Implementing human-centric AI in the workplace

Only 8 per cent of HR leaders believe their managers have the necessary skills for effective AI use. With recent news surrounding the displacement of workers by AI, HR leaders are calling for a shift in the way organisations take these technologies on board, research has found.

In July, 114 HR leaders participated in a survey by Gartner’s HR practice; these respondents revealed that collaboration is crucial for the effective implementation of AI in the workplace, and the impetus on HR leaders to facilitate human-centric AI use in the workplace.

AI literacy

According to Gartner’s research, only 8 per cent of managers were reported to have the skills to effectively use AI. With 79 per cent of HR leaders seeing HR’s role in transformative AI use, attitudes towards AI remain focused on its impact on organisation growth, it said.

Just over one in 10 (14 per cent) HR leaders said that they provided training to managers on AI integration in daily tasks. Gartner said that chief human resources officers (CHROs) must develop AI literacy programs to ensure managers and employees can effectively use AI – including “hands-on learning, internal guidance and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing”.

These programs should be led by learning and development (L&D) and IT, merging the teaching of digital fluency and essential leadership skills, and incorporating “role-specific AI onboarding”, it said.

Gartner HR practice senior principal in advisory Carolina Engels said: “While AI should not be used to replace managers, it can be used as a tool to empower them to spend more meaningful time with their direct reports.”

“The currently available and the emerging AI tools landscape is flipping the manager role from managing information and decisions to coordinating insights and predicting the needs of employees.”

Gartner’s research also revealed that one in three HR leaders said their organisation expects higher performance from employees when they use AI.

“When deployed correctly, AI-augmented management – automating routine tasks that don’t require human input and supporting day-to-day management decisions with timely, AI-driven insights – enables managers to focus on being more strategic, human-centric, and impactful,” Engels said.

Intra-function collaboration

Choosing AI automation that benefits relationship building – providing insights for better management, or creating a working group of managers where weaknesses and areas where AI support is needed can be discussed – is crucial, Gartner said.

Last month, BoldHR founder Rebecca Houghton told HR Leader: “Start with what’s actually eating [managers’] time. Reports. Forms. Leave approvals. Talent assessments. Performance reviews. The whole ‘50 per cent more than they can handle’ bit. Then build or adopt a targeted AI assistant that eats those tasks for breakfast – and give your managers back the time to lead.”

Gartner stressed that a human-centric approach must be taken with AI, so it can support the human element in workplaces.

It also recommended that CHROs collaborate with multiple functions to achieve a holistic framework for effective AI implementation. These included leveraging the skills of:

• Legal and risk specialists: to create guidelines for the use of AI, to define ethical use, data boundaries, and approval processes for these tools.

• IT specialists and managers: to uncover the best tasks to be automated – including evaluating data aggregation, drafting performance reviews, or generating real-time feedback on recent client deliverables for employees.

• Learning and development leaders and HR business partners: to evaluate workflows, uncover quick wins and co-design role evolution.

“By focusing on human-centric leadership, CHROs can help managers effectively communicate AI-driven insights to their teams,” said Engels.

“This lays the foundation for creating a positive employee experience when it comes to AI.”