For the past two months, ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm. You can’t browse Instagram or Facebook without seeing a demonstration of something ChatGPT did to amaze a new user: write a stock trading program, complete an AP English essay, or create a science-based workout program.
Hundreds of journalists have hypothesized its implications since ChatGPT emerged in November. And AI has been slowly integrating into companies for a number of years. A recent study by IBM in May 2022 estimated that 35% of companies have adopted AI to serve their organizations, and 44% are working right now to “embed AI into current applications and processes.”
What does this mean for HR leaders and teams? Will ChatGPT or other generative AI tools be coming for your HR job? ChatGPT or other tools like it will not eliminate HR positions. In fact, when used correctly and with the right guidance, it can transform HR organizations and each HR position to be far more productive and efficient and free HR teams up to do more strategic, value-added work. Here are five emerging uses to be aware of, and how to begin exploring their feasibility with your departmental leadership peers.
CONTENT CREATION FOR JOB DESCRIPTIONS OR COMPETENCY GUIDES
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are trained using the collective body of the internet, including existing job descriptions, competency definitions, and more. Rather than having recruiting teams or hiring managers spend their time creating these from scratch, ChatGPT can be used to get a first draft in place, which can be edited from there. Like any program, its effectiveness depends on how specific your request is and how well you articulate the needs. For example:
I have a client looking to hire a senior technical recruiter. Initially, I just asked ChatGPT to write a job description for that role. I received a quick paragraph, which wasn’t really useful. But when I asked ChatGPT to write me a 500-word job description, including the industry the client was in, and the city they are located in, and specified it needed to include responsibilities and required competencies, I received a first draft that was 70% to 80% of the way there.
I asked ChatGPT to write a competency guide for engineers. It gave me four competencies: technical skills, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. When I was more specific and asked ChatGPT to write a 1,000-word competency guide using at least five, including the proper programming languages, and the expectations at the associate, career, and senior engineer levels, I received a more robust response. It was still only 50% to 60% of the way there, but just the fact I was able to nearly instantaneously create this starting point is impressive.
BENCHMARKING INFORMATION ON SALARY RANGES AND BENEFITS OFFERINGS
As salary transparency continues to take root, and as companies continue to detail out their benefits offerings (including costs on company extranets), expect to see the accuracy of tools like ChatGPT or other AI aggregators improve.
For now, a professional survey provider will spit out better information than ChatGPT, but both are directionally accurate. For example, I asked ChatGPT to estimate the salary range of an HR director in Los Angeles for a $1 billion to $3 billion technology firm. It was slightly low compared to survey data and my own experience.
I also asked what the common medical benefits sharing ratios are for similarly sized firms across the United States; it responded that 70% to 80% percent of costs are covered by the company and 20% to 30% by the employer is the “common arrangement.” This varies widely based on a series of factors it detailed for me. (ChatGPT was right on both accounts.) For startups that can’t afford the benchmarking data or just need some directional information, this may be a good first reference point.
AUTOMATION OF HR TASKS AND EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE
As HR teams are continually asked to do more with less, tools like ChatGPT can be utilized to automate responses to employee questions, populate FAQ documents, and handle basic employee requests
Delegating such mundane tasks can also help an HR team be more responsive and efficient with its time. These programs need the right training and should be utilized in conjunction with an IT team to ensure the AI tools are properly trained based on company policies and procedures.