The conflict between Human Resources (HR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an unending debate for years together. However, it is still not ascertained whether Human Resources is better or Artificial Intelligence is better. AI can be defined as the virtual reality of human brain power in machines due to which machines can think and act like humans, e.g., rational thinking, learning, problem-solving, etc.

On the other hand, the term Human Resource can be explained as both the individuals working for the organization and the department accountable for managing human assets such as staff, workers, or company employees; thus, HR is also known as personnel talent management.

Human Resources Specialties Stand Apart from AI

HR work in an organization is very crucial and also incorporates all tasks related to company personnel right from recruitment, training, welfare, compensation, etc.… for which depending on the company’s needs and size, it has HR business partners or individual HR personnel handling all the tasks.

There are few things of HR that AI cannot do on its own such as:

• Recruitment and Placement – In this, HR recruits or onboards employ as needed by the company’s different departments depending on their skills, education, and talent.

• Training and Development – In this, HR organizes and administers training and development programs for employees as per the department’s requirements.

• Compensation and Benefits – in this, HR decides, regulates, and manages the salaries, benefits, rewards, and other monetary policies related to the company’s employees.

• Employee’s Welfare and Engagement – In this, HR looks after the well-being, safety, and comfortability of the employee in the company and conducts various employee engagement activities that motivate and encourage the employees.

• Human resources information system (HRIS) – In this, HR needs to communicate, coordinate, and incorporate the HRIS system information that helps HR for better working. All these above-mentioned HR tasks cannot be solely accomplished by AI but can be by HR alone.

Things that HR can do better than AI

AI is, no doubt, efficient technology that helps in accelerating and efficiently accomplishing any work. Likewise, AI can be linked to HR tasks and better working for the HR department.

However, AI cannot completely replace HR, the reason being:

• HR in an organization is usually a human with IQ, as well as EQ.
• HR can have direct, clear, and precise communication with the employees.
• HR, being human, has a better capacity to understand and relate to the employees.
• HR can Screen and evaluate the employees during recruitment.
• HR being a human, can understand and solve the psychological problems of the employees.
• HR can judge potential candidates based on their skills and attributes etc.

These tasks, as mentioned above, can be done by HR more accurately than AI.

Employee Experience with HR

The term Employee experience (EX) can be referred to as the overall association of an employee with his or her employer on various aspects such as physical, cultural, and technological attributes of the workplace environments, from the time of joining until the time of departing from the organization.

Generally, the Employee Engagement and Employee Experience are considered substitutable terms on prima facie basis, but they are two different terms altogether in reality. However, there is a significant link between EX and employee engagement that can result in high employee productivity. HR has the ability to impact EX directly.

According to Capitalbay, HR Business Partner plays a vital role in employee experience. For employees, HRBP is a direct point of contact for any of their issues, problems, requirements, etc.… thus, HRBP or an individual HR professional has to maintain good EX through employee engagement, human resources policies in a company, Salaries and benefits, Better working environment, talent acquisition, and retention, etc.… HR in an organization will be more effective if they focus their energies on EX rather than on employee engagement because it’s more useful and apt.

How HR can increase workplace diversity, but AI cannot?

The term Workplace diversity is defined as an organization or a company with a pool of employees with differing attributes, qualities, and traits such as different sex, gender, race, ethnicity, talent, sexual orientation, education, experience, etc..…. A workplace with Workforce Diversity and not Inclusion results in increased innovation, better efficiency, a practical approach to the global panorama, etc.

Once here as well, HR plays a very crucial role in maintaining Workplace Diversity by following various strategies or policies such as Doing diversified headhunting; to have a diversified composition of employees of different age, gender/sex, and cast/ religion; Also encompass rationally the pool of talented people that would increase productivity; By vigorously eradicating the unjust pay gaps between the employees, i.e., by offering equivalent Pay Scale without discrimination as per their talent, qualification and education thus actively eliminating pay gaps; by taking care of employees professional development such some training, higher education, etc., that relates to cross-cultural commerce and communication.

However, on the other hand, due to a lack of specific parameters such as EQ, human connections, and so on, AI directly does not play any role in the Workplace Diversity of an Organisation, but however, it can always help HR to function better with the help of its intelligent technological assistance.

Data Security

Data Security is an especially important aspect of concern in the HRBP/HR management section of any organization. As clearly the name states, HR deals with the information regarding all the company employees, i.e., the organization’s human assets; this is where AI, together with HR, can provide better data security and data encryption. This collaboration of technology and HR is termed as Human Resources Information System (HRIS).

HRIS helps HR to administer or manage the whole HR process in terms of planning, organizing, managing, controlling the employee’s confidential data against any threats and risks. HRIS, along with being a support pillar for good administration in an organization, facilitates managers’ decision-making by recording, storing, processing, and providing necessary data when needed. HR must be in line with technology to help the security department identify any probabilities during employee sourcing, hiring, training, and till the employee is with the organization.