Role of

Technology
in HR

1. Introduction
 There is insufficient exploration of the likely
impact of
 Artificial intelligence
 Robotics and
 Machine learning technologies on human resource
effectiveness through particular human resource
management (HRM) programs and processes
despite its importance.

However, where Blyton and Turnbull are keen to maintain a

collective focus and see this as the basis of a continuing distinction
between employee relations and both personnel and human resource
management in which, they suggest, the focus is upon the individual
and the individual employment relationship, Marchington and
2
Wilkinson see employee relations encompassing both individual and
collective relations.
 2. Some simple definitions of artificial
intelligence, robotics and machine
learning…

‘the collection of technologies that…excel at specific tasks that could

previously only be performed by humans’ (Guszcza, 2018: 44)

‘intelligence exhibited by
machines that, with cognitive functions that
are associated with humans…aspects of perceiving, reasoning, learning
and problem-solving’ (Bughin & Michelmen, 2018: 7)

3. Scope of AI, robotics & machine learning

 Nearly 600 discrete uses for AI…so far

 More than 85% larger US organisations have ‘middle or late stage
deployments of such technologies’ – especially, retail/consumer products,
telecommunications, banking and finance, oil and gas, high-tech
manufacturing, media and entertainment, healthcare and life sciences
sectors (Infosys, 2018)
 Ninety seven percent of Fortune 500 companies use AI technologies
(NewVantage Partners, 2018)
 Sixty six percent of executives rates addressing automation skills gaps in
their Top 10 priorities; thirty percent in the Top 5 (Illanes, Mourshed,
Rutherford & Tyreman, 2018)

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 4. Growth & productivity predictions

 AI has the potential to double annual economic growth rates and

increase labour productivity up to 40% by 2035 (Purdy & Daughtery,
2016).
 AI could increase productivity by between 0.8% and 1.4% of global
GDP annually.
 AI in factories can reduce operating costs by 20% (Kupper et al,
2018).

5. AI & HRM: Some key issues

1.Disconnect between views of HR professionals and managers – 55% HR

professionals reported that AI will have an impact on their workforce in five
years’ time and 10% were not expecting any serious impacts for more than
ten years; only 15% thought that ‘it is happening now’ (Harvey Nash, 2017)
Will AI disrupt your industry?
*{Our research broadly indicates that complacency is not wise as HR deals
with people’s jobs. livelihoods, and subsequent well being}. 90

2. Limited discussion or research on implications of AI for HRM 80

70

3. Lack of understanding of effects of AI on the workforce and all HRM 60

programs, processes and functions – accordingly, a lack of national, 50

organisational and HRM policies & plans (especially in Australia compared
40
with China, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, India & Indonesia)
30

20

10
6

0
Executives HR Managers HR fully prepared to
support changes
 6. Implications for HRM programs, processes &
functions

I. Human Resource Planning

Need to research actual technologies likely to be
adopted by their organisations; project the workforce
(particular jobs, skills, workplaces) positive and
adverse effects; develop plans for implementation and
resolution of projected difficulties including the
impact on staff
Consider AI skills, bridging skills and impact on
workforce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xz80sVqwKQ
7

6. Implications for HRM programs, processes &

functions (Contd.)

II. Talent Attraction & Selection

(i) New attractors: Key AI talent wants employee growth and skills
development opportunities; work-life balance; smart teams and smart
colleagues; interesting problems to solve; flexible employment conditions;
individualised rewards and recognition programs – 30% company executives ‘not
clear’ how these technologies will affect skills requirements – predicting the
future is never easy
(ii) New selection criteria: skills
rather than qualifications; hard and soft skills;
teamwork; change-management capabilities; zest for ongoing learning; lateral
cognitive problem solving; and potential new leadership capabilities – ‘those
with backgrounds in design, data science and logic might be better prepared than
programmers who tend to think in more structured approaches’ (Panetta, 2017)

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 II. Talent Attraction & Selection
(Contd.)

6. Implications for HRM programs, processes & functions (Contd.)

(iii) New attraction & selection techniques for AI talent: closer integration
between industry and higher/vocational education systems; tapping into the
gig economy; more in-house development and employee referrals; more
paid tertiary internships integrated with study to remain abreast of
perennial change as a residual aspect of this 4IR.
- ‘global hot spots’ (focused
labour markets) – e.g. Quid; chatbots (SAP
Resume Match, Entelo and Jobaline);
 - virtual competitions and game-based selection techniques (hackathons);
and networking events.

6. Implications for HRM programs,

processes & functions (Contd.)

III. Learning & Development

Infosys (2017) focuses on five key AI skills – development, security,
implementation, training and customer facing skills i.e. not just
technical AI capacity
Also – ‘cultureof continual learning’ – leadership, team-building,
social and emotional competence, creativity, advanced reasoning
and complex problem-solving skills
 - on-the-job coaching and counselling
 - blended learning approaches
‘A data-driven culture that blends intuition and analytical insights
with a focus on practical and actionable decisions across all levels’
(Rao & Verweij, 2017: 27). 10
 6. Implications for HRM programs,
processes & functions (Contd.)

IV. Performance Management

 Increased focus on KPIs which assess judgement, creativity and
collaboration/collegiality capabilities, attribution of recognition
and rewards, and a reduction in individual tasks
 Increased employee interdependence and cross-functional
teamwork – team/peer reviews
 Emphasis on leadership (project, team and sectional) capacities
 Widespread use of personal performance tracking devices –
confidentiality and privacy issues? (for example, EU General
Data Protection Regulation, May 2018)
11

6. IMplilications for HRM programs, processes & functions

(Contd.)

V. Rewards & Benefits

New trends

 increasing disparity between rewards for different roles and levels

 need to regularly review remuneration structures internally and externally
 individualised reward packages based on specific AI skills
 focus on team/project-based rewards
 more outsourcing to talent platforms with sophisticated monitoring of
performance and return on investment (for example, Mechanical Turk and
Topcoder)

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 6. Implications for HRM programs, processes &
functions (Contd.)

Mechanical Turk (Contemporary workers)

Key Features
On-Demand Workforce

MTurk provides access to a marketplace of Workers whenever your business needs them. MTurk can
connect you to a variety of skill sets and capabilities via a global workforce that can help you to
complete your work whenever and wherever you need it.
Elastic Workforce

One of the difficulties that businesses face is dealing with demand spikes for certain types of work.
You may have one million images that need to be tagged today, or 100,000 new catalog entries that
need to be validated, but only have that need once per month. MTurk allows you to get that work
done easily when you need it, without the difficulty associated with dynamically scaling your in-
house workforce.
Lower Cost Structure
The overhead and fixed costs associated with hiring and managing a temporary workforce can
often be significant. By leveraging the skills of on-demand Workers from around the world, you can
significantly lower costs while achieving results that might not have been possible with just 13a
dedicated team.

6. Implications for HRM programs,

processes & functions (Contd.)

VI. HRM Ethics

# Key issues – employment relations, privacy and employee self-worth

‘I’m not worried about AI giving computers the ability to think like humans.
I’m more concerned about people thinking like computers without values or
compassion, without concern for consequences’ (Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
Computers)
Building public confidence - Explaining how decisions reached (when
designers don’t always know
Job disruption –can HR maximise employee retention by intelligent job
deconstruction and reconstruction?
Robots & Ethics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pajCoSTGvas

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A Concern or Alarmist

 “’Business and
engineering and
financial processes
can now draw on huge
“libraries” of
intelligent functions
and these greatly
boost their activities—
and bit by bit render
human activities
obsolete’ Arthur in
McKinsey 2017a, p.
34).

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Competitive Challenges Influencing Human

Resource Management 23

 Competing through Globalization.

 Entering International Markets.
 Exporting products overseas.
 Building manufacturing facilities or
service centers in other countries.
 Enteringinto alliances with other
companies.
 Engaging in e-commerce.
 Offshoring and reshoring.
• Many companies are involved in international markets by exporting their products overseas, building
manufacturing facilities or service centers in other countries, entering into alliances with other
companies, and engaging in e-commerce. One estimate is that developing economies and emerging
markets such as those found in the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are responsible for 18%
of global trade.
• Global companies are struggling to find and retain talented employees, especially in emerging markets,
because the demand for them exceeds the supply. Also, companies often place successful U.S. managers
in charge of overseas operations, but these managers lack the cultural understanding necessary to
attract, motivate, and retain talented employees. To cope with these problems, companies are taking
actions to better prepare their managers and their families for overseas assignments and to ensure that
training and development opportunities are available for global employees.
• Offshoring refers to the exporting of jobs from developed countries, such as the United States, to other
countries where labor and other costs are lower. Argentina, Poland, Vietnam, Ukraine, Mexico, the
Philippines, and China are some of the destination countries for offshored jobs.
• Reshoring, or the return of jobs to the United States, is becoming more common. Whether to offshore or
reshore is a complex decision based on a number of factors including labor and shipping costs, the
availability of a skilled workforce, and potential supply chain disruptions due to natural disasters and
political instability. Also considered are quality concerns, local standards for safety, health, and working
conditions, tariffs imposed on imported products, and customer preference for U.S.-made products.

Competitive Challenges Influencing Human Resource

Management 24

Competing through Technology.

Social networking:
• Facilitates communication, decentralized
decision making, and collaboration.
Artificial intelligence and robotics:
• Provide skills that are difficult to find.
• Perform some job tasks previously completed
by employees.
• May eliminate some jobs.
• Technology shapes the way we play, communicate, purchase products and services. Consider
that in the United States one estimate is that 94% of adults reported having Internet access in
2019. Globally that number drops to 56% of adults. Survey results show that during the
pandemic we used technology to engage in activities and connect in ways we previously did
face-to-face. And Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are transforming how we live and
work.
• Technological advances in electronics and communications software have made possible mobile
technology such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), iPads, and iPods and have enhanced the
Internet by developing enhanced capability for social networking.
• Social networking refers to websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and wikis and
blogs that facilitate interactions between people usually around shared interests.
• Artificial intelligence is a technology that simulates human thinking. It works through queries
that allow it to learn from data over time so that it can identify trends and patterns that
influence future searches and suggestions. Due to advances in AI and robotics, the use of
automation to perform work previously done by employees is expected to increase quickly in
the next decade. Automation using AI and robotics is impacting human resource practices.

Competitive Challenges Influencing Human Resource

Management 25

Competing through Technology.

High-performance work systems.

• Maximize the fit between employees and
technology.
• Employees, managers, vendors,
customers, and suppliers work together.
Virtual teams:
• Formed within one company or via
partnerships with suppliers or
competitors.

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• High-performance work systems maximize the fit between the company’s social system
(employees) and its technical system. Human resource management practices that
support high-performance work include employee selection, work design, training,
compensation, and performance management. These practices are designed to give
employees skills, incentives, knowledge, and autonomy. In high-performance work
systems, previously established boundaries between managers and employees,
employees and customers, employees and vendors, and the various functions within the
company are abandoned. Employees, managers, vendors, customers, and suppliers
work together to improve service and product quality and to create new products and
services.
• Virtual teams refer to teams that are separated by time, geographic distance, culture,
and/or organizational boundaries and that rely almost exclusively on technology (e-mail,
Internet, videoconferencing) to interact and complete their projects. Virtual teams can
be formed within one company whose facilities are scattered throughout the country or
the world. A company may also use virtual teams in partnerships with suppliers or
competitors to pull together the necessary talent to complete a project or speed the
delivery of a product to the marketplace.

Competitive Challenges
Influencing Human Resource
Management 26

Competing through Technology.

Use H R I S, mobile devices, cloud

computing, and H R dashboards:
• H R I S stores large quantities of employee
data.
• Mobile devices increasingly used to
provide employees with anytime,
anywhere access to H R applications.
• Cloud computing allows companies to
lease software and hardware.
• H R dashboard provides access to
important H R metrics for workforce
analytics.
• A human resource information system (HRIS) is a computer system used to
acquire, store, retrieve, and distribute information related to a company’s
human resources. A HRIS can support strategic decision making, help the
company avoid lawsuits, provide data for evaluating policies and programs,
and support day-to-day HR decisions.
• Mobile devices refer to smartphones and tablet computers. Mobile devices are
increasingly being used to provide employees with anytime, anywhere access
to HR applications and other work-related information.
• Cloud computing refers to a computing system that provides information
technology infrastructure over a network in a self-service, modifiable, and on-
demand model.
• An HR dashboard is a series of indicators or metrics that managers and
employees have access to on the company intranet or HRIS. The HR dashboard
provides access to important HR metrics for conducting workforce analytics.
HR dashboards are important for determining the value of HR practices and
how they contribute to business goals.

Meeting Competitive Challenges through HRM Practices

 Three Challenges:
1. Globalization.
2. Sustainability.
3. Technology.

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 Figure 1.8 Examples of How H
R M Practices Can Help
Companies Meet Competitive
Challenges

Access the text alternative for

slide images.

Figure 1.9 Major Dimensions of HRM Practices

Contributing to Company Competitiveness

• HRM practices that help companies deal with the competitive challenges can be
grouped into the four dimensions shown in Figure 1.9.
• These dimensions include the human resource environment, acquiring and preparing
human resources, assessment and development of human resources, and
compensating human resources. In addition, some companies have special issues
related to labor–management relations, international human resource management,
and managing the human resource function.

© McGraw Hill, LLC 26