IBM Watson Orchestrate, which automates repetitive HR tasks, uses a conversational interface to manage and simplify multiple application workflows in HR.
IBM has a product it contends will improve HR department automation, reduce tedious tasks and make it easier to manage applications. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has been touting the capability of AI to automate backend processes, and recently said the company was considering a pause on hiring back-office positions that could be replaced by AI.
IBM Watson Orchestrate automates processes, adding a level of intelligence and a conversational AI interface for interacting with the third-party application and the user. Orchestrate has been in testing for nearly two years. IBM released a base model last year but made its enterprise edition generally available earlier this year.
Although the tool can be applied broadly, IBM sees an opportunity to address the fragmentation of HR applications where departments may use multiple applications to complete a specific task, said Parul Mishra, vice president of product management for IBM Watson Orchestrate.
Mishra said Orchestrate uses AI to help summarize the output of various HR apps, bringing information together in workflows so users don’t have to learn every screen or step involved with completing a task.
“Today, we hire for competence in [HR] tools,” Mishra said. But she added that Watson Orchestrate makes specific tool knowledge less important because it automates the process. HR professionals should be hired for their ability to find the best candidate for the job, not for navigating to the tool and entering fields and multiple screens.
Mishra said Orchestrate uses a conversational-like process to interact with applications and complete tasks. That includes, for instance, posting a job ad on multiple websites and tracking when candidates apply. IBM has been using this AI-enabled tool internally and said it completed HR tasks 40% faster and more accurately than humans.
In May, Krishna said the company expects AI to reduce the need for back-office roles by around 30% or nearly 8,000 jobs, including HR, Bloomberg reported. IBM, in a statement following Krishna’s comments, said its hiring is focused on revenue-generating roles: “We’re being very selective when filling jobs that don’t directly touch our clients or technology. We are actively hiring for thousands of positions right now.”