Human resources (HR) is undergoing a significant shift, as artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies continue to develop and evolve. For quite some time, AI has been inculcated within many industries - internally, from supply chain and operations to external activities including end-to-end support for the ultimate customer - to keep up with the world. That is why HR professionals are beginning to recognize that adopting AI is not just a choice but a necessity. The cost of not doing so is staggering, with companies losing out on dollars due to their inefficiencies in recruitment, employee management, and task automation. A report by Hubspot found that lost productivity costs U.S. businesses a shocking $1.8 trillion each year.
According to Mateen Malik, Managing Partner of Dawn Digital Technology (DGT): “HR used to be the horse that took you from point A to point B. AI turns that horse into a car. But knowing how to ride a horse doesn’t mean one would know how to drive a car. That is where HR professionals must adapt.” He emphasizes the fact that AI is the way to streamline the various processes that HRs have to navigate more efficiently; may it be recruitment or employee relations.
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Traditionally, HR has been tasked with recruiting, employee management, and compliance. While these functions remain, AI is completely transforming the way they are executed. For example, AI-powered tools can drastically reduce the time it takes to hire new talent; where a hospital might have taken 40 days to hire administrative staff, AI can reduce that time to as little as 6 days. “Companies are under pressure to deliver results quickly” Mateen notes. “Even investors won’t wait seven weeks for HR to fill an essential role. They expect results in days, not weeks.” By reducing time-to-hire, improving candidate quality, and ensuring compliance, AI proves that HR can be a profit center.
Another challenge for HR teams is the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. “Regulations are changing by the minute,” Mateen explains. “One minute you’re hiring in California, the next you’re hiring in Omaha, and the rules are completely different.” AI helps HR teams navigate these complexities by automating compliance tasks, ensuring that companies stay on the right side of the law.
However, while AI offers immense potential, it’s essential to have a strong framework in place to guide its implementation. “It’s not enough to just adopt AI. You need a framework that aligns with your company’s goals and values. This includes revisiting your AI strategies regularly, much like revisiting vows in a relationship every three months,” Mateen suggests.
Companies that succeed with AI will be those that continuously adapt. AI evolves every quarter, and HR strategies must keep pace with these changes. “If your plan doesn’t involve revisiting your ‘vows’ (the updates and functions in this case) every few months, you’ll quickly fall behind,” Mateen advises. The key to ethical AI use in HR is transparency. By ensuring that AI is used to enhance - not replace - the human element, HR leaders can build trust among employees.
Nevertheless, AI isn’t just revolutionizing HR - its impact is being felt across customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management. For CRM, AI identifies key patterns in customer behavior, allowing companies to allocate resources more efficiently. Instead of asking why a particular sales representative struggles with specific demographics, AI can show where they perform best, allowing the company to align resources accordingly. This level of insight is data-driven and eliminates the guesswork, helping companies and salespeople become more effective in how they sell and operate.
When it comes to supply chain management, AI allows businesses to streamline inventory management, predict disruptions, and optimize delivery schedules in real time. However, while AI offers immense benefits, it also presents challenges.
One example of how AI can falter when not properly aligned is the story of Barbie’s supply chain fiasco. To time the launch of the new Barbie movie, manufacturers used AI to predict demand for Barbie dolls by location. The AI accurately predicted how many dolls would be needed, and the manufacturing and distribution processes went into overdrive. However, when the shipments arrived at distribution centers, there was a problem: the barcodes only got the dolls to the warehouse, but no one knew which store they were supposed to go to. As a result, warehouses were overflowing with Barbie dolls while store shelves remained empty for weeks.
This example illustrates the tipping point: AI can do a lot, but it can’t solve everything if not implemented with a holistic view. “If you don’t know how to use all its features, you’ll end up creating chaos instead of efficiency,” Mateen warns.
Due to many reasons such as the above incident, some companies are still hesitant to adopt AI, worried about its impact on jobs and the complexities of implementation. However, Mateen emphasizes that this apprehension, while understandable, is misplaced. “AI is as pervasive as the internet. It’s going to become a part of every company whether one likes it or not. Success will depend on how well companies prepare for it,” he says. According to Gartner, 76% of HR leaders believe that if their companies do not integrate AI within the next two years, they will fall behind their competitors. Already, AI has revolutionized industries like healthcare, marketing, and supply chain management, and its full integration into HR is no longer optional - it’s essential for survival.
Mateen suggests that HR leaders can ease fears around AI by fostering a culture of digital curiosity and offering training to upskill their workers. “At the end of the day, HR teams that find the balance between automation and the human touch will add the most value to their employees and customers,” he says. By focusing on the human side of HR - interpersonal relations, well-being, and career development - AI allows HR professionals to elevate their roles while still ensuring tasks like recruitment and employee management are handled efficiently.
AI is truly transforming HR, supply chain management, and many other business functions, but it’s not a silver bullet. “Success is going to depend on how prepared you are for AI,” Mateen Malik concludes, “And more than that, it’s going to depend on how well you can adapt as AI continues to evolve. The future is here, and it’s up to us to embrace it.”
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