People-Focused AI- Practical Tools for HR Professionals
Written by Cheron Smalls
It feels like everyone is talking about AI, but what does it actually mean for those of us in HR?
With all the buzz around AI, it can sometimes feel like the technology is being pushed on us. Learning how to use AI and incorporate it into your work may even feel daunting. My perspective changed when I began viewing AI not as a replacement for human judgment, but as a supportive tool in my work as an HR professional. When used with intention, AI can help you be more efficient, so you can focus on what is most important — PEOPLE. There is no need to start using AI for everything at once; instead, start with what feels meaningful to enhance the human side of your work.
These four examples show how AI can help simplify your workday and make your HR processes more efficient and impactful.
1. Stay Present in Interviews
Recruiting will always be about people, but with applicant tracking systems and video interviews, it can sometimes feel like the human connection is getting lost. Ironically, AI can help recruiters focus on connecting during interviews by handling tasks such as recording, notetaking, and meeting summarizations. This supports us to be more present and engaged during conversations.
When I am conducting interviews (often scheduled back-to-back), I want to take copious notes because I will not remember all the details later. But, even more importantly, I like to be engaged with the candidate. I want them to feel that I am listening and paying attention to them, knowing that their exposure to the organization, its culture, and its values will start with that initial interview. With AI handling notes, I can focus on listening and building genuine connection. Relying on AI for notetaking allows me to connect with each person and lean into what really matters.
2. Turn Employee Feedback into Action Faster
Employee feedback is only valuable when it is reviewed, analyzed, and used to drive improvements. Whether it’s through surveys, stay interviews, or other feedback platforms, someone needs to analyze the data and identify the areas that deserve attention. Finding the time to analyze data and create a meaningful action plan is a challenge for many HR teams. But when employees don’t see any return on their investment of time (participating in a survey or interview), they are less likely to participate in the future.
When the data is loaded into AI, it can quickly summarize and identify key themes, and propose plans to address the data, make changes, or share updates. In addition to managing the data analysis, AI can support efforts to address concerns in the feedback. As an example, I asked Microsoft Copilot to help me address feedback received on manager communication. Copilot gave me options, including building a 30-Day Action Plan to improve manager communication. Copilot can also be used to aggregate and summarize feedback in Excel files. AI tools like these take the tedious work out of analysis so you can focus on implementing meaningful change.
3. Tackle Difficult Conversations with Confidence
Although it may be the least pleasant part of HR, we cannot avoid the hard conversations. AI cannot manage all of the difficult, hard, or emotional pieces of our work. But it can help.
AI can prepare you with multiple phrases and words to say. This can be very helpful when your mind is already burdened with the weight of the responsibility. A quick check-in with ChatGPT or Copilot can help you feel more prepared with factual and empathetic statements. As a sample, I typed in this statement to get help from Copilot: I need to tell a person that their job is being eliminated and they will be laid off at the end of the month. Give me 3 different phrases of how I can say this directly with compassion.
Copilot gave me 3 options – clear and empathetic, honest and supportive, direct but caring. While this was just an illustrative exercise, I am confident that it would be helpful in a heavyhearted situation. Also, Copilot offered to prepare a short script for the entire conversation, including how to manage questions or offer resources. Again, you may know the words you want to say, but in challenging situations, it is good to be prepared to flex in the moment so you can show up with as much clarity and empathy as possible.
4. Leverage AI to Educate
Insurance benefits are a huge expense to both an employer and individuals. Figuring out a way to manage those costs can feel impossible, but identifying and sharing ways that individuals can control their out-of-pocket expenses can go a long way. AI can support your efforts by presenting facts, examples, and a communication plan for you.
Using Microsoft Copilot again for this exercise, I entered “How can I teach employees to reduce prescription drug costs?” Copilot returned 6 different methods, along with detailed suggestions and offered to create a ready-to-use employee education toolkit for me. Then I asked Copilot to draft a sample email campaign for me. A busy HR professional could use this to help compose emails, send them out on a scheduled basis, and start an educational program that moves the needle on prescription drug costs.
Using AI tools to support benefits education frees you up to be available for conversations when an employee has more personal questions about their benefits coverage. An educational campaign to support better management of Rx expenses is valuable. But the real treasure is having the space in your day to meet with an employee who is enrolling in their own insurance for the first time or an employee who wants to talk about coverage as their family welcomes a new baby.
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AI won’t replace the human side of HR, it will enhance it. By using it intentionally, we can free ourselves from labor-intensive tasks and focus on what really matters: building strong, people-centered workplaces.
Notes: For purposes of this article, I focused on free AI tools that I have available on my laptop. Other free AI tools that may be helpful in your work are listed in the linked attachment. AI Tools
Cheron Smalls is an HR Director at Warren Whitney. With more than 20 years of experience, she provides strategic and hands-on HR leadership to clients and often serves as a fractional HR leader. If you would like to learn more about our services, please call us at 804.282.9566 or email Kyle Ficker at kficker@warrenwhitney.com. We do not charge for the initial call. We want to learn more about your business needs.
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