Even With the Help of AI, Why Is HR Work Still So Hard?

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are improving HR deliverables in many ways (e.g. creating job descriptions, reviewing resumes, updating performance reviews), but when it comes to the daily workflows and processes that keep HR professionals busy, AI isn’t making those tasks any easier — at least not yet.

A recent survey by Eagle Hill Consulting found that even though 86% of HR professionals reported AI and automation have helped them deliver better service, it still exposed some challenges. For example:

• 91% of the respondents used multiple systems for a single task, and 78% frequently have had to provide the same data to multiple systems.
• 70% said administrative tasks get in the way of more strategic work.
• 68% used their own workarounds to complete tasks even after implementing AI.
• 51% stated they still spend at least half of their week on routine, repetitive or low-value administrative work.

The survey noted the challenges trickle out to the business as well:

• 84% of senior leaders said HR requests often require reworking or follow-up.
• 67% of leaders frequently experience challenges with HR service delivery, citing slow response times, too many hand-offs, unclear ownership, inconsistent processes, or manual or complex processes.

Overall, the survey findings highlight how HR teams are trying to implement AI into fragmented and inefficient processes.

“A tool can work as intended while the workflow still fails,” said Joseph Macaluso, a director and consultant at Eagle Hill Consulting. “AI often improves one task inside HR without changing the full path that work takes.”

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Faster Work, But Not Easier

After an AI tool completes an HR task, Macaluso said an HR team member may still need to switch to a different system, re-enter the data, check the output, resolve an exception, track down an approval and explain the response to an employee. That one task happened faster, but the rest of the day didn’t get easier, he noted.

“HR teams still spend significant time managing administrative activities, navigating multiple platforms and resolving process breakdowns,” added Sue Holloway, a content director at WorldatWork. “If those underlying inefficiencies remain, AI simply helps organizations complete inefficient work faster.”

Learning new systems — especially technological ones — will take time, said Amy Mosher, the chief people officer at isolved, a human capital management and benefits services company.

Back to Basics

To improve the operational systems and processes — not just the tech tools they use — HR pros should get back to the basics and understand how their work actually happens, not just how it’s documented, Holloway said.

“Employees frequently develop informal workarounds and manual processes that are invisible in official procedures,” she said. “Look for friction points such as delays, bottlenecks, redundancies, excessive handoffs, and situations where work must be repeated or corrected because of process breakdowns.”

AI won’t serve as a Band-Aid for those problems; it’ll just amplify them, Mosher said. By redesigning the processes themselves without seeing how AI fits in, she noted HR teams will continue to spin their wheels — and businesses will pay the price as workarounds and inefficiencies keep HR from the strategic work that can make the greatest impact.

“The business impact of administrative burden is significant,” Mosher said. “HR has less capacity for people tasks: workforce planning, workforce development, culture, coaching, mentorship — and businesses need those more than anything.”

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Organizational Performance