Technology has changed the way HR works dramatically in the past 10 years. From applicant tracking and payroll administration to benefits enrollment and leave management, nearly every element of HR has been touched and transformed by advancing technology.
Now, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions is promising another total transformation of HR. The pace of innovation can be dizzying. Many HR leaders are finding it challenging to implement AI and related technologies in a way that minimizes risk and maximizes value.
That’s why it’s critical that HR professionals understand the specific pieces of technology changing the way they work. The following guide offers a brief but comprehensive overview of AI, automation, and integrations. We want to equip you with the information you need to implement AI in a way that’s safe and smart.
What is AI and how is it used in HR technology?
Systems powered by Artificial intelligence are designed to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, including visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation.
Over time, AI has progressed from simple automations to virtual smart assistants and robust tools we use in our everyday lives: Siri, Alexa, ChatGPT, and Google Maps.
Today, AI is quickly becoming a foundational workplace technology, including HR. There are several ways HR is already using AI to great effect:
- Chatbots: It’s not uncommon for a job seeker to run into this tool on a career site. Typically, chatbots can answer applicants’ questions, prompt candidates to apply, and even schedule an interview.
- Candidate selection: AI is enabling recruiters to consider more candidates at a faster rate. Certain tools can also help organizations prioritize diverse talent by tapping new talent pools and promoting skills-based hiring.
- Pulse surveys: AI takes data from employee pulse surveys and identifies high performing workers, burned out employees, flight risks, and urgent employee issues. With these insights, HR can be much more proactive about retention, performance, and the employee experience.
These tools reduce HR’s administrative load, allowing the department to take on more strategic work. HR should recognize, however, that AI isn’t appropriate for every situation. AI should not make important decisions by itself. It should not, for example, approve or deny leave requests.
While AI tools are growing more powerful, they are still capable of errors. Out of curiosity, we asked ChatGPT to calculate basic Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave eligibility for a hypothetical employee. We all know FMLA calculations can be complex, especially for remote employees.
ChatGPT did its best, devising a series of formulas to try to tackle entitlement calculations based on hours worked and time taken. The final result missed the mark by many weeks: instead of 10 weeks, it said the employee was only entitled to one. While amusing as an example, in the workplace, this type of mistake could cause serious consequences, from frustration to legal action.
This hilarious (or troubling) response points to the fallibility of AI. AI is a powerful tool, but it sometimes struggles with complex calculations or policies. That’s why it’s important that calculations about employee eligibility and entitlements include human review and oversight.
What is automation and how is it transforming HR operations?
Automation is another foundational technology that has been part of digital transformation efforts for over a decade. The line between AI and automation is notoriously blurry, and for good reason: Some automation is considered AI, but not all AI is automation.
Consider this quick definition of automation:
- The use of software tools and technologies to perform routine tasks, workflows, and processes without manual intervention.
To get a little more specific, automation allows systems to complete the same tasks in the same way — every time. AI, however, allows systems to dynamically respond to new information and make interpretive decisions. AI is best suited for relatively complex tasks that require interpretive decision making, while automation works well for repetitive tasks that don’t change over time.
At AbsenceSoft, our platform uses automation to reduce the amount of time users need to spend on such tasks.
Without automation, leave requests involve multiple lines of communications and follow up. HR and leave managers may receive requests through phone, email, or text. Then they must gather the relevant information before responding to status requests and questions.
With automation, the process is much more streamlined. With AbsenceSoft’s employee self-service portal, for example, employees can request leave at any time, from any device, at one central location. Leave managers can open a case in seconds. The platform uses automation to schedule communications and reminders to keep the leave process timely.
AbsenceSoft takes automation one step further and groups individually automated tasks together to create workflows. A workflow is a predefined sequence of tasks or processes that are automatically executed by a platform. Events within workflows are triggered when a previous event is completed, setting up a full sequence that can recreate an entire manual process.
These workflows are customizable within the AbsenceSoft platform. For instance, you can create specific workflows for different request types, employee job types, locations, and more.
What are integrations and how do they work in HR tech stacks?
Today, most HR departments are using multiple technology platforms and solutions to help with different functions: recruiting, payroll, time and attendance, leave management, and more. These disparate systems often need to share critical data with each other to stay up to date.
Integration is the process of linking different software and technologies together so they can share important information automatically. Well-implemented integrations make sure every HR system is based on an accurate source of truth regarding any employee information — start dates, job codes, worksites, and more.
When implementing a leave and accommodations management platform, for example, it’s important to integrate it into an existing tech stack. By having employee data flow to (inbound) and from (outbound) the system, the platform can calculate eligibility more accurately, provide in-depth data analysis, and then tell other systems information about pay, time usage, return to work dates, and more.
When employees take a leave of absence, there are several actions that might need to be taken in adjacent systems when their leave starts. The employee’s building access may need to be revoked for security reasons. Her email might need to be temporarily forwarded. Her pay may pause or be adjusted. Her PTO bank may shrink. Then, when the employee returns, these actions must be reversed.
You may be wondering: what does automation and AI have to do with integrations? Automation can fuel integrations between multiple systems. Within the AbsenceSoft platform, you can integrate the platform with:
- HRIS and HCM: When you integrate AbsenceSoft with your HRIS or HCM, you can power real-time insights into your leave program with up-to-date information about your workforce. You can get the full picture of where your employees are, all in one place.
- Time and attendance: By integrating AbsenceSoft with your time and attendance system, you can easily see which employees are on leave. You can also see important dates associated with leave, such as when an employee is expected back, to inform shift coverage if needed.
- Payroll systems: Integrate AbsenceSoft with your payroll system to instantly know if a leave should be paid or unpaid. You can also import PTO balances to AbsenceSoft to display every available time away option for employees so everyone gets a full picture of available benefits and entitlements.
AbsenceSoft integrates with the apps your team depends on to simplify leave and accommodations management with seamless, secure integrations.
Uniting emerging technology with more than a decade of experience
At AbsenceSoft, we are technology leaders. We incorporate the best of emerging technology to provide you with a purpose-built platform that takes on the heavy lifting of leave management. With automated tasks and guided workflows, this frees you to focus on the employee experience.
To see our platform in action, book a demo today.
