HR leaders say they will need at least three years to prepare for the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workplace, by which point the technology could have advanced even further.
A survey of 600 UK HR managers and directors by consultancy Yoho Workplace Strategy found that 40% need a minimum of three years to prepare for the introduction of AI, while only a handful (15%) would be fully prepared within the year.
A third (35.5%) were already trialling AI in their organisations, while a further 40% were investing in their tech teams to integrate AI.
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Yoho Workplace Strategy CEO Grant Price said: “Our research shows businesses don’t think they will be prepared for the seismic changes AI will have until three years’ time. But all sources indicate AI will have changed radically in that time and businesses need to prepare for this now.
“As pressure grows to allow AI to start recommending changes to our HR and business strategy – the question is whether we will find ways to retain sufficient control before we grant AI this role?”
HR’s biggest concerns about AI implementation were a lack of human interaction (cited by 30% of respondents), becoming over-dependent on technology (30%), technical issues (29%), ethical considerations (29%) and security and privacy (29%).
However, HR professionals felt they would also see numerous benefits from AI, including improvements in decision-making (32%) productivity and efficiency (30%), automation of routine tasks (30%), increases in innovation and creativity (30%), and better allocation of resources and time management (29%).
More than a third felt there would be more benefits than drawbacks when it came to the potential impact of AI on the jobs market.
Asked about the jobs they felt would be impacted the most by AI, 27% felt IT and technology jobs would see the biggest change, followed by finance and accounting (23%), customer services and support (22%), sales and marketing (22%) and healthcare and media (21%).
Eight in 10 said they were either aware or fully aware of AI’s potential impact on jobs, suggesting that some HR leaders still had to get up to speed.
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“The winners will be those who pivot to leverage its capabilities the quickest, as AI enables the translation of data into actionable insight at speed,” said Price. “Having been born into a world dominated by technology, Gen Z are likely to adapt more quickly, and find it easier to harness AI’s capabilities as the technology continues to evolve.”
