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The Rise (and rise) of HR Technology
24 April 2023 HR Tech and Data
Story by
Lisa Haggar Global HR Director
When I started the world of work, I used typewriters, with triple page carbon documents. Thankfully we have come a long way since then.
HR technology enables management and HR teams’ access to critical data. It covers the total employee journey, from recruitment, payroll, onboarding, offboarding, engagement, rewards and recognition, development and succession planning.
Using HR technology has resulted a reduction in errors, it has reduced repetitive tasks, provides a more efficient operation, helps to find and identify talent, measures engagement, manages costs, manages absence, provides consistency and legal compliance, especially in areas such as GDPR and now HR is embracing Artificial Intelligence.
HR now has virtual HR assistants, (automated chatbots) which save on day-to-day operational tasks and questions that arise regularly, that can be answered with ease and without the need of a physical person.
Algorithmic HR
Algorithms can collect, process and analyse large volumes of data in a fraction of the time a human can. Google were one of the first major companies to use and develop algorithmic based HR.
The basic HR algorithms have developed and now use ‘predictive modelling’ to find patterns in large volumes of data which enabled the ability to identify or predict future trends. Areas such as likely hood of a key person leaving the business, would be useful to know and prevent.
HR department’s use analytics to support smart decisions. Algorithmic HR makes decisions based on data and not subjective opinions based on human observation, opinions, and biases – it’s assumed that drawing from data is a less subjective way of making decisions.
However, data as we know, is only as good as the data entered into any system and a heavy reliance on the data source being accurate. Take Chat GPT … It’s not writing new material, its simply collecting data from various sources and collating it. But what if that data is incorrect in the first place?
Using an equation to make a decision could be argued that it takes a human bias out of it, that said dependent on the algorithm, it could already be laced with bias.
Algorithms can predictive model by using the data between two data points, but again this relies on the two data points being accurate and underpinned by an algorithm that doesn’t allow bias.
As we start to get further into the realms of AI, I expect we’ll see an increased investment in this area. Like all new technologies we must start somewhere. They have to be used, trialed, we have to accept mistakes will be made, allow for that and learn by them and no doubt this will be laced with controversy because it has access to so much personal and company data.
Impact on company culture
Whilst we understand HR technology is an enabler, which should help support making smart decisions and deal with large volumes in a click, this does not come without it’s controversy.
We have recently seen big brand organisations dismissing people via text, WhatsApp message or an e-mail. Despite this may have been an ‘efficient’ way of doing it, it has been and rightly so, heavily criticised as its seen as cold hearted, uncaring unkind and unnecessary. Should a person’s livelihood purely be based on an algorithm …decisions made by a collection of ones and zeros? Where does the moral and legal obligations sit here?
Diversity and Inclusion challenges
AI complicates things further, as it provides another level of complexity whilst in its early infancy. It has a tendency to follow patterns for which it was trained and so if it’s collecting old data it is by default implanting the same unconscious biases that we currently see and yet what we need from technology is a way of removing that. That would be the progress we absolutely need. We are asking a lot of the technology, to remove the parts of human thinking that we do not wish to have in existence.
Areas like recruitment will be a key indicator of where we can be successful, however when we tell it we need ‘more people like Andrew’ in the business, the algo will do just that… in every sense unless we teach it otherwise. The diversity and inclusion challenges we have now could be exacerbated.
I’m excited to see what happens in the future of HR technology from systems to algorithmic HR to AI, and whilst personally I’m a fan, we will always need HR humans in this process.
As I see it… it’s a great trusted co-pilot but I wouldn’t want it flying my plane!