Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management. Opportunities for the Aviation Industry

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
2.1 Definition
2.2 Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management (HRM)
2.3 Technology
2.4 What does it mean for HR employees?

3 Artificial Intelligence impact in HR practices
3.1 Recruiting and Selection / Talent Acquisition
3.2 Onboarding and Internal Talent Mobility
3.3 Learning and Development
3.4 Inclusion and Diversity
3.5 Workforce Management

4 Oportunities for AI in HR for the Aviation Industry

5 Conclusion

6 References

List of figures

Figure 1 Source: Future Workplace, 2019

Figure 2 Source: Future Workplace, 2019

Figure 3 Source: Innovation Awards, 2017

Figure 4 Data Mining

Figure 5 Opportunities for AI in HR for the Aviation Industry

List of abbreviations

AI Artificial Intelligence

HR Human Resources

HRM Human Resource Management

1 Introduction

This assignment aims to research the options of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Human Resource Management. AI will transform jobs in many industries in the future. Moreover, as change takes place everywhere and at an increasingly faster pace, the need for organisations to follow up is crucial if one does not want to be thwarted by competition. Notably, in people management, there are many approaches on how to innovate tasks and enhance the effectiveness of HR, HR business partners and HR administrative roles. Automation will take over many jobs and processes will also be more automated, augmented and amplified. It will be exciting how roles in HR will change. AI might certainly replace some jobs, but also new ones will arise. Indeed, the transformation in HR will provide many opportunities for the aviation industry.

2 Artificial Intelligence (AI)

2.1 Definition

What is Artificial Intelligence? – AI can learn from data, fulfil tasks, can predict future developments, enhance human intelligence. AI is not self-learning entity, but nowadays still dependent on fed data. AI is capable of duplicating processes and of following predetermined patterns. (Goertzel et al., 2007) That mostly applies to repetitive and low-level tasks. (Marshall 2019). Contemporary AI consists of software and robots that simulate human intelligence (Hmoud et al.,2019).

2.2 Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management (HRM)

Using AI in HR implies the usage of new technologies such as AI capable software systems. Work done by AI will take over low-level work, but will also create new roles in HR. The newly created jobs mainly perform high-level tasks and demand more communicating and coaching skills; stronger focus will be on caring for and connecting with people – in summary, on emotional intelligence - and managing the men machine collaboration (Bahl, 2017).

Implementation of AI in HR will be a significant challenge. There are many different vendors for software on the market, and there is a wide range of tools. The software offers numerous specific functions; some of them are multifunctional and cover many aspects of Human Resource Management.

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Figure 1 Source: Future Workplace, 2019

Researches show that it is an excellent option to “Use the RAPID Framework to start Your AI 4 HR Journey” and create an action plan to follow up. AI in HR is coming fast and planning the transformation, aligned with business objectives is vital. A cross-functional team – with all stakeholders involved - is best to create a business plan, identify the strategy and drive implementation.

2.3 Technology

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Figure 2 Source: Future Workplace, 2019

The AI Technology Landscape for HR shows the immense variety of offers and options on the market. Profound research is crucial to find the right product for each organisation. It may also happen that some enterprises decide to develop their tools.

Researches show that companies always have to consider some selection criteria: Is the product compatible with the company’s IT, infrastructure and other systems already in use in HR? Does it make sense to completely restructure the IT system in order to align it with the core business plan to make the organisation ready for the next industrial era?

Of course, to win the entire workforce for the AI transformation, easy use and application will be a credible criterium as well as that the tool is accessible via different platforms and various devices. Using, i.e. chatbots for recruitment and onboarding transform the tasks of HR managers to more value-added tasks (Cognizant, 2019).

2.4 What does it mean for HR employees?

AI in HR means a significant change for HR employees. There will be different jobs and job roles. AI will take over empty-headed tasks, repetitive and administrative work. The newly created jobs mainly perform high-level tasks and demand more communicating and coaching skills (Oesch, 2018); stronger focus will be on caring for and connecting with people. AI transformation will require a new mind and skill-set, and in particular, an alignment with the corporate strategy. The work itself will become smarter; human intelligence will be upgraded and enables economic and qualitative advantages. Workload will be eased by technology.

The transformation will take place fast, and the extent of change will be vast as it will affect all areas of HR and also transform the employees’ life-cycle. HR leaders need to adapt workplace policies accordingly to facilitate implementation. A question which needs to be discussed in future is that if AI is accountable for work.

3 Artificial Intelligence impact in HR practices

3.1 Recruiting and Selection / Talent Acquisition

Talent acquisition and recruiting is a time-consuming task (Hmoud et al., 2019). New recruitment methods are using chatbots, which are computer programs which can start a conversation with a possible candidate and make a preselection of talents. Advantages are that the whole screening and talent sourcing process happens fast, candidates receive instant feedback, and the program is also able to schedule interviews. There is no waiting time during which candidates feel left alone and awaiting answers from HR; in sum, communications are better and processes are qualitatively upgraded. Screening and shortlisting candidates become a new and personalised experience. The recruiting process takes place anywhere and anytime, it can source large numbers of talents.

HR employees will be up-skilled in their roles. Technology supports complex, repetitive and precise job tasks (Hmoud et al., 2019). That “gives recruiters and HR managers more space to focus on strategic matters” (Hmoud et al., 2019). Recruiters will have more time to concentrate on talents proposed by AI tools and chatbots. The hiring process takes less time as the preselection enables HR managers to spend more quality time in interviewing high performing candidates. Notably, the personal interaction with candidates gains further importance, as emotional intelligence is essential when it comes to issues such as cultural fit. Data give recruiters the possibility to prepare themselves for interviews well. Furthermore, the number of candidate turnover will be substantially lower.

For the aviation industry, these new AI-supported selection methods bring significant benefits. As the industry is global by nature, using these new technologies enables employers as well as candidates to communicate fast, instant and independent of time zones and shift work. The candidates save lots of time and effort while following an AI-supported hiring process. In particular, in a global acting industry like aviation, scheduling various interviews can be tiring and challenging concerning schedules.

3.2 Onboarding and Internal Talent Mobility

AI transforms the candidate and employee experience and “enables employees to access HR solutions from anywhere” (Meister, 2017). In the onboarding process, in particular, chatbots provide answers to frequently asked questions which might vary from straightforward questions which require a simple answer to questions related to the employee handbook and operational issues. Questions can also embrace policy topics like vacation time, medical coverage or benefit allotments.

For HR employees there will be many new job roles. One very essential role will be that of the Head of Employee Experience (Meister, 2017). The position will be responsible for implementing the new employee experience based on AI technology. Further roles could be that of a Head of Conversational Design who builds bridges between technology users and applications and a Recruiting Scrum Master who breaks down the hiring process in many increments.

The goal of Talent Mobility is to get “the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time (Future of Work, 2017). Organisations require to have an internal pipeline to feed roles. AI tools can find skill gaps and make personalized learning recommendations to fill gaps and show pathways for future development. For organisations, it is essential to identify their talent pool and leverage and mobilise the right talent. Continuous learning and feedback increase employee engagement and retention.

3.3 Learning and Development

Learning and development of people will be significantly meaningful in the nearby future. First, new technologies like AI require a new, rapid shifting skillset. The workforce is intensely busy, and employees need to be involved and trained accordingly. Second, the way of learning will be different and more enhanced. New forms of learning offer more flexible learning and pave the way to lifelong learning and development.

The chart below shows how the required skillset in a globally connected world (Innovation Awards, 2017) of the future looks like and how skills interact with each other.

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Figure 3 Source: Innovation Awards, 2017

Global companies need to support this change and allow their employees to learn and develop anywhere and anytime they have a moment of need to do so. AI supports a personalised learning experience. How does this work? - Natural language processing (NLP) and algorithms combined with the learning content, give the program the ability to understand the learner, give instant feedback and makes recommendations. One further feature AI-supported learning offers is that it gives personalised learning recommendations (Innovation Awards, 2017). The learner can fill skill gaps. Therefore, the employee is more engaged, spends more time in development as it is more pertinent to him or her.

HR managers find many learning tools on the market. As in AI Technology Landscape for HR, as mentioned in chapter 3.1, there are many options. Noteworthy is the fact that the platform needs to be user-friendly as the workforce consists of multi-generations. HR employees assume a different role in the process of learning and development. Educating leaders first and supporting a business case to enhance the development is obligatory. The future task will comprise providing simple AI tools – that everybody feels comfortable with- and chatbot personalisation. A daunting challenge for HR is to keep up with developments, but tools like “adaptive learning platforms” (Future Workplace, 2019) pave the way.

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