Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1464183
HUMAN capital management has become a perpetual head- ache for Human Resources (HR) professionals. In western econ- omies, the demand for skilled personnel greatly surpasses the supply, thus making it hard to find adequate people. Following the pandemic, people started placing more significant value on their well-being, thus relegat- ing work aspirations to second place. Many are no longer ready to move away from their home country for work, so compa- nies are pressured to offer re- mote job opportunities if they want to secure talent. Once the person gets em- ployed, companies go through hoops and loops to retain them. However, with the im- pending tide of digitisation, employees need to be reskilled or upskilled to remain relevant in their workplace. These situ- ations and many others make it very hard for HR personnel to work effectively. Because of this, we have seen a growing trend that uses Artificial Intel- ligence (AI) systems to support these professionals in their tasks. AI is a relatively mature tech- nology and can do quite a lot in this case. Let's have a look at some examples. Finding the right candidate is hard, especially when the catchment area now spans the entire globe. AI systems can sift through hundreds of potential candidates. They can analyse sites like LinkedIn, extract fea- tures from their profiles, ana- lyse the data and reach out to potential applicants. All of this can be achieved automatically and at a small fraction of the cost of a manual system. The next step is the onboard- ing process. The recruiter re- quires further information about the job seeker, so they are requested to submit a cur- riculum vitae (CV) which the AI analyses. To alleviate the repetitive, tedious and monotonous task of entering the information in the hiring form, the AI au- tomatically copies most of the data found in the CV while al- so conducting any background checks. This information gets stored inside a database, thus saving the candidate from re- peatedly reentering the same information. Furthermore, the AI will analyse any previous work experience or interest to match them with the best-suit- ed role. And all of this happens way before a human recruiter steps in! Once the candidate passes through the human sieve and gets recruited, another pro- cess kicks in, kick-starting the individual's employment jour- ney. Irrespective of the method used, finding the perfect can- didate is extremely rare (if not impossible). So companies have to help new employees to grow in a particular role. Some might need additional training. Oth- ers would require specific skills. Ultimately all people are different and using the infor- mation gathered so far; the AI can identify the gaps and cre- ate a personalised action plan (PAP) to help that individual achieve his full potential. Of course, the plan then needs to be implemented. As the Management Guru Peter Drucker once said, "what can- not be measured cannot be managed". Organisations can use AI systems to monitor the work of individuals, not just in terms of throughput but also in terms of quality. However, AI should not act as the digital sword of Damocles. One can extract many insights from the data collected during an employee's life cycle. The organisation should capitalise on this information to improve employee engagement and re- tention. It could be the case that the current working conditions no longer fit an employee's life- style, and introducing small family-friendly measures might improve the situation. Others might be struggling with new technologies or pro- cedures, and further training can quickly resolve those is- sues. So the value of AI lies in the fact that the system can identify minute problems be- fore they grow and allow HR to take timely action. It is crit- ical that leaders listen to their employees, understand their needs, and respond with deci- sive actions. Management and employ- ees can accentuate their dia- logue further with the help of a chatbot. Such a system can make the HR department more accessible by allowing them to answer most of the queries 24/7. Furthermore, the conversa- tions are later analysed and used to address specific con- cerns about the wants and needs of the employees. The AI will also understand the sen- timent of the discussion, thus addressing potential issues which might be emerging. Finally, the system needs to scrutinise the competencies of each individual and offer them prospects for career progres- sion. In the end, such a mech- anism is essential to motivate employees and get them to achieve more. The suggestions provided by the system do not necessarily need to refer them to full-blown courses or Uni- versity degrees. Corporate training will change thanks to micro-cre- dentials whereby employees embark on small classes that they can take at their leisure. The courses are fully online and accessible from a mobile device, so students are not bound to a time or a physical classroom. They offer the high- est flexibility possible and help students make small paces for- ward when possible. So AI is central to the most common HR functions. It is not there to replace the HR profes- sional but rather help them in their mundane tasks. The ser- vices offered are much better because they are efficient, pre- cise and faster. It allows the HR department to take better care of the employees, thus guar- anteeing their happiness and eventual retention within their current positions. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 APRIL 2022 OPINION 12 Prof. Alexiei Dingli Department of Artifical Intelligence, University of Malta Alexiei Dingli Your digital human resources partner