How AI is impacting traditional job roles

The question of whether artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually cost jobs has been a topic of intense debate among industry leaders for years. The general consensus is that right now,  it’s too early to say.

At the recent Applied Intelligence Live event in Austin, Sean Hinton, Founder and CEO of SkyHive, and Craig Corcoran, Principal Scientist at Valkyrie AI, shared their insights on AI’s impact on employee recruitment and retention. While the long-term effects of AI on employment remain uncertain, these experts provide valuable perspectives on its current and potential future impact.

AI’s current impact on employment

AI is replacing tasks, not jobs

“We’re not seeing AI replacing jobs. That’s frankly nowhere to be found. It’s replacing tasks,” says Sean Hinton. This distinction is important because it highlights how AI is being used to automate specific tasks within job roles rather than eliminating certain roles entirely. By taking over repetitive and mundane tasks, AI solutions allow employees to focus on the more complex and creative aspects of their roles.

Almost half (46%) of large U.S. firms plan to use AI within the next year to automate tasks previously done by employees. Those tasks include everything from paying suppliers and generating invoices to financial reporting.  This is according to the most recent CFO Survey, an annual survey of financial decision-makers by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

AI is a net job booster

Hinton and Corcoran both emphasized that AI has been a net job booster. Hinton pointed out that 95% of job postings in the first two quarters of 2023 required some form of AI competency. This surge in demand for AI skills indicates that rather than reducing job opportunities, AI is creating new ones.

At the same time, however, there is a gap between the demand for these skills and the supply of qualified candidates. While this mismatch presents a significant challenge for employers as they struggle to fill skills gaps, it also presents an opportunity for job seekers and current employees to reskill to meet the new demands of the job market.

AI and talent management

The right AI solutions can help to support the talent management function in a variety of ways, from growing the talent pool to identifying the best internal candidates for reskilling and internal mobility.

Growing the talent pool

AI has the potential to significantly widen the talent pool by identifying candidates based on their skills rather than their job titles. Corcoran explained that AI can unearth talent that might otherwise be overlooked. Hinton supported this by sharing an example of how SkyHive helped a military branch increase gender diversity by 10% annually.

By using AI to identify women with the right skills for military roles—such as yoga instructors, who could be excellent physical therapists if reskilled—SkyHive demonstrated how AI is helping to strengthen diversity and inclusion efforts.

Identifying internal candidates

Beyond expanding the external talent pool, AI can have powerful applications in identifying internal candidates for new roles based on their existing skills. This approach, known as internal mobility, allows organizations to make better use of their current workforce by matching employees to roles that suit their capabilities.

Providing opportunities for career development and growth within an organization can significantly enhance employee retention rates. This is particularly valuable at a time when many are struggling to keep their best talent and estimates say that 85 million jobs could go unfilled by 2030 due to a lack of skills. When employees see a clear path for progression, they are more likely to stick around.

The role of HR and talent teams in AI integration

Hinton says that as AI becomes more integrated into talent management, the role of HR and talent teams becomes even more critical. He stressed that organizations cannot simply implement technology and expect immediate results. Instead, a cultural shift is needed to move from a jobs-based approach to a skills-based approach driven by AI.

HR and talent teams play a vital role in this transition through coaching, mentoring, and communication. They help employees adapt to new technologies and ensure that the implementation of AI aligns with the organization’s values and long-term goals. Cultural changes are therefore needed.

Current challenges in talent management (and how AI can help)

Attracting the right employees

Finding and hiring the right employees can be a difficult and inefficient process. It can also be subject to bias when handled by corporate recruiters. Creating job postings, screening resumés, and scheduling interviews are all examples of time-consuming processes that can cause bottlenecks, increase time-to-hire, and, ultimately, lead to a potential loss of promising candidates. In addition, companies often have inconsistent processes for matching the right candidates to other job postings, leading to wasted opportunities for both parties.

AI can help alleviate these problems by creating more accurate job postings with skills-first definitions, efficiently screening applicants to identify promising candidates, and eliminating human biases. SkyHive, for example, utilizes AI to champion a skills-first approach that increases equity by giving all candidates the same opportunity to demonstrate their match regardless of education, job titles, or credentials.

Developing employees

Providing employees with ongoing learning and development opportunities is extremely important for finding success in talent management. It’s often the case that employees have little information about these opportunities for employees, and organizations can find it difficult to develop or otherwise find high-quality content to keep up with employees’ growth needs.

AI can offer real-time solutions for tackling this through various tools that provide employees with personalized learning experiences. In addition, organizations use skills inventories to automate their skills assessments and identify where skills gaps exist, thereby making it easier to identify which employees would benefit the most from further learning and development.

Retaining employees

The so-called ‘Great Resignation’ of a few years ago showed us just how difficult it can be to retain employees. It also raised an important question: How can organizations encourage their hires to stick around? A key aspect of this is engagement. A recent survey by Gallup found that only 32% of the U.S. workforce feels engaged at work. Organizations often struggle to improve engagement because it’s difficult to measure. They also struggle to promote well-being.

To help with this, a variety of AI tools are available that can help leaders capture real-time employee engagement metrics and create focused solutions for well-being improvement. One example is Microsoft’s Viva Glint, an employee experience platform that combines sentiment analysis with collaboration data to gauge employee engagement and well-being.

Deciding which AI tools are right for you

With the proliferation of generative AI technologies—finding AI tools is not a challenge—organizations face the headache of selecting the right one. We’re all getting bombarded by offers of generative AI technologies to monitor people, motivate people, retain people, assess people, and so on—the real challenge is sorting through all the noise.

Organizations must consider whether the technology they’re considering is ethical, GDPR-compliant, SOC-2 compliant, and truly global in its application. These considerations are essential for ensuring that the chosen AI tools are effective, secure, and aligned with privacy and ethical standards.

Our products Skill Passport™, SkyHive Enterprise, and SkyHive Platform support individuals to upskill and reskill while enabling organizations and communities to hire, manage, and retain people with in-demand skills. Learn more about how to unleash human potential by booking a demo here.