Expert points out that new jobs are emerging as AI takes over many of HR's work tasks
HR professionals will take on a strategic role in organisations as their work tasks become increasingly automated through AI adoption, according to an expert.
Piers Hudson, senior research director in the Gartner HR practice, said Gartner is predicting that 60% of HR work tasks will be completed through an intelligent agent or LLM-centric interface.
"HR must anticipate where support demands will rise and assess how much their staff must adapt," Hudson said.
"This means both responding to emerging needs and upskilling HR talent simultaneously."
The automation of many work tasks will also free HR professionals from transactional activities and move them into a more strategic position in organisations, according to Hudson.
"There are certain areas where HR is uniquely placed to support this strategic work – areas like organisational and role redesign or long-term skills planning and talent pipeline development are all critical to drive AI-infused work benefits," he said.
"These areas also highlight HR's ability to identify both the 'art of the possible' and the cross-functional impacts of workforce decisions."
Hudson's remarks echo previous reports underscoring that many functions will be able to take on higher-value work as AI takes over some of their repetitive tasks.
New jobs for HR
Similarly, the adoption of AI in the HR department will also make way for more positions in the field, such as embedded chief of staff roles.
"This role manages the people aspects of tech rollouts to achieve performance improvements. It will nurture 'citizen HR' capabilities within operational teams for effective use of HR services," Hudson said.
Other emerging HR roles amid AI transformation include:
- Global Business Services 'Productisation' Leads
- Community Managers
- Work or Worker-Type Specialists
- HR "Labs"
- Consensus Facilitators
- Product Managers
A future-ready HR
One barrier to AI adoption in HR, however, is leadership's exclusion of HR from AI projects because they don't see the need for it, according to Hudson.
"It's imperative that HR clarifies its role in an AI-infused workplace and builds an operating model with the right capabilities for this role," he said.
To create a future-ready operating model in HR, chief human resources officers have been urged to assess and progress the potential of HR technologies for automating tasks.
"Identify where this frees up potential for current HR staff to play new roles and the level of change this would require," Hudson said.
A portion of the HR budget and time should also be dedicated to the application of AI technology, he added. Other steps to create a future-ready HR include:
- Identify and pilot product management roles in areas needing end-user behaviour change or adoption and where solutions are fragmented.
- Identify areas of the business where there are already signs of "citizen HR" — particularly related to technology projects. Gather these groups into communities of expertise and share good practices with one another.
- Develop new metrics to measure HR's impact, such as tracking the number of HR staff moving into the business.
