Sage report shows 77% of HR professionals see AI as key to tackling burnout and boosting efficiency
HR professionals are embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a solution to alleviate administrative burdens and mitigate job burnout, as revealed by a new global report from Sage, covered by The Canadian Press.
The annual ‘The Changing Face of HR’ report, gathering insights from over 1,000 HR leaders across diverse sectors and countries, identifies that 77 percent of respondents believe AI has the potential to significantly alter their company's working methods.
This insight comes against a backdrop of 95 percent of HR professionals experiencing a workload increase and 91 percent taking on more responsibilities over the past year.
The survey uncovers several pressing challenges for HR professionals: the volume of work (80 percent), low morale and employee burnout (79 percent), and constrained budgets (79 percent).
It also suggests a broad optimism towards AI, with 80 percent of HR professionals predicting a considerable transformation in their role due to AI, and 71 percent anticipating that the incorporation of AI in HR tasks will generate new employment opportunities.
The adoption of technology is on the rise, with 45 percent of HR leaders currently utilizing HR metrics, 44 percent engaging in automation practices, and 43 percent deploying cloud HR solutions, indicating a significant pivot towards automation and analytics.
Over half (56 percent) of HR leaders report a need for more technology to function efficiently, pointing to a gap between the current state and the optimal use of technological tools.
The importance of training is also highlighted, with 79 percent agreeing on the necessity for education to fully exploit AI’s capabilities.
Future prospects show HR professionals desiring to dedicate more time to strategic planning (61 percent), leveraging data for decision-making (59 percent), and enhancing employee engagement (59 percent).
This signals a shift in focus from administrative to strategic functions, emphasizing the need to streamline HR administrative tasks through automation.
Although 68 percent of respondents note that over half of their HR processes are already automated, 79 percent believe that further automation could enhance efficiency.
The report also notes a disparity in automation adoption between small (57 percent) and medium (80 percent) businesses, suggesting smaller firms could improve their competitive edge by investing more in HR technology.
The report concludes that HR professionals are well-equipped to navigate these transitions, maintaining a vital role in the future of work.
Amanda Cusdin, CPO at Sage, commented, “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.”
Echoing this sentiment, Ben Brooks, founder, and CEO at Pilot, said, “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, analyze, and report meaningful data-driven insights becomes a superpower for HR,” he continued.
