In an interaction with Higher Education Review Magazine, Santosh Balmiki,  Head – HR, ACMA Computers Ltd. shares his views and thoughts on the impact modern-day technologies are having on diverse HR functions, what future trends you foresee in terms of AI, how can implementation of AI in recruitment benefit the organization and more. Santosh Balmiki Having completed his MBA in Human Resource Management from Sikkim Manipal University, Santosh is a seasoned HR professional specializing in the areas of Team Management. Prior to joining ACMA in 2022, he handled key roles across diverse companies such as Ingram Micro, NISA Industrial Services, Talent Ahead India, HDFC Bank and Wipro BPO, to name a few.

What challenges do organizations face when implementing AI technologies in the job market?

AI has already disrupted the job market across the globe, and the recent topic pertaining to AI that has gained widespread prominence is ChatGPT. Organizations generally face challenges in four major areas when implementing AI – Data Privacy & Security, Bias, Accountability and Job Replacement. AI does not have a brain of its own and completely works on the data that is fed into it. Due to the massive amounts of data that are being managed by each organization on a daily basis, ensuring data security measures while implementing AI is an uphill task for every organization. Also, since AI gives us output only based on the data that is being fed into it, it is of paramount for a company to ensure that the data that is being fed into the AI system remains unbiased, failing which might lead to biased decision-making in terms of hiring, promotions, and other critical decisions.

Since most companies today rely on insights derived from AI for the decision-making process, accountability or explainability is another major challenge. For instance, taking decisions based on AI-driven insights might at times put the company in a difficult situation wherein the company will not be in a condition to ascertain who is at fault in case of any errors or mistakes. Additionally, there are mixed emotions among the general public about the widespread implementation of AI due to the fear of the technology replacing most manual jobs and resulting in many individuals losing their jobs.

What future trends do you foresee in terms of AI’s impact on the job industry?

I believe that most of the manual tasks will be automated and be handled by AI – self-driving cars which are already in the test phase across many nations are a prime example of this, where there will be no more need for drivers. According to Goldman Sachs, 300 million jobs could be affected. However, we must remember that humans created AI and not vice versa. Thus, human intervention will still be needed to at least some extent to take care of the proper functioning of AI systems. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023 surveyed over 800 companies and found that they anticipate 69 million new jobs to be created and 83 million eliminated by 2027, resulting in a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2% of current employment. The report also found that the most affected jobs will be those that are repetitive, manual, and administrative in nature. While many job roles might go redundant due to AI’s automation, it will also create a host of new roles & job opportunities. Hence, individuals must upskill themselves accordingly with the latest technologies and stay abreast with the current business dynamics. Lastly, despite being one of the most advanced technologies today, AI lags behind in terms of handling tasks that require emotional quotient to be considered while making any decision.

How can the implementation of AI in recruitment benefit the organization?

Most of the job portals that are being used across the globe today already have AI integrated within them. By leveraging predictive analytics, AI-integrated recruitment systems optimize the entire recruitment process in ways unimaginable – right from initial analysis of the candidates’ CVs, to even giving the necessary instruction to the candidates about a particular interview round. While the total cost of ownership of AI for an organization is high, it is a one-time cost that will enable the company to reap huge cost benefits in the long run. Also, AI will help us in identifying the talent pool and using better strategies in order to attract the top talent. Companies like Amazon are already using AI to automate their recruitment process which has helped them hire people faster and with greater efficiency.  

What are the key skills that HR professionals must imbibe to effectively leverage AI technologies?

The demand for data analytics in HR is at an all-time high today. HR professionals need to have the ability to understand, analyze and communicate data. This includes the ability to use & evaluate various data sources, tools and methods such as HR analytics, AI and automation to make HR processes smoother and result in better outcomes. Secondly, HR professionals need to upgrade their technical skills in order to make the best use of their resources. Also, an HR must formulate strategies in such a way that basic tasks like screening and sourcing of candidates can be handled by AI systems. This way, they will have the flexibility to focus on their core functions.

No matter how better AI technology can help us in recruitment, HR professionals need to improve and work on their communication skills so that they can communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences. The only thing that differentiates humans from AI is our feelings, emotions and ability to think. So as HR professionals, we need to be ethically unbiased and maintain complete transparency in all our functions.

How can candidates be better prepared to face AI-integrated interviews?

Every candidate who is being interviewed by AI must understand how the AI functions and accordingly prepare themselves for the interview. Also, they must practice answering clearly and in a concise way to common AI interview questions. Be prepared to answer questions about your skills and qualifications in such a way in that it will highlight your strengths and how you can contribute to the organization.

Lastly, every individual must understand the importance of upgrading their skill set, especially with respect to emerging technologies such as AI, ML AR/VR and many others. Also, students need to upgrade their knowledge, understand AI, take courses based on AI and be prepared for future job roles that will be never heard of until they become reality.