Incorporating AI into your HR strategy can be appealing, as the promise of better hiring and performance outcomes and improved efficiencies could bring meaningful change to how businesses are run.

But the list of tools available and their capabilities is extensive, offering a range of options to wrap your head around.

To help companies navigate this new AI landscape, Mainsail’s Talent Team developed a guide to identifying the benefits of AI in HR, evaluating the tools available and integrating these tools successfully.

It was shared at our 2024 Talent Summit for portfolio companies, and we compiled some of the most compelling ideas and quick win opportunities below. Keep in mind that this is a fast-moving space so you should always keep your eyes open for new developments as well as be aware of legal risks and your company’s AI use policies.

Use cases for AI support in HR

According to a recent IBM study, 87% of companies predict that AI will augment, not automate, job functions in the coming years. Meaning: while humans will remain at the helm, these tools could help them be more efficient and effective.

Applied to HR, this could change how we approach:

  1. Talent acquisition: AI could help streamline and quicken the hiring process by assisting with job-description creation and posting, candidate sourcing, resume screening, interview scheduling and automated candidate communications.
  2. Onboarding: Managers could use AI-powered chatbots to guide new employees through the onboarding process, answer questions, provide information and send reminders about key documents.
  3. Professional learning and development: By analyzing employees’ skills and preferences, AI could recommend personalized training modules for career mobility, helping employees chart their career paths and helping HR managers identify hidden talent or potential promotions.
  4. Employee experience and HR support: HR chatbots could answer common employee questions more efficiently and provide self-service support in real-time.

Of these use cases, Mainsail’s Talent Team believes the biggest opportunity is in using AI to improve talent acquisition, as this is arguably the most critical role of the HR function and the most time-consuming.

The key to success will be preserving key human-centered touchpoints. By introducing some automation to candidate sourcing, resume screening and interview scheduling processes, the HR team can win back time and effectiveness but keep the human-to-human interaction that is essential to the candidate experience and recruiting process. Automating select elements of the candidate’s journey can also enable responses to be faster and more personalized, which all candidates will appreciate.

So, you want to use AI to improve talent acquisition? As they used to say: there’s an app for that. In fact, there are dozens. But before we get into the “what,” it’s important to pause on a few upfront considerations related to the “how” of AI integration.

Challenges of AI in HR

While AI has the potential to offer a host of enhancements to your HR function, it can also be disruptive. Be aware and proactive regarding these potential watchouts:

  1. Organizational readiness: Culturally, operationally — can the company absorb AI as a new way of doing business? Is the team willing to adapt if the rollout is bumpy?
  2. Candidate hesitancy: Will AI turn away potentially good candidates or keep them from providing complete answers? For example, if AI is taking notes, will a candidate be reluctant to share information? In our experience working with Mainsail portfolio companies, the key here is disclosure. As long as the candidate is aware of AI’s role (or, if they have the option to opt-out), you can still create an optimal interaction.
  3. Employee privacy: Before any AI tool is implemented to collect and analyze personal data, make sure you have a data management strategy in place. Be transparent about the information being collected and your cybersecurity measures to ensure its safety.
  4. Legal risk: Loop in finance, IT and legal to ensure that both your use of AI and any chosen vendors’ terms and conditions adhere to legal requirements related to your company or candidates’ location, industry or other relevant factors.

Increase the chance of success with careful workflow integration

When AI tools are integrated intentionally into the HR function, they are more likely to be well received and ultimately, successful. Here are some tips for helping HR leaders integrate AI into the workflow:

  1. Appoint a champion. Identify one person from the HR team who is passionate about moving this agenda forward. They must be able to articulate why AI is important and able to secure buy-in from other departments, leadership, team members and employees.
  2. Have a cross-functional conversation. More than likely, every department in your business is having a version of this AI conversation. Sales might be using a note-taking tool while Marketing is leaning on generative design and Product is automating repetitive tasks with AI. Have your champion align with Product, Engineering, Sales — everyone! — to take a holistic, company-wide approach to AI.
  3. Complete a tech stack analysis: Work with your finance and technology leaders to reduce redundancies and increase efficiencies by defining your existing, company-wide tech stack. Identify AI integrations that are already available within the tools used by other departments, and ensure every team knows these tools are available to them.
  4. Consider the cost. Loop in finance and IT so they are aware of budget needs and upcoming requests. A lot of great tools offer freemium versions which allows you to trial these products and gain confidence in their value even before you have a budget.
  5. Create an AI policy. Work with your legal counsel and IT to define your company’s policies regarding AI well before you roll out any AI tools.
Best Practices in Motion: At Mainsail, we launched an internal, cross-functional AI Taskforce to conduct a tech stack analysis, educate us on AI policy, and drive a dialog around our optimal AI toolkit, both from an operational and a financial point of view. This taskforce is staffed with champions from various departments and has direct access to company leadership to ensure alignment every step of the way.

An early evaluation of free tools available

In June 2024, Mainsail’s Talent Team conducted an audit of AI tools that support the HR function and offer a freemium version. AI is a fast-moving industry, so while these tools are worth exploring, this list is always worth refreshing.

SCHEDULING

  • Clara: Automated meeting scheduler, AI-driven email assistant
  • Clockwise: Intelligent calendar optimizer and time management tool
  • Sidekick: Smart scheduling assistant, seamless calendar coordination
  • Calendly: Simple scheduling automation, meeting planner

CANDIDATE SOURCING

  • HeroHunt: AI-powered talent discovery and candidate-matching tool
  • RecruitBot: Intelligent recruitment software, sourcing automation

AI NOTETAKERS

  • ai: AI meeting assistant, provides both transcription and analysis
  • Metaview: AI interview notetaker, captures conversation insights
  • ai: Automated transcription, collaborative note-taking tool

CANDIDATE ASSESSMENT

  • Test Gorilla: Skills-testing platform, offers pre-employment assessments
  • Vocal Video: Video-based feedback, candidate assessment tool

JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND SCORECARDS

  • Workable: Recruitment software, job description writer, generates scorecards
  • ChatGPT: AI text generation, capable of writing job descriptions and some correspondence
  • Grammarly: Writing enhancement tool that checks your grammar and can improve style
  • Jasper: AI content creation tool, good assistant for writing job descriptions
  • Dweet: Job description optimization, writing support.

These tools all offered a free trial or “lite” product version when we reviewed them, providing an entry point for companies looking to benefit from AI without committing the budget. Of course, there are also dozens of tools available that require a paid or enterprise subscription. Note that Mainsail did not review each vendor’s terms and conditions regarding AI and this should be part of your individual evaluation process.

Consider AI embeds that already exist in your current tech stack

Mainsail’s Talent Team works hand-in-hand with portfolio company leadership to ensure they are taking advantage of tools that can replace manual processes and meet their needs more efficiently. Below are the four paid tools that are most often used by our HR teams, many of which have recently launched new AI features.

There is a good chance your company uses one of these tools already, so consider upgrading your subscription to make the most of available AI capabilities.

BambooHR

  • AI- Powered Topic Summaries for eNPS Surveys
  • AI-powered insights on open ended eNPS responses
  • eNPS trend identification

Lattice AI

  • Performance Management: Feedback summarization and manager assistance
  • Lattice Engagement: AI-powered insights

Motivosity

  • AI Management Training
    • 1:1 prompts and agendas
    • Tailored culture-building ideas
    • General advice and guidance
  • Surveying: Trend identification and suggestions

Payscale AI

  • AI-generated job descriptions and summaries
  • Peer auto-match
  • Marketplace matches

Taking the first step

The demand of AI in HR is clear. In a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, 75% of organizations interviewed said they feel lukewarm about their ability to effectively hire talent. Fewer than 50% are satisfied with the existing tools they use to help acquire talent, and a full 92% said they will need to invest in talent acquisition resources to remain competitive.

With so many great tools available, the opportunity to meet this demand is also clear. AI can transform your HR function and possibly even inspire integration across the company.

But — don’t feel you have to do it all at once.

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