Essential AI Skills for the Empowered HR Leader

AI is here. Is HR in the conversation?

This isn't a rhetorical question. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is actively reshaping every job and every company from the inside out, presenting new challenges and opportunities. Yet, a vital concern remains: HR's voice isn't always represented in key AI discussions shaping organizational futures. 

As explored in our recent HR at the Table® webinar, "The AI Conversation: Why HR Needs A Voice (and How to Get It)," your unique grasp of human capital, culture, and employee experience positions you as an indispensable voice in your organization’s future. It's time to proactively find your voice by equipping yourself and your team with the essential AI skills that will strategically elevate HR's role in the AI conversation. 

Empowering HR's voice starts with knowledge. Keep reading to uncover the essential AI skills that will fortify your position and influence within your organization's AI journey.

Why HR Needs a Proactive Voice in AI

Stepping into AI is an exciting opportunity for HR. More than just integrating new software, AI is redefining the very essence of human work within organizations, making HR's perspective indispensable.

Internal AI Adoption Gaps

Historically, while IT teams managed broader technological infrastructure, HR teams were at the forefront of evaluating and implementing systems directly related to people and workforce management — think HRIS, payroll, and performance tools. However, the rapid rise of AI is changing this dynamic. The result? HR is often left out of the initial conversations around AI adoption, even when it impacts the workforce.

Beth White, CEO of MeBeBot, shared in our webinar that the stakes are incredibly high for HR and AI: "We deliver policy information, we deliver payroll, benefits, all the critical information that there is no room for misalignment from an AI answer to an employee need because we're operating on behalf of the company.” 

Without HR's nuanced understanding of human behavior, employee relations, and organizational culture, decisions about AI solutions might be made purely from a technical standpoint. This oversight can lead to crucial human factors being overlooked, resulting in:

• Adoption challenges: Tools that don't fit employee needs
• Ethical dilemmas: Unintended biases or unfair practices
• Legal repercussions: Non-compliance with evolving AI regulations

HR’s Strategic Lens

You know better than anyone that your department isn't just about policies and procedures; it's about people. HR possesses the deepest knowledge of human capital, understands the dynamics of company culture, and caters to the holistic employee experience. Without HR's input, AI implementations, even if technically sound, could inadvertently:

• Create hiring bias
• Erode trust company-wide
• Fail to meet employee needs

Compliance and Ethics

Proactive engagement from HR is also essential for mitigating risks and ensuring compliance in AI. Unmonitored or improperly implemented AI can lead to severe consequences, including:

• Data privacy breaches
• Hallucinations (Yes, we’re serious)
• Algorithmic bias

Take Amazon's AI recruiting chatbot for example, which was ultimately scrapped due to showing bias against women because it was trained on historical data dominated by male applicants. This demonstrates how easily inherent biases in data can be perpetuated and amplified by AI if not carefully managed. 

“The risks in using AI are if you trust in it 100% and don't ask some questions about how it's working." Beth White further emphasized the importance of data security, cautioning, "If you're putting that information into your personal instance of ChatGPT, it is getting shared with a larger model. You want to make sure that you're utilizing tools that are behind your firewall."

HR's involvement is crucial in developing and enforcing robust AI governance policies. As regulations like the EU AI Act and various state-level laws emerge, HR's expertise in navigating complex legal and ethical landscapes is invaluable. By engaging proactively, HR can ensure that AI adoption aligns with organizational values and legal requirements, while fostering a fair and equitable workplace for all employees.

Essential AI Skills for HR Leaders

To effectively navigate and lead in this AI-driven landscape, HR professionals need to cultivate a diverse set of skills. These capabilities extend beyond technical know-how to include strategic foresight, ethical understanding, and strong interpersonal skills.

AI Fluency & Understanding Common Applications

Seems obvious, right? AI fluency for HR means understanding what AI is, how it works at a high level, and recognizing its various forms and applications within your domain. Beyond the buzz of generative AI, you might be surprised to find how deeply AI is already woven into the fabric of your existing HR systems. Many HR professionals are already using and mastering AI without even realizing it.

HR professionals should familiarize themselves with key use cases for AI, including:

• Recruitment: AI can help craft job descriptions, conduct candidate sourcing, streamline initial screenings, and manage interview scheduling.
• Onboarding & Offboarding: AI-powered chatbots personalize the new hire experience, answering common questions in real-time.
• Performance Management: AI helps tie goals to objectives, provides data-driven insights for reviews, and can compare job descriptions to performance metrics for fairness.
• Learning & Development: AI can customize learning paths, recommend relevant training, and facilitate peer learning.
• Benefits Management: AI personalizes open enrollment communications, guiding employees to relevant benefit options for simpler, more accessible choices.

Critical Thinking & Strategic Problem Solving

AI's power relies on human direction. HR leaders need sharp critical thinking to identify genuine pain points AI can solve, and strategic thinking to envision how AI reshapes HR's role and contributes to business goals.

Beth White's advice included: "Log all the things you do all day, think about those things that you do that are super time-consuming or manual, and go, how could I make that problem go away? Is there a use case where I can leverage a type of AI to help me with this?" 

Ethical Oversight & Bias Mitigation

Understanding ethical AI is a critical HR skill. AI learns from data, and if that data is biased, the AI will amplify it. HR must be vigilant.

As Beth White stressed, "AI needs a boss. It needs human supervision, and you guys get to be that. It's time for you to apply that, too, you know, helping train the AI to behave better." This means actively questioning AI outputs and raising red flags if something seems biased. 

Data Literacy

Working with AI involves handling sensitive data. HR professionals must have a solid understanding of data privacy principles, including what data can and cannot be shared with AI models. It's crucial to understand internal data governance policies and the security protocols of any AI tool. Data literacy also means fact-checking AI outputs and understanding the limitations for your context. 

Collaboration & Communication

AI implementation is rarely a solo effort. HR leaders need to actively build bridges across departments to ensure successful, people-centric AI adoption. To create effective communication and collaboration, HR must: 

• Proactively engage: Reach out to IT, security, legal, and other business leaders to understand their AI initiatives and offer HR's unique perspective.
• Articulate HR's needs: Communicate how AI solutions must align with human capital strategy, employee experience, and ethical guidelines.
• Translate complex requirements: Bridge the gap between HR's needs and technical specifications, ensuring AI tools are designed and implemented with people in mind.
• Foster cross-functional dialogue: Encourage shared understanding and collaboration on AI projects that impact the entire organization.

Adaptability & Change Management

AI evolves rapidly, making adaptability a crucial AI skill for HR. This involves a commitment to continuous learning and a proactive approach to change management. HR professionals must stay informed about the latest AI advancements and be prepared to guide their organizations through technological shifts. This means embracing experimentation with AI tools, fostering innovation, building confidence, and helping HR discover impactful AI uses while leading the workforce through transformation.

Actionable Steps for HR Leaders

1. Initiate Dialogue: Don't wait to be invited. Speak with your manager, head of HR, or if your company uses a flat communication model, reach out directly to IT manager to understand the company's stance on AI and how it might impact employees and customers. This opens the door for HR to be part of strategic discussions.
2. Research Company Stance: Be informed. Utilize public resources like annual reports to understand your company's existing or planned AI strategy. This intelligence allows you to align HR initiatives with broader business goals.
3. Propose Solutions & Policies: Identify specific HR pain points that AI can address and advocate for company-approved tools. Be prepared to discuss governance. Resources like Fair Now offer templates for internal AI policies, providing a starting point for establishing safe and ethical AI guidelines.
4. Lead by Example: Get comfortable with AI in your personal life. If your employer isn't providing access, set up your own account. Use it for everyday tasks, like generating recipe ideas or planning a trip. The more you understand its capabilities and limitations, the better equipped you'll be to champion its use professionally.
5. Seek Training & Education: Invest in developing your AI skills. Numerous resources are available, including courses on Udemy, IBM's free entry-level AI course, specialized programs from AIHR, and certifications from organizations like SHRM. 
6. Speak the Language of Business: When advocating for AI adoption, frame it in terms of tangible business benefits. Show how AI skills in HR can directly contribute to the bottom line and talent retention.

Ready to Lead the AI Conversation?

The AI revolution isn't just happening to HR; it's an invitation for HR to lead. This transformation isn't about replacing human roles, but rather augmenting them to allow for more strategic, meaningful, and fulfilling work. HR professionals are needed to operate AI, guiding it to enhance human potential.

Don't just observe the AI revolution. The path forward requires proactive engagement, a commitment to continuous learning, and the right partners.

At Verified First, we understand the challenges and opportunities HR leaders face in the age of AI. We are dedicated to empowering you with the insights and solutions needed to confidently integrate AI into your HR strategies, ensuring compliance, mitigating risks, and optimizing the employee experience.

Discover How Verified First Can Empower Your AI Journey:

• Explore our comprehensive HR solutions designed to streamline processes and enhance decision-making.
• Access our expert resources, including the HR at the Table® webinar series, for cutting-edge insights on AI and HR.
• Connect with our team today to discuss how we can help you leverage AI ethically and effectively for your organization's screening and hiring process.

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