Can AI Put the Human Back into HR?

Over the past couple of decades Human Resources (HR) has moved from paper and manual processes to more automation and providing employees with more and more web and mobile powered experiences. But has HR lost its human essence and personalization in the process? Nowadays managing a company's "human" assets seems to involve less and less human interaction with the HR organization or an HR person when you need one.

In the Beginning there were Humans

I recall my first few jobs at both major corporations and at startups, there was always a HR person I could reach on the phone, or simply walk over to their office to get small and big matters resolved. HR personnel where typically visible and accessible. Human Resources representatives interacted at a personal level with employees and often knew you on a first name basis.

It seems with more technology that HR has lost its human to human interaction and become more impersonal and mechanical. Today, if you need some payroll or benefits issue resolved, you typically need to submit a "ticket" in some online system and wait for someone (you have never met) to contact you back over email or if you are luck over the phone. Or if you are lucky you can click your way through a labyrinth of HR GUI applications to find what you need.

Virtual Assistants are the New Humans

So what is the solution, more or less technology? Maybe the answer is better technology. AI powered HR virtual assistants have the potential to be your personalized guide to do everything from answering general HR questions to requesting time-off and helping guide you to finding the information or actions you need to take quickly. Machine learning powered intelligent assistants could help resolve problems and questions with your payroll, for example. Interactive NLP powered bots could help guide you through, an often times, complicated benefits and open enrollment process by knowing your preferences and history to match you with the optimal recommendations for your particular situation.

The Future is an AI Powered Voice and Messaging-First World

The future of HR is not more technology, but more intelligent technology powered by machine learning, natural language processing, personalized recommendations engines, and other AI enabled technology that bring hyper-personalization and a human-to-computer interaction model that goes beyond impersonal graphical user interfaces. Voice and messaging-first interfaces (endowed with NLP) are a step in the right direction and can bring back a bit of humanity to your technology overloaded workplace.