Global, Reward & Recognition
AI set to ease growing frustration in HR: Findings from Benefex’s 2024 research, The Expectation Exponential
08-07-2024
Benefex’s 2024 research, The Expectation Exponential, indicates a growing sense of frustration amongst HR and Reward professionals who are fed up with being stuck on the back foot, firefighting issues and being bogged down by administrative tasks, rather than focusing their time and skills on delivering strategic change.
Throw in budgetary challenges, a lack of data and insight to measure the impact of their initiatives, and an ever-increasing job remit, and it’s easy to see why growing numbers of HR and Reward professionals are feeling disillusioned.
Of course, as these dynamics play out in HR departments across all industries, HR and Reward professionals are acutely aware that widescale deployment of AI is set to disrupt every aspect of their jobs over the next few years. There is a strong sense that they are standing on the edge of a period of seismic transformation, as organisations scale up their use of AI – not just in the HR department but across all their operations.
Encouragingly, the research finds that understanding of, and appetite for, AI is growing. HR and Reward professionals point to a wide range of areas where AI has the potential to enhance employee experience, but they recognise the need to take a responsible approach, eliminating bias and ensuring data privacy and security at every step.
Challenges HR and Reward leaders are facing
The research found that HR and Reward professionals are frustrated by the amount of time they are having to spend on administrative tasks and reactive firefighting, and how this is preventing them from focusing on more rewarding and impactful strategic work.
Beyond this, there are a broad range of issues negatively impacting morale and performance within the People team. These include everything from budget restraints and risk and compliance issues, through to expanding responsibilities and poor technology.
Across the board, there is a sense that HR and Reward professionals are held back from delivering the impact that they would like. Many feel that their organisation is not offering employees enough flexibility and personalisation within the employee experience, and that it is increasingly out of touch with what employees are actually looking for.
HR teams don’t have the insights and analytics they need to measure the impact of their benefits and reward initiatives, and therefore they’re constantly operating on the back foot.
How AI tech can address HR and Reward leaders’ frustrations
HR and Reward professionals are increasingly recognising the potential for AI technology to address and resolve many of the frustrations they are experiencing in their jobs. They believe that AI offers an opportunity to free themselves of the mundane, repetitive administrative tasks that are currently such a drain on their time and morale. Instead, they can focus on more fulfilling, innovation-focused work which can make a real difference to employees and the organisation as a whole. They can operate at a more strategic level, engaging with stakeholders to achieve key business objectives and build a workforce ready to succeed in the future.
Without doubt, attitudes towards the deployment of AI are shifting, with 41% of HR and Reward professionals stating they should be doing more with AI within the HR department. Encouragingly, the research finds that understanding of and appetite for AI is growing, and HR and Reward professionals point to many areas where AI can enhance employee experience.
However, they recognise the need to take a responsible approach.
Concerns about AI
Of course, as with every section of the workforce, there are valid reservations and fears about AI, both in terms of the personal impact that AI will have on people’s jobs, and the potential risks of AI not being deployed in a responsible or ethical manner. More than a quarter (26%) of HR and Reward professionals are concerned about the danger of bias in HR-related AI applications, and 20% are concerned about the risks of using corporate information in AI models.
On a personal level, as many as 19% of HR and Reward professionals state that they expect AI to replace most jobs in reward and benefits, and 10% fear that AI will replace their own job.
Global analysis
On the whole, HR and Reward professionals in organisations with a global workforce are feeling more fed up than their counterparts looking after workforces in only Europe. They’re more likely to be spending a lot of time on administrative tasks, while also having to manage an increasingly broad remit. At a broader level, they also point to a lack of flexibility and personalisation within their organisation’s employee offering and difficulties securing budget for new initiatives as frustrations.
Where HR and Reward professionals with Europe-only workforces express greater levels of dissatisfaction, this is very much focused on the quality of technology they have at their disposal.
HR and Reward professionals in global organisations feel particularly positive about the prospect of using AI, with more than half (55%) believing that it will free up their time to focus on strategic work and 42% saying it will reduce stress and enhance their wellbeing. At the same time, however, they are also more fearful about AI taking their jobs than their counterparts who work for organisations with only a European workforce.
Harnessing the power of AI
By harnessing the capabilities of AI and embracing new thinking and fresh approaches, HR and Reward professionals can operate at a higher level. They can adopt an insight-driven approach to their work, developing strategies and programmes which can flex in response to the evolving needs of employees. And in doing so, they can deliver maximum impact for their organisations and employees, while propelling themselves forward into an exciting future.
For the full research findings, download our latest research report, ‘The Expectation Exponential: Keeping your reward and benefits strategy ahead of employee expectations’.
08-07-2024
