On Nov. 14, 2024, the webinar "HR & AI: Make AI Your Ally" took place. In it, Anne Doeser, HR Innovation Lead at Rabobank, shared her vision on the role of AI within the HR field. She emphasized that AI is not only a technological solution, but here a people-oriented approach is essential.
The course of the session
The session began with an overview of the challenges facing organizations today. For example, the number of seniors is growing rapidly, which means that employees are often not only doing their jobs, but also have informal care responsibilities. This increasing workload, combined with the constant flow of information, calls for smart solutions. According to Anne, this is where AI can help, if applied correctly and responsibly.
Anne then gave an overview of how Rabobank is using AI tools to reduce workloads and make work more efficient. Along with deploying the AI tools, there was a strong focus on maintaining human interaction and ethics as core values.
Anne illustrated how AI can help with tasks such as summarizing customer conversations and assisting recruiters in scheduling appointments. This leaves more time for personal contact. However, she pointed out the risk that AI can lead to higher workloads if deployed incorrectly, such as doubling customer calls in the same amount of time.
Deployment of AI at Rabobank
She then gave insight into the importance of ethical considerations within HR. Rabobank ensures that AI is not applied blindly. At Rabobank, AI is not seen as a "one size fits all" solution, but as a technology that must be applied carefully. AI must be transparent and honest so that employees and customers understand what decisions are based on. This is crucial to avoid biases and mistakes, as seen earlier in the surcharge affair.
Anne also stressed the importance of AI literacy for all employees. Rabobank offers training and encourages employees to experiment with AI in a safe environment. The organization also works with external parties to integrate AI responsibly, where ethics committees and collaboration with IT and the business are essential.
Call to action
Finally, Anne urged companies to get started with AI primarily by "prompting" and experimenting. According to Anne, this is an approachable way to integrate AI into the organization and let employees discover what the technology can do for them. With the final note that it is important to remain critical and that HR's role is to always know what AI decisions are based on. And so to use AI as an ally, truly supporting and empowering employees.
