing intelligence across all your products and services to extend their capabilities and make them more productive.

To understand more about the course offering and for more information on the Microsoft AI Business School, click here – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/ai-business-school