Alice Chambers |
Human resources (HR) teams have increasingly leveraged artificial intelligence to make faster and more informed decisions in 2024. According to isolved’s 2024-2025 Voice of the Workforce report, 77 per cent of HR professionals believe AI training is critical to enhancing their roles. And 81 per cent of companies have already adopted AI tools. On average, AI handles about 34 per cent of HR-related tasks across those surveyed organisations.
“The additional work that’s being accomplished through these tools is significant,” says Amy Mosher, chief people officer at isolved. “Given the numbers, it’s clear AI is making a big impact. I’m excited about the potential for AI adoption to reach 100 per cent next year – HR teams are not leveraging their potential by not adopting these tools.”
Companies worldwide are using isolved’s Predictive People Analytics (PPA) tool to improve outcomes, particularly in the USA. For Lisa Johnson, HR lead at PS Operating Company LLC, formerly known as QC Supply, a wholesale agricultural business in Nebraska, PPA analytics have been a game-changer in boosting employee retention.
“We use it to feed data to get insights on time to fill, time to staff, diversity, turnover rate, new hires, onboarding statistics, and revenue per employee and cost of benefits compared to gross pay,” says Johnson. “With this data at our fingertips, I can proactively articulate to the executive leadership team the tangible costs of what turnover means to the company. This was not possible before.”
Meanwhile, grocery retailer Hames Corporation in Sitka, a small city on Baranof Island in Alaska, implemented isolved’s solution to streamline HR, automate tasks and consolidate employee data, allowing HR to focus on priorities like training and development. “With a small candidate pool on the island, Hames struggles to retain employees during tourist season due to employees finding more highly paid temporary work,” says Mosher.
“Understanding people analytics will allow HR to better support employee needs,” says isolved’s Amy Mosher
Outdated policies made managing staff challenging. Now, with a centralised data source, Hames can focus on retention. Tools like People Cloud for surveys and Share & Perform for engagement enable the company to regularly check employee wellbeing and create supportive communities, fostering a more resilient and adaptable workforce.
One way to retain staff is to offer flexible work opportunities. The Voice of the Workforce report found that 39 per cent of employees say flexible work is key to improving their experience, while 48 per cent believe it helps reduce burnout.
“We’ve seen that burnout risk is especially high among younger employees,” says Mosher. “Millennials and Generation Z workers, for example, are 10 per cent more likely than Baby Boomers to report feeling overwhelmed by their work. In fact, 58 per cent of Generation Z workers cite burnout as their top reason for job dissatisfaction.”
isolved’s AI-powered HR solutions help alleviate burnout by providing a consistent, high-quality and more tailored experience for employees.
“Consider, for instance, companies wanting to offer more accessible time off to support work-life balance, perhaps through a non-accruing or unlimited paid time off (PTO) plan,” says Mosher. “This type of policy requires significant administration to ensure employees are accurately entering their time, so managers can clearly see time-off balances and ensure a flexible PTO policy is fair. With the right technology in place, companies can manage this policy more effectively, reduce financial burdens and enhance employees’ perceptions of trust and flexibility.”
Organisations should also use AI to improve the employee experience, which will in turn lead to a great customer experience, says Mosher. For instance, 72 per cent of employees surveyed for isolved’s Uncovering the Significant HR Trends of 2024 say their experience at work impacts the customer experience they deliver.
“Our survey findings demonstrate that 47 per cent of respondents believe AI has the potential to significantly improve employee onboarding processes from a learning perspective,” says Mosher.
AI can also personalise training by identifying skill gaps and tailoring onboarding processes for new hires, improving efficiency and the employee experience. By analysing training data, AI helps organisations address gaps in compliance or skills, creating customised development plans to maximise employee potential and benefit the business.
HR analytics will continue to be a key priority and one of the top investment areas for HR leaders in 2025, predicts Mosher. “It’ll be crucial for organisations to leverage people data for business decisions,” she says. “The areas to focus on are analytics, employee wellness, benefit selection, employee surveys and performance management. With the amount of data available now, understanding people analytics will allow HR to better support employee needs, from wellness and benefits to career development.”
Discover more insights like this in the Winter 2024 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox.