Most experts will say artificial intelligence is not “coming to” the workplace or “becoming more prevalent.” Instead, many of them will agree on one thing about AI.
It’s here already.
That was the message Elizabeth Williams wanted to convey to an enthusiastic audience at the ceremony honoring West Michigan’s Best & Brightest Companies To Work For.
While Williams served as the keynote speaker, the event also featured a panel discussion about retention, employee engagement, wellness and wellbeing and multigenerational integration.
The audience for the event, held at the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville, Mich., featured 2024 winners along with business leaders from around the region.
While one of the chief concerns about AI is the idea it’s going to take over from humans, Williams pointed out AI and human intelligence need each other.
“Some people may be a little nervous to use AI because you just don’t know,” said Williams, who serves as the HR Principal at Rehmann. “It’s a whole new sea we’re treading in. I really want to focus on how AI and HI (Human Intelligence) impact our life.
“It’s nothing to be afraid of,” she added. “We need that human intelligence; we need the people so we can enhance that human potential. It’s really a great way to map out the journey for your HR processes, administrative processes … and employ that technology.”
Williams, an HR professional for 24 years, talked about “how much we’ve all been through” with the advent of technology. She recalled a conversation between the owner of the newspaper group for which she worked and the group’s IT director.
“Our IT guy had said to the owner, ‘there’s this new thing you have to check out called e-commerce, eBay,’ and he walked him through it,” she said. “They had this robust conversation about that. I have to laugh because that’s so … 2000,” she said, drawing laughs.
As technology advanced came the advent of social media, which caused some consternation in the mid-2000s, with people and businesses wondering how it would affect things.
“Then social media came out, and it was all a big deal in the mid-2000s. ‘What’s going to happen? It’s going to change the face of the industry,’ and it did,” Williams said. “Something that’s scary, yet revolutionary, and here we are on the other side — good bad or indifferent with social media – but it totally changed that landscape.”
The same can be said of AI. “This is another wave of technological advances that we are now embarking upon, whether you want to ride that wave or not, it’s still going to go, with or without you. How can you best leverage it and feel more comfortable with it?”
So far, not everyone is getting more comfortable with it, though they probably should be. According to statistics in her presentation:
• 44% of employees are already using, for instance, ChatGPT for work.
• Yet, 55% of companies do not yet have an AI policy.
• 75% of companies feel there are no strategies or initiatives in place to help their employees navigate it.
Managers need to take care of those issues, Williams said.
“It’s really up to us as leaders to take that lead and help,” she said. “There are more questions than answers yet, but this is an evolution and a journey that we can take together.”
One of the biggest advantages of AI is the speed at which it works. As the workforce becomes more “paperless,” AI can help workers complete tasks much more quickly.
It can help reduce or at least speed up administrative tasks. It can help reach a target recruiting audience more quickly. And the need for speed is a lesson learned from Covid, especially about prospective employment candidates.
“One thing the pandemic taught us and how that flipped our talent landscape on its head … we had to move super-fast to get those candidates through the pipeline … because they have options,” Williams pointed out. “The pandemic really sped that process up. These AI tools can help tremendously.”
Especially with multi-generational applicants who “might be more tech-savvy.”
But she cautioned against making the entire onboarding process technological and taking the people out of it.
“There’s still that human touch that’s needed when you’re working with your employees and introducing them into the company,” Williams said. “AI should not replace human resources. There’s a reason the word ‘human’ is in our title. AI is the resource.”
But working it into the process can help tremendously with the younger generations who may be more used to things like social media, cell phones and technology overall.
“It’s another way to pivot and keep up,” Williams said. “The younger generation … if you don’t give them something that’s more click-savvy and at their fingertips, they’re going to be moving on to companies that are. Their brains are moving faster with technology, and that’s what they expect.”
While there are any number of advantages to incorporating AI into a company’s work processes, there are, of course, also risks. Williams gave a couple of examples. For instance:
• Performance reviews: AI “can be great” when it gives the manager some language. (but) it can also be too cookie-cutter from person to person if you just let ai run the algorithm.” Williams encourages managers to make sure they still customize it.
She also gave a warning about one possible problem area when using AI to do performance reviews: It can develop gender bias.
“A lot of … systems all are starting to get elements of AI in them … Some of the earlier models have some bia between how you describe a man’s behavior and a woman’s behavior,” she explained. “Men may be seen as ‘confident and assertive’ … (but) if the review is of a woman, suddenly ‘assertive’ and confident’ can be seen as ‘aggressive’ and ‘unfriendly.’ Be mindful about what you don’t know about the software.”
What are some of the other employee concerns? According to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report produced in 2023:
• Some 44% of current tasks are within scope for being automated or augmented.
• Less than 50% of employees believe their company will tell them when AI changes their job.
• 34% of employees think AI will improve their job.
• 14% of HR leaders think their companies are prepared for the changes.
The biggest myth, according to Williams, is that the advent of AI is going to cost employees their jobs. But she points out that studies predict AI could contribute to 20 million to 50 million new jobs. While 87 million jobs across the globe could be displaced – “That’s a lot,” she said – some 97 million new jobs may emerge.
“Leaders have to help put that in perspective,” Williams said. “Let them know it’s going to help with new combinations of work talents and skill they need and enhance work relationships.
“If it’s any comfort, you’re not alone … We’re all experiencing this together,” she added. “Think about how mind-blowing it is we’re going to be utilizing this technology by 2030. Things that we could never even think possible, timewise or resource-wise … Skills are changing rapidly, and new skills will be involved.
“We still need to focus on the human elements … AI cannot do those things. It’s an opportunity to continue to grow and evolve your company. AI may give you options, but you still have to execute it. You can’t artificially create human expression, empathy and connection. You can’t take the human out of human resources, and AI is one of the resources.”
