Raphael Bohne
Research expert covering professional services
Artificial intelligence (AI) use in human resources (HR) departments worldwide - statistics & facts
As artificial intelligence (AI) has loudly announced itself into the arena of the professional services industry, many of the uses of this technology have been up for debate and have triggered both rational and emotional responses from those affected. HR departments have not been spared from this narrative and employees have produced interesting survey results regarding attitudes towards the emerging technology. For example, the top company investment plan regarding recruiting procedures worldwide in 2024 was in AI tools, with other more traditional HR methods featuring much further down the list of priorities. In addition to this, employee perspectives on whether generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) will have an impact on their career have remained a mixed-bag, with a slight majority who believed AI will have a positive impact overall.
As things stand, AI use in the workplace is seemingly here to stay. It has spread itself across the professional services industry, notably with AI use at contact centers, and significantly AI use in the legal services industry. Many are happy with how this has developed, but there still remains much at stake in terms of AI and employment, wealth distribution, and human interaction when it comes to implementation in the professional workplace.
Human resources?
The impact on the human element of human resources has already been felt by some departments. The impact of GenAI in HR departments worldwide has pushed HR chatbots to the forefront of admin work, with 70 percent of chief human resource officers (CHRO) who said this had already been implemented, piloted, or scaled. The top HR concern regarding AI use in the workplace, however, were regarding AI and the digitization of the workplace - including data privacy and cybersecurity. In terms of plans by HR managers to overcome the skills gap caused by AI, almost 60 percent of those surveyed had been anticipating investing in AI training tools. These developments suggest a split from standard human interaction with employees, with some HR departments ironically leaving the human element behind.The future of AI in the workplace
With the almost inevitable future widespread use of AI-tools in the workplace, companies and HR departments have had much to dwell on. Plans from organizations for successfully transitioning into an AI-driven future in the United States, for example, revolved around re-training employees, having clear use guidelines, and perhaps most importantly, preparing for a blended workforce of employees and AI. On the other side of the pond, the stages of AI implementation by HR managers in the UK were somewhat more unpredictable. Just over half of those surveyed from positions of recruitment and managing employees stated they were not planning to implement AI. Comparatively, almost 20 percent of HR managers in these two positions were considering and/or developing a plan.As things stand, AI use in the workplace is seemingly here to stay. It has spread itself across the professional services industry, notably with AI use at contact centers, and significantly AI use in the legal services industry. Many are happy with how this has developed, but there still remains much at stake in terms of AI and employment, wealth distribution, and human interaction when it comes to implementation in the professional workplace.
