The HR profession has always been key in driving organizational success through effective people management. Yet, the demand for efficiency in HR is rising, requiring smarter time and resource management. Enter Generative AI (Gen AI), a technology reshaping how HR professionals (and many other types of professionals) operate. By leveraging Gen AI, HR teams can streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and ultimately do more with less.

Below you’ll find quotes and insights from HR Professionals on how they’re using Gen AI to make their increasingly demanding role at their organizations much easier. However, the key is to not let AI overtake the human aspect of Human Resources—find ways to let AI do the mundane work so that you can focus on what really matters, the people.

This blog is an extension of the HR Leaders Tell All LinkedIn Live.

Understanding Gen AI in HR

Generative AI refers to AI systems capable of creating content and making decisions based on large datasets. Often you’ll see it referenced by the most well-known software in the space: ChatGPT. In HR, Gen AI applications range from automating routine tasks to generating insights from complex data. In our latest LinkedIn Live series, Navigating HR Evolution in the Age of AI,  Amanda Halle, the Fractional Director of People at HappyFunCorp, brought up the growing need to be smart about time usage, highlighting that generative AI tools excel in summarizing and synthesizing. She stated, “We’re really more so than ever before being asked to do more with less, and that means that we have to be really smart about how we use our time.”

The real strength of Gen AI lies in its ability to handle tasks that traditionally consume significant time. Tools designed for summarizing meeting and interview notes, synthesizing employee engagement data, and drafting policy documents allow HR professionals to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative burdens. As Amanda noted, “There’s a lot of generative AI tools that are out there to help support with that… and I think that’s a huge benefit and a huge time saver.” These tools enable HR teams to do more with less, underscoring the theme of modern work dynamics.

Real-World Applications of Gen AI in HR

Talent Acquisition and Recruiting

One of the most impactful applications of Gen AI in HR is in talent acquisition. Lauren Newton, the Vice President of People at Sanity, shared her organization’s experience with a Gen AI tool that automates recruiting notes during initial screening interviews. “The tool that we use integrates into Zoom and captures very detailed, super accurate notes from the entire call,” Lauren explained. This then saves recruiters significant time and effort. According to SHRM, 64% of organizations using AI for HR purposes have adopted it for talent acquisition.

Meeting Note-Taking

The tools are revolutionizing how HR teams handle more than just recruiting. They help with transcribing and summarizing meeting notes. They ensure that no detail is overlooked. This frees up time for HR professionals to join discussions. “We use a different tool throughout our entire organization that’s capturing things like meeting notes for us, and that is…super, super helpful,” she noted.

Data Synthesis

Lauren’s team also uses a Gen AI tool that synthesizes engagement and performance review data. It eliminates the need to manually sift through long documents. Using Gen AI to sort through survey data and pull out themes can save someone time and allow them to focus on implementation.

“If you’re an HR team of one or you’ve lost your talent team and you’re down to one person, there’s a lot of supplemental tools that you can use to help synthesizing things like employee engagement data, 360 reviews, performance reviews. We don’t have to sit there and sift through pages and pages of notes anymore, and I think that’s a huge benefit and a huge time saver,” Amanda said.

Key Considerations in Adopting Gen AI

Evaluating Technology and Integration

When adopting Gen AI tools, you must check if they work with existing systems. You must also check their security. Lauren stressed tools must meet specific needs within the organization. “We first… tried to use this note taking tool that we use across the entire company… but it wasn’t specific to recruiting… Our team tested the recruiting tool for a few weeks… and ultimately it just made such a difference to their way of working and their workload that it was sort of a no-brainer for us to invest in it.”

If you’re unsure how to evaluate and choose the right HR solution for your organization, check out this companion article with a step-by-step guide.

Balancing Risk and Innovation

Amanda highlighted the need for a balanced approach to innovation and risk management. Clear principles and guidelines for AI usage help organizations by guiding them through the complexities of new technologies and safeguarding sensitive data. “We have to all continue to remain curious, but I think at the same time also be thinking about what guidelines and structures and principles we want to put in place around how we think about and support AI in our companies,” she advised. “Notion AI or Google’s AI tools, all of these are there and available and they are well established products, but when you look at some of the emerging tools and the startups, there’s a lot of weight to these use case specific tools that are really being trained on best practices. Hopefully you want to have these conversations with the vendors, but they are more honed in on specific use cases that are using equitable practices and are trained on data that is more specific to the problem set that we’re trying to solve for.”

When talking about risk, data breach and leakages are two big topics. Each generative AI tool uses data to train the model with how to answer your question. Part of the risk is that a lot of these tools will use the data you give them to further train their model. In some cases you can opt out of this in the settings. This is a huge risk if you’re dealing with personal data or Intellectual Property. Be sensitive and ask vendors about this topic to make sure your data is secure. 

“I know when we were drafting policy and guidelines at TrustRadius, it was such a dance for us. We wanted to make sure that we were protecting people data and our organization, our product line, and without stifling the creativity of people using Gen AI for different use cases. And so there’s that fine line there about how much is too much from a policy standpoint and still allowing for that creativity to come through for the adoption of Gen AI as we figure out ways to help improve productivity and user experience,” said Jamy Conrad, Vice President of People at TrustRadius.

There are several risks you need to be aware of before using generative AI. Here are a few: 

• Data Privacy
• Data Leakage
• Intellectual Property (your own and others the model was trained on)
• Bias
• Cybersecurity
• Regulatory Compliance (or lack thereof) and staying on top of any issues that come up

Best Practices for Implementing Gen AI

Policy Development and Guidelines

Creating comprehensive policies around AI usage is essential for ensuring consistent and secure implementation. Amanda’s organization, for example, is in the process of formalizing its AI strategy, emphasizing collaboration across departments to develop practical guidelines. “I support a software engineering firm, and given that they are heavily in the tech space, they have a lot of thoughts and have put a lot of time and energy into thinking about AI policy and strategy,” she said.

Ensuring Data Security and Consent

Lauren’s organization uses best practices. It emphasizes the importance of data security and getting consent from stakeholders. Informing candidates about AI tools used during the recruitment process and ensuring their comfort with these tools is a critical aspect of ethical AI implementation. “When you are adding a note taker to your Zoom calls, get consent from people, make sure that they know that this AI note taker is in the room and recording,” Lauren recommended. “(We let interviewers know) “it will be in the room if you’d like to opt out, feel free to opt out.” So we’re giving people both a heads up and a choice and how they’re also engaging with whatever tools we’re implementing. Then, if it’s a tool that is not joining a Zoom room or anything like that, just being mindful of what that tool does, where that information is stored, where it’s sent to, who has access to it, et cetera. And so really just formulating a list of best practices around these tools is the approach that we’re taking so far.”

Another interesting point is if you’re looking at AI into your data-heavy software like an HRMS. “When I think about incorporating AI into the people metrics and people data, I tend to look at it from the lens of traditional HR and compliance versus more of the progressive people, community aspects for the more traditional and compliance,” Jamy said. “ I’m going to want those vendors that have been around for a long time, they’ve got all the security practices in place. I do not want a breach of my employee data. I don’t want social security numbers and dates of birth just floating out there because we didn’t see and understand everything that AI may be bringing into the technology that we’re talking about using.”

Future Outlook

Evolving Landscape of Gen AI in HR

The future of Gen AI in HR promises even greater efficiency and innovation. As technology evolves, we can expect more sophisticated tools that seamlessly integrate into HR workflows, providing deeper insights and more comprehensive automation. Responsible use of AI advancements requires continuous refinement of policies and practices.

Generative AI is undeniably transforming the HR profession by maximizing efficiency and enabling HR teams to focus on strategic initiatives. HR professionals can boost productivity and effectiveness by using Gen AI tools for tasks like talent acquisition, note-taking in meetings, and data synthesis. As organizations continue to explore and implement Gen AI, the potential for innovation in HR practices will only grow, paving the way for a more efficient and impactful future.

Ready to start searching for your next tech solution?

TrustRadius enables buyers to make confident decisions through comprehensive product information, in-depth customer insights, and peer conversations. You can read in-depth helpful reviews from users at organizations similar to yours to help narrow down your list. Check out HR Management Software here, or you can see all of the categories under Human Resources here if you’re looking for something specific.