- While training concerns around AI exist, HR professionals believe the technology will ease workload, boost competitiveness, and create jobs
- The freeing up of time through AI and tech will also dramatically improve job satisfaction
15 April, 2024 – A new global report from Sage reveals that HR professionals welcome AI to ease the burden of admin jobs, take away time consuming tasks, and, ultimately, ease burnout.
The annual report, titled ‘The Changing Face of HR’, surveyed over 1,000 HR leaders across a range of sectors and countries, finding that 77% believe AI has the potential to revolutionise ways of working within their company. With 95% of respondents reporting an increase in their workload over the past year and 91% seeing an increase in more responsibilities in their role.
The research also revealed that:
- Amount of work (80%), low morale and burnout of employees (79%) and limited budgets (79%) are the top challenges keeping HR professionals up at night
- 80% of HR professionals believe the role of HR will change considerably due to AI
- 71% of HR professionals believe implementing AI in HR tasks will create more jobs
- 45% of HR leaders are currently using HR metrics, 44% are utilising automation, and 43% employing cloud HR solutions, showing a significant shift towards automation and analytics
The report also highlighted some areas of focus, with more than half (56%) of HR Leaders reporting that they need more technology to operate effectively. By utilising technology HR leaders will be able to collect, analyse, and report meaningful data-driven insights to better inform their decisions. Training was identified as key to taking advantage of the benefits of technology with 79% agreeing that education was needed to fully capitalise on AI’s capabilities.
Future outlook
Looking forward to the future, the top three areas HR professionals want to spend more time on are strategic planning (61%), using data to drive decision-making (59%) and employee engagement (59%). This demonstrates a fundamental shift from paperwork to people strategies, meaning that there is a need to automate labour-intensive HR admin tasks. Although 68% say over half of the HR processes in their organisation are automated, 79% say more could be automated to improve efficiency.
Interestingly, the research also revealed a gap between small businesses (57%) and medium businesses (80%) in terms of automation levels, indicating that smaller companies may benefit from investing in HR technology to keep up with larger competitors.
The report concludes that HR professionals are well-positioned to navigate these changes and continue to play a crucial role in shaping the future of work.
Sonia Tshabalala, Regional People Director at Sage says “South African HR professionals are embracing AI to alleviate workload, enhance competitiveness, and create jobs. With 44% using automation and 43% using cloud, emphasises that the use of technology has become crucial. Despite challenges like heavy workloads and limited budgets, they are turning to automation for solutions. By leveraging technology for strategic planning, data-driven decision-making, and employee engagement, HR leaders can collect and analyse meaningful insights, positioning themselves to navigate changes and shape the future of work.”
Amanda Cusdin, CPO at Sage, comments, “Our findings show that HR professionals are facing increasing pressure to deliver results while managing an ever-growing list of responsibilities. However, the industry and its people are resilient and those that embrace technology and AI will gain more time back, which we know is so invaluable when you’re trying to avoid burnout. As a result, HR professionals will be able to shift their focus to areas of their jobs that they find more valuable, such as people strategies, which in turn can increase job satisfaction.”
Ben Brooks, Founder and CEO at Pilot says “The importance of HR analytics in strategic HR cannot be underestimated. Finance, Sales, Operations, Technology, Marketing, and more all come to the table with numbers that illustrate progress, challenges, and performance against goals, and HR must do the same. Leveraging technology to collect, analyse, and report meaningful data driven insights becomes a superpower for HR.”
About Sage: Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small and mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, the Sage Network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis. Learn more at https://www.sage.com/en-za/
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Author: Lovejoy Shangase from BCW Africa on behalf of Sage.
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