Unlocking value through Generative Intelligence in HR

Generative AI, or Gen AI, is more than just a buzzword; it’s a seismic shift. As organisations grapple with the digital revolution, HR stands at the crossroads of transformation. At KPMG, we recognise that AI isn’t just about automating tasks. It’s about reimagining work, empowering people and creating sustainable value.

HR has the double responsibility of improving its own services using Gen AI, but also helping augment the workforce of the future for their client-base. Let’s break it down – focusing on how you can remodel the HR Operating Model using Gen AI across 3 themes: augmenting employee experience, augmenting strategic delivery and augmenting the workforce.

For too long, HR has been synonymous with paperwork, compliance and administrative tasks. Some of our forward-thinking clients – namely those we’ve termed Pathfinders – have transcended that paradigm. They’ve elevated HR to a strategic partner who adds genuine value to the organisation.

But generative AI changes the game and creates opportunity to take this to the “Next Gen”. Imagine a world where employees interact seamlessly with virtual HR assistants, seeking advice on benefits, policies, and career paths.

These AI-driven interactions transcend language barriers, time zones, and office hours. KPMG envisions a future where HR professionals get even further away from transactional tasks – an ambition as a function we have been driving for the last decade.

By leveraging Gen AI, HR can:

• Enhance Employee Experience: Chatbots powered by natural language processing (NLP) provide instant answers, reducing response times and improving employee satisfaction.
• Predict Employee Needs: AI algorithms analyse historical data to anticipate employee queries, proactively offering relevant information.
• Personalise Learning and Development: AI recommends tailored learning paths based on an employee’s role, skills, and aspirations.

The above may seem like a step too far, however this is happening right now across industries. To not consider Gen AI, is to fall behind.

Strategic decisions demand data-driven insights. Gen AI enables HR to become a “data whisperer” – here’s a few key examples. 

• Predictive Talent Analytics: AI algorithms analyse workforce data to predict attrition, identify flight risks and recommend succession plans.
• Scenario Planning: AI simulates various scenarios – mergers, acquisitions, market shifts and so on, to guide workforce planning.
• Strategic Workforce Planning: AI models forecast future skill requirements, ensuring HR aligns talent with business goals.

These demonstrate how Gen AI “does the work” of mining, analysing and providing insights, taking the step where HR professionals in the past may have struggled to interpret the large-data information required. This presents a big opportunity for HR to leverage people insights and partner with business leaders on key strategic decision making.

We’ve talked about strategic delivery, but let’s take a deeper look at the role of AI as a part of the workforce. The key focus here is augmentation over replacement. AI technologies, especially generative AI, are poised to automate and enhance many employee tasks, reshaping how work gets done and creating more productive, efficient, and innovative workers.

HR must adapt by focusing on four key areas:

1. Identifying Capabilities and Roles: Understanding where AI can augment work processes is crucial for maximising its value. HR needs to identify which tasks can be automated and which can be enhanced, ensuring that employees are equipped to work alongside AI effectively.
2. Addressing Risk and Compliance: Deploying AI tools ethically and responsibly is paramount. HR must ensure that the use of AI maintains the trust of employees, customers and shareholders while also adhering to regulatory requirements.
3. Activating Role Augmentation: Selecting the right AI tools for the right tasks is essential. HR should foster a culture of innovation and continuous learning, empowering employees to leverage AI to deliver a variety of tasks.
4. Capturing Value: As AI matures, the structure of the workforce must evolve to realise its full benefits. HR play a crucial role in guiding the organisation through the transformation and ensuring that the adoption of AI drives the value and innovation it set out to do.  

In essence, the integration of AI into the workforce is an inevitable and exciting development. KPMG’s approach emphasises the importance of a holistic, cross-functional strategy that aligns technology with workforce impacts, opportunities, and responsible AI considerations. HR are at the forefront of this transformation, tasked with the critical responsibility of reshaping the workforce to harness the power of AI while maintaining a human-centric focus. 

KPMG’s vision aligns with this transformative, AI enabled, path. As organisations embrace AI, HR will continue to be at the forefront of change. However, with this great power comes great responsibility and HR have the responsibility of guiding the ethical use of AI. In our next blog, we’ll explore this further, looking at the key ways in which HR can be pivotal in ensuring ethical AI adoption across the business.