Buzzing About HR
Buzzing About HR by https://www.kateunderwoodhr.co.uk is the go-to podcast for anyone looking to make their workplace better. Hosted by HR expert Kate Underwood, each episode dives into the latest HR trends, essential tools, and practical strategies to help businesses of all sizes navigate the ever-evolving world of work. From improving employee engagement to tackling real-world HR challenges, Kate shares actionable advice you can implement right away. Whether you're an HR professional, a business owner, or someone passionate about people, this podcast will keep you ahead of the curve and buzzing with ideas to drive success in your workplace.
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Buzzing About HR
Between Algorithms and Empathy: The Future of HR
Have you ever wondered if robots are coming for your HR job? After my visit to the HR Technologies UK show at Excel London, I've been buzzing with questions about artificial intelligence in Human Resources—and it turns out you have been too.
Artificial intelligence is transforming everything from CV screening to performance management, but navigating this brave new world requires both curiosity and caution. Through listener questions, I'm unpacking what works and what doesn't when it comes to implementing AI in your HR practices. Can AI really help sift through applications without missing hidden gems? Should you trust it to write your job descriptions? And what are the ethical implications of letting algorithms influence disciplinary decisions?
For small businesses especially, AI promises efficiency but demands vigilance. Recruitment tools can save hours but might perpetuate bias if not carefully monitored. Job description generators create solid first drafts but know nothing about your unique company culture. HR chatbots can answer employee questions at 11pm when you're fast asleep, but only if they're programmed with accurate, helpful information. Throughout this episode, I share practical insights from real vendor demonstrations alongside legal considerations under UK employment law. The Equality Act 2010 doesn't accept "the algorithm made me do it" as a valid defense, after all!
Whether you're AI-curious or tech-hesitant, my five-step guide will help you dip your toe into these waters without drowning in complexity. Remember, the future of HR isn't about replacing human judgment—it's about enhancing it. Keep the robot revolution in perspective, maintain your ethical compass, and don't forget to leave us a review if this episode helped demystify AI for your workplace!
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Until next time, keep buzzing and take care of your people!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of Buzzing About HR. I'm Kate Underwood, your HR sidekick, workplace culture crusader and enthusiastic champion of making things make sense for small businesses. Now, today, my inner geek is coming out to play, because we are diving into a topic that has been all over my brain lately. You ready for it? Ai in HR, yep, robots, algorithms and all the shiny tech that's slowly creeping into our world of people, policies and payslips. Why now? Well, I'll tell you what kicked it off.
Speaker 1:A few weeks ago, on the 24th of April to be exact, I trotted off to the HR Technologies UK show at Excel in London and let me tell you, my HR techie brain was in overdrive. I spent the day demoing software, chatting with startups and generally losing my cool over things like predictive absence dashboards. I know, I know what a life, but honestly, I came away with this mix of excitement, curiosity and the occasional ooh. Not sure I trust that. Since then, I've been having loads of chats with clients and lovely listeners like you about AI, and it turns out everyone has the same questions Is this going to help us, is this going to replace us? And where do we even start without selling our souls to a chatbot. So today we're going to break it down in real human terms, and I've got a bunch of your brilliant listener questions to help us along the way. Let's talk AI in HR the good, the bad and the hmm is this ethical bits. And, as always, I'll round it off with my Kate style practical tips to help you move forward confidently with your common sense intact. So let's kick off with our first listener question. Hi, kate, I'm hearing loads about AI screening CVs. Now, is this something I should be doing for my business or is it just a big corporate thing? And that's from the lovely Dave in Swindon. Brilliant place to start, dave, because this is probably the most common place.
Speaker 1:Ai pops up in HR conversations right now. Recruitment and, yes, cv screening tools are being used more and more, even by small businesses. Here's the deal. These tools can scan all the CVs you get for a vacancy and sort them by how well they match the job description. Sounds like a dream, right? You get 80 applications and the bot helps you narrow it down in minutes. But and it's a big but you have to be really careful about how you use them about how you use them.
Speaker 1:At the HR Tech Show, I watched a demo of a tool that literally pulled apart CVs, flagged top performers and ranked people using a matching score. Impressive stuff. But I asked what if someone has transferable skills but hasn't used your keywords? And they sort of dodged the question? That's because AI can't read between the lines yet it doesn't know. The coordinated community outreach is basically project management light, and it just sees that the word project management isn't there, so it skips them. Also and this is really important those algorithms can learn bias. If you've historically hired graduates from certain universities, the AI might start preferring those profiles even without being told to do so. So my advice is if you're overwhelmed with applications, if you're overwhelmed with applications, ai tools can help, but make sure they allow for human override.
Speaker 1:Don't ever let it be the only stage of review. You still need to read the CVs and watch for bias and always test the tool against a diverse set of CVs to see what it's picking up or missing. Use AI as a very fast admin assistant, not as your hiring manager. Make sure you check out my blog about how these can be massive pitfalls for small businesses and the problems that they could bring. Question two Can AI help with writing job descriptions. I find them so dull and repetitive, says Priya in Bristol. Oh, priya, you are not alone. I think I've written the phrase strong communication skills about 11,000 times in my career. So, yes, this is an area where AI really shines. If you're staring at a blank word document, thinking what even is a customer success manager, pop a few details into an AI tool and it can generate a decent first draft for you in seconds.
Speaker 1:At the Excel show, I tested the platform that could make your job title responsibilities an ideal candidate profile and turn it into a full job ad, complete with tone options like friendly, corporate or even witty. I went for the witty, naturally, but here's the catch you need your brain in gear. Ai doesn't know your company culture, it doesn't know your tone of voice and it absolutely doesn't know your hybrid policy actually means please come in on Wednesdays, because we all like biscuits together. Also, check for unintended bias, so certain phrases can skew male, neurotypical or even ageist Overused jargon. Ai loves cliches. Watch out for go-getter, rockstar or self-starter An actual accuracy. I once saw AI write that a company offered private healthcare when it didn't Hashtag awkward. So yes, let it do the heavy lifting, but edit, tweak and keep it to you. Your job description should sound like a human, not a robot trying to impress its manager.
Speaker 1:Question number three what's the risk of using AI in disciplinary or performance management, says Sarah, who is an HR manager at a tech startup. Sarah, thank you for this, because it's not just a risk, it's legal and ethical minefield. Yes, some tools track performance data, some time spent on tasks, call lengths or targets met. That's fine, helpful even. But the moment you let AI actually take action on that data, like issuing warnings or triggering a performance review, you're playing with fire.
Speaker 1:In the UK, disciplinary procedures have to be fair. In the UK, disciplinary procedures have to be fair, transparent and involve actual people. Under the ACAS code of practice, employees must be given a chance to explain themselves, challenge evidence and be accompanied at hearings. You can't automate that. You really can't. I saw a tool at HR Tech that said it could proactively manage underperformance. When I asked what that meant, it basically meant it flagged people to managers with pre-written suggestions. Yikes, my view. Use AI to stop patterns, not to make decisions. So yes to flagging someone's productivity dipping, yes to surfacing or repeated lateness, but no to automatically issuing warnings. And remember AI can't tell if someone's struggling because of health issues, poor management or burnout. That's your job. Keep the human in human resources.
Speaker 1:Question four I run a retail business and I've seen AI chatbots for HR queries. Are they actually useful or just another gimmick? Says Lee from Cardiff. Honestly, lee, they can be really helpful, especially in environments like retail, hospitality or care, where people work shifts or aren't sitting at a laptop and need answers fast. Think about the questions people ask again and again how do I check my holiday balance, what's the sick pay policy and can I swap a shift on Thursday? A chatbot can answer these at 11pm when no one in HR is picking up the phone. That's a win, but it has to be done right. I tried one recently that said refer to policy X, y and Z for every question. Useless, it's not a chatbot, it's a digital shrug. You need clear, accurate policy information, a friendly tone, regular updates to reflect policy change and a human fallback in case it doesn't know the answer.
Speaker 1:Used well, a chatbot is like a super organised, frequently asked questions genie. Used badly, it just winds people up. So if you're going for it, train it well and keep it monitored. And our final question are there quality or bias risks for AI in recruitment says Rachel in Manchester, yes, yes and yes again. I'm so glad you asked, rachel.
Speaker 1:Ai is only as fair as the data it's trained on. And guess what? A lot of that data, especially historical recruitment data, is already biased. I heard a speaker at HR Tech talk about a case where AI rejected candidates who had gaps in their employment history, assuming that they were less reliable. But who takes career breaks more often? Women, parents, carers? That's indirect discrimination. There's also bias around names that aren't typically British, educational roots that aren't university and neurodivergent CV styles. Hello, bullet points.
Speaker 1:In the UK, you are still accountable under the equality act 2010, even if the algorithm made the call. If someone challenges your hiring and says, oh, it was the software, that is not a defense. So audit your ai tools, ask the vendors what bias testing they've done and keep an eye on outcomes, not just processes, because equality isn't just about fair inputs. It's about who's getting through the system at the end of the day. So let's land this plane. Ai isn't going to steal your HR job, but it will change it. It can take the boring bits off your plate, it can help you spot patterns you might have missed and it can give your team a faster, slicker experience, but it's not a replacement for people, judgment or empathy.
Speaker 1:So if you're thinking of dipping your toe into the AI pool, here's my Kate's top five starter guide. Number one start with job description writers. They're low risk but big time savers. Number two try CV streaming with oversight. Don't just switch off your brain streaming with oversight. Don't just switch off your brain.
Speaker 1:Number three look into chatbots for asking frequently asked questions, especially if you have shift workers. Number four use analytics tools to spot trends in absence performance or turnover. And number five always, always, always, test for bias and make your vendors prove it. And remember you don't have to go all in. Try one thing, review it, then build from there. Keep it human, keep it fair and keep your geeky curiosity alive, because this space is only going to grow. That's it for today's episode of Buzzing About HR. If you've got more questions about AI or you've seen a hilarious chatbot fail you want to share, come and find me on LinkedIn or drop a message via the podcast site, and if you've enjoyed this episode, you know what I'm going to say Leave us a lovely review, tell a friend and help us spread the buzz about making HR more human and more effective. Until next time, keep buzzing, stay curious and don't let the robots win. Bye.
