Cognitive Computing; simulating human thought processes in complex events with ambiguous choices. The term itself is a mouthful, but when simplified it refers to several applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning working together to imitate how a human might think. There are endless possible applications for this technology, but how will it help the Human Resource Department in particular?
One of the main functions of an HR Department is recruiting, it’s a very complex process with several subsurface layers. A recruiter has to create accurate job descriptions, shift through countless applications, and conduct multiple interviews. This can be made easier with cognitive computing; the system will automatically analyze millions of profiles and identify key talents for the recruiter to focus on. The recruitment process changes from speculative to predictive.
HR managers can also use this technology to examine candidate social media profiles including the thousands of posts spanning years. This can help them identify the correct culture for any of the possible recruits. In 2016 IBM launched CHIP, an onboarding assistant developed with a cognitive system that can act as a source of knowledge for new hires.
Talent Development is the process of improving existing or adding new skills to a company’s employees. With cognitive computing, a personalized learning system can be created with specific content tailor-made for specific employees. Most firms these days evaluate performance on a yearly basis, with cognitive tools managers can obtain relevant info as well as several possible conclusions that help in the review process.
Cognitive computing can also handle employee inquiries and identify an appropriate response freeing up a lot of time for HR managers. Most organizations have a relatively small HR team and they will often find it difficult to respond to every employee’s queries, particularly when the same question is asked multiple times. The system will take care to ensure that the possible answers are accurate and consistent across multiple attempts.
Now after seeing all this you might wonder why we need an HR team at all when it seems like the system is doing all the work. In reality, the simulated human mind is only focused on menial and time-consuming tasks. It augments the HR department with efficient functioning freeing up the time for more critical work.
