Human resources (HR) has entered a new era — one where AI-driven technology is revolutionizing the function by automating busy work and freeing up practitioners to focus on human connections and the employee experience.
Amy Mosher
Chief People Officer, isolved
HR departments juggle a wide range of priorities — from compliance to career-development and everything in between — often approaching this workload in one of two ways: tactical or strategic. Tactical or administrative HR teams focus on ensuring minimum compliance is met and business risks are averted, but they are not actively driving toward the company’s broader strategic goals. They often find themselves reacting to employment challenges rather than anticipating and preempting them. Despite working to the point of burnout, they still battle the stigma that they are siloed paper pushers rather than embedded business partners.
A strategic department, meanwhile, shifts away from manual, repetitive tasks by embracing automation. These teams use predictive analytics to spot and analyze workforce trends related to engagement, burnout, retention, benefit adoption, and other key metrics, allowing them to intervene early and proactively address talent challenges. With more time to focus on high-impact initiatives, strategic HR teams can plan and implement thoughtful people best practices that directly contribute to the organization’s ability to exceed its overall goals.
To evolve into strategic HR mode, practitioners don’t need a bigger team — they need to embrace today’s AI-powered tech solutions.
“The introduction of AI has been a game-changer. I would love to see more HR departments optimizing the technology that exists and building it into best practice as a regular part of their decision-making,”shared Amy Mosher, chief people officer of isolved, a human capital management (HCM) technology provider helping businesses transform workforce management through AI-powered automation and analytics.
Choose your own (benefit) adventure
For HR practitioners, predictive analytics can be like a crystal ball, providing insights into both current and future workforce needs. Research suggests benefits are a key area where employees may be seeking change. isolved’s fourth annual “Voice of the Workforce,” survey of full-time US workers, revealed that nearly 3 in 4 employees plan to explore new job opportunities in the coming year, and about 1 in 4 job seekers cited better benefits as their motivation for applying elsewhere. Similarly, isolved’s fifth annual “HR Leaders” report found that 1 in 4 HR decision-makers identified a need for better communication around benefit offerings.
AI tools do more than help HR identify talent management gaps—they also enable personalized, flexible solutions that meet employees where they are. Mosher shared, “strategic programs let employees create their own experiences, offering flexibility and a range of options.”
Self-service, AI-driven benefits platforms make it easy for employees to access benefits that align with their individual needs. One employee’s gym membership may be another employee’s smoking cessation program. Some may opt for reiki training, while others prioritize financial literacy courses — all from their smartphones. For today’s restless workforce, this kind of choice is empowering — and a powerful reason to stay put.
Making time for human connection
Ultimately, when HR departments lean into technology and shift to a strategic approach, they free themselves up to focus on the human part of human resources. “The more you can automate, the more time you can spend developing relationships, talking to your employees,” Mosher said.
As both an HR leader and an isolved customer, Mosher has seen firsthand the power of a cutting-edge HCM platform. She shared, with a smile on her face, “When we make proactive decisions based on good data, when we build the experience our employees want, we see the return on investment in real time. Engagement is high, productivity is high, the people that leave come back. The numbers don’t lie.”
Click here to access isolved’s fifth annual “HR Leaders” report
