Introducing artificial intelligence into a human resources function

The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudes of employees in a company dedicated to strategic recruitment towards the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into their work processes and to consider the implications for training and development.

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven employees who were using the new technology. Survey data was gathered from 109 employees who had not, at the time of the research, used the new technology.

The introduction of AI considerably improved the speed and efficiency of the work processes. The research found that those employees who had used the new technology were positive about its effects, indicating that it was easy to use, robust and highly productive. A proportion of employees who had not, at the time of the research, used the new system, were less sure that it would improve their ability to do their job. Implications for introducing such a system and for employee training are discussed.

This is a relatively small sample in one organisation; further research should be undertaken to assess whether these findings apply more widely.

If these attitudes are found elsewhere, there are a number of simple, practical suggestions for how to introduce AI into similar work processes.

The use of AI is a topic attracting increasing interest and speculation, but there is as yet little empirical research on factors affecting its introduction and use.