Written by Jodie Case | 6th August 2024
Making tough decisions is a key part of running a business and using AI to support the process can be hugely impactful.
AI can manage a schedule or assign a task, analyse feedback and support recruitment decisions, so it’s no surprise that more than 30% of UK employers are already using some form of AI, according to a 2023 IBM report.
Despite this there are still some concerns about the use of AI in the workplace, particularly around discrimination, bias and data protection and privacy.
In June 2024, a first draft Artificial Intelligence (Regulation and Employment Rights) Bill was published, potentially marking the start of more formal regulation related to workplace decision making by AI, including recruitment, setting wages and conditions of employment, disciplinary matters and termination of employment.
While we wait for more information about whether the bill be progressed, it’s important to understand how exactly AI, if used responsibly, could support your business decisions. Here are some examples.
AI improves efficiency and productivity
AI can reduce the time taken to carry out repetitive tasks, so you’ll have more time to focus on more important areas of your business, such as bigger, business critical decisions.
According to a Jitterbit poll of 1,022 office workers in the UK, 96% believed AI will enhance their roles and 46% anticipated less time spent searching for information from work systems, with more time for thoughtful work.
When faced with a large amount of data or files to go through, what might take you hours, or even days can be done by AI in a matter of seconds. Also, AI can help condense large documents of text into summaries, so you don’t have to scan for all the relevant information yourself. This means you’ll be able to quickly identify the relevant data to help inform your business decisions.
AI supports recruitment decisions
AI is increasingly being used to streamline the recruitment process. To free up recruiters’ time and allow them to focus on candidates and the recruitment goals of the business, AI can be successful at taking on the job of searching for qualified candidates on different platforms such as social media, creating job postings, screening candidates and scheduling interviews.
It can also use algorithms and keywords to sort through CVs in order to shortlist candidates – making these decisions can speed up the recruitment process.
It’s suggested that AI can remove bias during the screening process, as it removes personal judgement, focusing solely on the skill set and candidates’ experience. This can improve opportunity for all candidates to reach the latter stages of the recruitment process, leading to a more diverse workforce.
However there are examples of AI learning the unintentional bias, reproducing and exaggerating it, such as a case at Amazon when the AI algorithm in its recruitment tool discriminated against female applicants having taught itself that male candidates were preferable for a particular role because previous applicants had been predominantly male.
At the more sophisticated end, facial recognition software has been used in interviews to assess a candidate’s emotions and engagement through their expression and tone during the interview. However, there are concerns about whether the data generated from this is accurate and should be used in a hiring decision. This example shows three women who lost their jobs as make-up artists after being asked to take a video interview that was assessed by AI.
While it can work smartly, we believe AI misses the human input and skills needed to create a robust recruitment process, positive candidate experience and ensure you have the right person for the role and your company. It can enhance it, but not take over the process entirely.
The risks of AI are a reason why the Government Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) issued guidance in March 2024 on using AI in recruitment, including the recommendation of having a policy or framework and conducting a data protection assessment and bias audit.
Read our blog for more detail on the benefits, challenges and future of AI in recruitment.
AI can help businesses understand customers
AI can analyse large volumes of data to uncover patterns and trends that may go unnoticed by us humans. It goes beyond traditional data analysis by predicting future trends and offering actionable recommendations for your business.
One real life example of this is in customer services. AI can analyse customer interactions and feedback across multiple channels, determining whether customer opinions are positive or negative. This technology helps product teams understand not just what customers are saying, but what they truly mean, guiding decisions in business strategy, for instance creating more customer-aligned products.
AI can support performance management
Similar to its role in recruitment, AI can assist in managing employee performance, helping to make the jobs of managers easier.
A few of the ways AI may be useful to inform decisions in performance management is tracking tasks, goal setting and summarising feedback. It can help to improve the feedback employees receive and identify and provide recommendations for areas of improvement.
AI can generate data for managers to review as a starting point in preparation for giving performance feedback, but managers need to be careful because bias in AI algorithms can lead to unfairness in performance reviews, where there needs to be a tailored approach to the individual. Employees could also be concerned about privacy if AI is monitoring their work.
While AI can support decision making, it should not replace the human element, especially in areas requiring empathy and critical thinking, such as performance management.
If you do plan to use AI to help inform your decisions, it’s best to be completely transparent with employees about how it is used to reduce concerns and build trust, including addressing potential worries about data usage.
We recommend a policy or framework of how managers and employees can use AI in the workplace and in what situations.
For more information about considerations for the use of AI in the workplace, read our blog.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our team at [email protected].