Artificial Intelligence – the buzzword that is currently on almost every employee, manager and leader’s lips. This new technology, like most new technology, is powerful, transformative and scary. And like most new technology, it can be used and potentially abused by the employees within your organisation.
And while HR’s role is clearly focused on ensuring that the correct policies and governance are put in place, they also need to enhance the experience of their internal customers – their employees. In this domain, it’s particularly important to ensure an employee’s experience of HR aligns with their expectations in this new AI landscape.
As ever, an HR area that is frequently overlooked is one of the most critical to business success – performance management. It’s a process that every employee participates in, yet is often felt to be the least engaging and least relevant among employees and managers alike.
With AI well and truly here, this is your chance to let the technology help reinvigorate the performance process into one your employees will embrace.
I’m sure you’re asking how, so here are a few areas that AI can immediately help with….
1. Synthesising large data-sets
A good performance programme has lots of data points generated throughout the year, whether that’s Feedback, Conversations with your managers, goal achievement, recognition or a raft of other activities.
When a manager tries to evaluate an employee they often neglect some (or all) of this useful data – AI can not only synthesise this into quick summaries, but also help with activities such as setting hyper-personalised goals or making suggestions around potential succession paths/candidates.
2. Psychological safety:
The failure of many programmes is often due to low participation. This can often be caused by employees and managers being uncomfortable with putting constructive feedback ‘on record’ or highlighting negative outcomes.
AI can be used to check language and verify that it is appropriately worded, which leads to the willingness for many more performance processes to be completed.
3. Coaching
Coaching is often an overlooked part of the process. While AI can make suggestions, it is even more powerful when explaining how it has come to make the suggestions. This enables a level of coaching that points the user to a helpful thinking process the next time they undertake a similar action.
4. Updating skills
Skills frameworks can be a powerful component of your performance programme. Yet most fail due to the struggle of keeping the employee’s skills inventory up to date.
You can use AI as a great prompt to highlight skills that employees have shown through other activities they have undertaken, such as completing a goal or a training process. This gives far more accurate and relevant data for career development and succession planning.
Want more?
These four pointers just scratch the surface of how AI can support your performance processes. For more details, watch Lorraine Hunt, The AI HR Lady, and Bruce Walcroft, Principle Solutions Engineer of Betterworks, discuss the topic in detail. Sign up to watch the conversation on 17th September, 11am (BST).
