"Generative AI Can Make HR More ‘human,’ Not Less": Bain & Company Report

The transformative impact of generative AI on the HR profession could lead to a more human touch, in addition to lower costs, according to a new study by global consultancy Bain & Company.

The study suggests that selecting the right roles for automation and AI interventions could, on average, save around 15-20% in HR labor time. According to Bain’s Generative AI Workforce Impact Explorer tool, HR business partners could save up to 15% of employee time through AI; talent acquisition teams can save up to 20%; and HR operations teams up to 35%.

“HR is at a critical juncture. The function is under pressure to become both more cost efficient and more strategic. That is a challenging balance to strike,” said John Hazan, a partner at Bain & Company and global head of the firm’s Talent solution. “Generative AI has the power to elevate HR’s role in the organization, from transactional operators to strategic advisers. Our analysis suggests a typical company could save, on average, up to 20% in HR labor time through AI automation and augmentation.”

According to Bain, HR leaders will be able to reinvent their teams’ structure and skills once transactional processes are streamlined through technology. In so doing, specialist HR advisers will become innovation hubs; HR business partners will become advisers to the business and designers of workplace culture; and operational teams will become analysts.

“Adopting generative AI is more than an operational upgrade. It’s a strategic leap forward for the HR function that will unlock new levels of efficiency, innovation, and value,” said Susan Gunn, a partner at Bain & Company and global head of the firm’s Human Resources product solution. “We used Bain’s Generative AI Workforce Impact Explorer tool, which enables practitioners to model strategic change through the use of generative AI, to quantify what this could mean for HR departments. The results show just how game changing generative AI will be for HR practitioners.”

Specific role-related enhancements possible through AI implementation in HR include:

Talent acquisition teams

Drafting job postings and filtering CVs
Scraping and matching databases and resumés
Scheduling interviews, answering simple questions
Real time interview analysis
Identifying and rectifying the potential for bias
 

HR business partnering

Retrieving external and internal information on HR trends and needs
Employee engagement summaries and action plans
Developing skills-based workforce planning
Quality check performance reviews
 

HR data analysis

Quality check, analyse and update HR data
Generating reports on predefined metrics
Process survey data, identifying trends and sentiment
Respond to requests for data insights
Review and fine tune data dashboards