Some businesses have already started merging their IT and HR Departments. As a a former HR leader, I am trying to see the reasonability and practicality in this. I understand that AI is bridging a multiple of gaps, and enhancing the speed of information (with glitches still in this early stage of AI). But, I cannot see HR & IT sitting down to have a department meeting together, as the objectives and skill sets required are completely different. So let’s dig a bit deeper.
Now you know that AI is Artificial Intelligence which is a set of technologies that enable computers to perform a variety of advanced functions, including, but not limited to, the ability to see, understand and translate the spoken and written language, analyze data, make recommendations and much more. What is concerning to see, if you use ChatGPT, then you will see that they tell you in the footer that for important information, you need to double check the information, as there is basically still room for error. They give the abridged version of this in their footer.
While AI can simulate thinking and reasoning by processing vast amounts of data, it currently lacks the subjective experience, consciousness, flexibility, and abstract understanding of the human mind. Therefore, it’s more accurate to describe AI as a sophisticated machine that mimics cognitive functions, rather than a mind in the human sense.
But I digress. Let’s get back to the topic at hand – to merge or not to merge HR & IT. HR deals with people and IT deals with the technology in a business. And now, some companies are merging the responsibility of both these departments under one leader. Again, to merge or not to merge?
A survey by Nexthink, a company that makes workplace software, says that 64% of senior IT decision makers at large companies expect their HR and IT functions to merge within 5 years.
One current leader who heads up both the HR & IT function as one, says she has two IT managers that report to her and she does not believe that you “have to be an expert in one area or another, but the leader does need to set direction, provide vision, do capital allocation, remove obstacles, set culture, and do employee engagement.” (Tracey Franklin at Moderna.)
One company merged its IT and HR functions in April 2023. The CTO (Chief Technology Officer) is now Chief People and Technology Officer. “If we bring these two together, we can have a common vision for how technology can have an impact on people and how people can adapt and evolve to leverage the new technology.” (Fabio Sattolo of Covisian) He also says that greater collaboration between HR and IT makes sense, leaning into the strengths of each discipline, but he does acknowledge that merging these two functions risks losing or diluting the specialist expertise that businesses need to thrive.
So lets look at the history of the HR and IT previous relationship. (This is personally not my experience, as IT and HR always worked great alongside each other wherever I worked, but with very different goals and objectives.) However, it is apparently known that at times, some companies’ HR and IT departments butted heads over what HR wanted and what IT thought it could deliver.
Some businesses are wisely and cautiously working out how AI and humans will best work together, and they don’t necessarily agree with merging the HR and IT disciplines, but they do agree that both HR and IT will have no choice but to work closer and collaborate together. So, if you do merge HR and IT, it will seem like a natural merger of requirements being met.
Bianca Zwart, chief strategy officer at online bank Bunq, says that Bunq is on track to automating 90% of its operations, but – AND THIS IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE – they have not made redundancies, and they still continue to hire new employees. This is great to hear, as many doomsday sayers out there are perhaps looking at the cost of AI when it comes to redundancy, incorrectly. Yes, there will be redundancies, that is a given, but the expansion (and explosion) of AI in the workplace, will also create a shift in the types of jobs that will be in demand in the future. Are you adaptable and making yourself ready for these changes. Do you even know what these changes mi9ht be?
If not, I highly recommend you check out John Sanei’s site to find out more about this.
It goes without saying, moving forward, businesses are going to need to work in a completely different way than they are now, so create a team to assess AI in your business, if you have not done so already.
After looking at the research and speaking with others, I can see HR & IT working closer together, perhaps under different leaders, but whether they merge or not, AI is the bridge that is bringing them closer than ever before in the history of business.
Source: BBC News, Why firms are merging HR and IT departments, Sean McManus, Technology Reporter
