Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Work

Beyond Work is our line of resources for people and community leaders looking for something new and innovative outside, be it a new job, career change, or personal development outside of work.

  • Demystifying AI for HR Professionals

    Demystifying AI for HR Professionals

    The team at Paylocity are good friends and collaborators of ours at HPC.  We asked them to give you some insights into the different types of AI in the market and how they are applied.  Like Shari says, AI is more than ChatGPT.  In addition, Shari provides insights on how to evaluate AI tools for HR and how to get started with new technologies. Thank you Shari and Paylocity for your collaboration! 

    Technology does more than merely simplify routine tasks and complex calculations.

    From the static of the first commercial radio broadcasts of the 1920s to the screech of an AOL dial-up in the 1990s to today’s familiar ‘da-dum’ of Netflix, technological advances have fundamentally changed how we experience our world.

    Sometimes, the rate of change can be frightening. Still, in the past century, when technology has been moving forward at such a blistering pace, human curiosity has always taken up the challenge of striving further into the realization of thought into technology integration possibilities.

    Nowhere is this truer than in adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI). While it’s been behind the scenes for years, 2023’s introduction of ChatGPT thrust AI into the public spotlight and our daily lives. But with opportunity always comes innovation, which raises ethical responsibility issues. HR should be no exception.

    Our challenge is to shape a future where technology and AI enhance human well-being. Let’s start by breaking down what AI is and how we use it.

    What Is AI and What’s It Doing in HR?

    There’s more to AI than ChatGPT.

    Here are some definitions and examples of how AI is used every day in life and at work.

    • Artificial Intelligence (AI): The science of building intelligent programs and machines to solve problems creatively. For example, a computer program designed to play chess or checkers.
    • Machine Learning (ML): A subset of AI where systems learn to solve problems from experience without being explicitly programmed, like the recommendations on Netflix after learning about your viewing habits.
    • Deep Learning (DL): It is a subset of ML that uses algorithms and a lot of information to discover intricate patterns in data by simulating the human brain. For example, how is it used in image recognition to find instances of cancer?
    • Large Language Models: Advanced AI systems, purposively built to understand and generate human languages. These can be used for various things, like translation and summarization, and can generate text, so they are quite a powerful tool for natural language processing.
    • Generative AI is a subcategory within LLM, where a new content type is generated, whether text or images, based on patterns learned from input data. While ChatGPT is one instance, another is automated customer response—chatbots.

    It seems that most industries have started to integrate AI into their operations, if not already. Collaborative robots work with humans in manufacturing, and software helps retailers analyze in-store customer behavior. Employees might use AI to search the Internet or blur their backgrounds on video calls.

    AI can elevate the role of HR in the following ways:

    • Increasing time available for strategic work founded on deeper insights from data.
    • Automating recruitment processes, such as a resume or application screening.
    • Masking personally identifiable information or sort by keyword to reduce hiring bias.
    • Enriching decision-making with people analytics, such as predicting turnover.
    • Improving employee experience with digital tools like feedback loops, chatbots, virtual reality training, digital location walk-throughs
    • Facilitating remote work with collaboration, employee monitoring, and training tools
    • Personalizing learning and development recommendations
    • Improving communications by use of sentiment analysis and generative AI to make the message more impactful
    • Monitoring legal and compliance requirements.

    It is important to note that none of these functions should run without human supervision. Anytime we use technology to help us manage people, we need to be very cautious and thoughtful.

    What to Ask When Evaluating AI Tools for HR

    Two of the top concerns for HR professionals considering the use of AI are bias and data privacy.

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces laws prohibiting workplace discrimination. In many cases, an employer is responsible for its use of AI in employment decision-making, even if the tools are designed or administered by a software vendor. In other words, it’s up to the individual employer to mitigate bias in hiring, promotions, and terminations regardless of the technology used in the process.

    Employers must also protect employees’ personally identifiable information (PII). Laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP) give guidelines for collecting and storing personal data. Furthermore, businesses using open-sourced software like the free version of ChatGPT should caution employees not to upload sensitive company information.

    Choosing a technology partner who is laser-focused on the ethical use of data is imperative to achieve AI’s true benefits for employees and HR. Ask vendors these questions about their commitment to AI ethics:

    • How are your AI systems held accountable by humans?
    • How do you provide transparency to AI users?
    • How do you maintain compliance with applicable laws and regulations?
    • How do you stay current on AI technology and HR best practices?
    • How do your AI systems help reduce potential bias?

    Getting Started with AI in HR

    If adapting to change is tough, helping an entire organization adapt to emerging technology can seem overwhelming. Use this framework to guide your company’s approach to using AI in HR.

    1. Start small: Adopt generative AI for personal use at first. Try asking questions you know the answer to, so you can gauge how accurate it is. Then, get creative!
    2. Conduct a market analysis: Identify and evaluate how AI is used in software solutions that make sense for your organization, like talent acquisition, workforce analytics, performance management, or employee engagement.
    3. Understand the risks: Weigh the risks and benefits of implementing AI in HR for your company.
    4. Plan: Map out how you’ll implement tools, assess data quality and availability, and monitor results.
    5. Build a team: Leverage the expertise of others in the organization, such as IT and business continuity.
    6. Train employees: Create a schedule to train employees on how to use the new technology.
    7. Provide clarity: Communicate transparently about your AI use and how you’ll help employees develop skills to leverage it ethically.

    What’s Next for HR Technology?

    Everybody wants to know! Yet, what we can gather is that technology will not stand still.

    More likely AI trends in HR and the future include increased use of predictive analytics, augmented employee experiences, AI-driven wellness programs, and tools to manage remote teams effectively.

    This is our chance, HR professionals and business leaders alike, to handle with responsibility what it means to manage the workforce humanely in the world of the future.

    About Shari Simpson

    Shari Simpson stands at the forefront of human resources, blending 20 years of rich experience with cutting-edge educational credentials. With an MBA, MHRM, Certificate in E-commerce Management, and SHRM-SCP, she is pursuing a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Innovation from Purdue. In addition, as the host of the HR Mixtape podcast, Shari shares invaluable insights with industry experts and establishes herself as a thought leader in HR. She is a guest speaker at local and national conferences, interacting with industry leaders about elevating the HR, Payroll, and Business sectors. Other than this, Shari is an adoring mother of three sons—one a veteran and two currently serving in the US Navy—a devoted dog mom and a consistent reader. Add to that, for the past 25 years, she has been married to a fire department Battalion Chief, which helps deepen her perspective on service and commitment. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharisimpson/

    About Paylocity

    As the award-winning, cloud-based HR and payroll software provider, Paylocity focuses on developing artificial intelligence to reduce friction in HR administration, improve communication effectiveness, engage employees, and increase productivity. Read our AI ethics statement.

  • ANNOUNCEMENT: Launching two NEW Career Development Trainings!

    ANNOUNCEMENT: Launching two NEW Career Development Trainings!

    Horizon Point has been working on two NEW Career Development Practitioner Training Offerings available Fall 2024. One will be a School Career Development Advisor (SCDA) Training. The other, an Alabama Workforce Challenges & Solutions course.

    School Career Development Advisor (SCDA) Training

    Horizon Point’s SCDA Training is designed for providers who work in many settings and help prepare students for meaningful work and managing their careers. These providers work with other staff to coordinate the design, implementation, and monitoring of school and community-based efforts to improve the chances of students entering the job market with skills, knowledge, and credentials to be competitive.

    The objectives for the SCDA Training are organized into two primary competency areas (1) knowledge of skills related to student advising and (2) knowledge of skills related to working with business and industry. SCDA Training can be offered independently, for those with school experience, or it can be offered in collaboration with Facilitating Career Development (FCD) Training for those who want more information on providing quality career development services. SCDA Training is a total of 48 hours of instruction.

    Register here: https://horizonpointconsulting.com/what-we-do/career-development/scda-training/

    Alabama Workforce Challenges and Solutions

    We are experiencing unique workforce challenges in Alabama, and solutions seem out of reach. As educators, employers, and community leaders, we can move the needle forward and create workplaces that put People First. Our Workforce Challenges and Solutions training focuses on practical methods to get more people working by understanding the challenges and implementing solutions.

    In this workshop participants will:

    • Examine the Labor Participation Rate and relevant labor market trends 
    • Discuss research and data around why labor participation rates are in decline
    • Explore strategies to remove barriers and pull people into meaningful work

    Register here: https://horizonpointconsulting.com/shop/workforce-solutions-alabama/
    *Enter code HPCPOINTBLOG24 for a 10% discount!

    As you can see, this has been an exciting time for Career Development at Horizon Point. We hope that you take advantage of all that we have to offer this Fall!

  • Be Creative Anyway: How ATD24 Made Me Feel Better About AI

    Be Creative Anyway: How ATD24 Made Me Feel Better About AI

    Attending the ATD24 International Conference made me feel so energized and prepared for another year around the sun in talent development. The obvious buzzword: Artificial Intelligence (AI). I walked away with pages and pages of notes on AI in training and development. Mary Ila kicked off our series on AI last week, so now I’m sharing a rundown (written in part using ChatGPT) of my key AI takeaways from ATD24.

    Generative AI: The Game-Changer in Scenario-Based Learning

    One of the sessions that really stood out to me was “Use Generative AI to Create Scenario-Based Learning” by Kevin Alster and Elly Henriksen from Synthesia. They showed us how generative AI can take the heavy lifting out of creating scenario-based learning (SBL). Imagine being able to quickly craft engaging, real-world scenarios that captivate your learners and improve retention.

    The tools and frameworks they demonstrated were incredibly user-friendly, making it feasible for anyone to enhance their courses without needing a PhD in AI. This session made it clear that SBL, powered by AI, is not just a future concept but a present-day reality that can significantly elevate our training programs.

    Navigating the Inclusion Maze with AI

    Then there was the eye-opening session by Mychal Patterson of The Rainbow Disruption, titled “AI Doesn’t Mean ‘Always Inclusive.’” This was a deep dive into the potential pitfalls of AI when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Mychal highlighted some serious risks, like biased data leading to exclusionary outcomes and the lack of diversity in AI development teams. These are real challenges that can undermine your DEI efforts if not addressed properly.

    This session was a reminder that while AI offers huge benefits, we need to implement it thoughtfully and inclusively to avoid reinforcing existing biases. We’ve written about inclusive training before, and now we are reminded to be more intentional with avoiding language and representation bias, with or without the use of AI.

    Demystifying AI for Leadership Development

    DDI also showed up strong with Patrick Connell’s session, “Demystify AI for Development: What’s Hype, What’s Real, and What to Do,” which struck a perfect balance between optimism and practicality. He debunked some common myths about AI (i.e. we’re not all losing our jobs) and showcased how it can be a real asset in leadership development.

    From using AI-driven assistants for data analysis to generating personalized content, Connell provided a roadmap for integrating AI into our strategies in a way that enhances, rather than overwhelms. This session made AI seem less daunting and more achievable. Since the conference, HPC has practiced using AI to write first drafts of program learning objectives, training outlines, and more.

    Redesigning Training Programs to Stay Relevant

    Another session that hit home for me was actually during the Chapter Leaders Conference that some of us from ATD Birmingham attended prior to the International Conference. The session was “Making it Competitive: Redesigning Your Chapter Programming to Offer Relevant Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities” by Miko Nino. Miko stressed the importance of continuously updating and evaluating our training programs to keep pace with the changing demands of employers and learners. Using technology to assess and enhance curriculum effectiveness was a major highlight.

    The session also covered developing marketing and financial plans to ensure these programs are not only impactful but also sustainable. It was a comprehensive guide to making our training offerings more competitive and relevant.

    Tackling AI Integration Challenges

    Of course, the conference didn’t shy away from discussing the challenges of integrating AI in training and development. But the consensus was clear: with careful planning and a commitment to ethical considerations, we can mitigate the risks.

    For us, an example might be clearly identifying when something we deliver is made with AI, even in small part. If we use AI to create graphics or images that we share in marketing or in training programs, we need to clearly label those as made with AI. We’re all still learning how to use AI ethically, and it starts with a good faith effort on the front end.

    So…What’s Next?

    ATD24 gave me so many insights on AI in training and development. The sessions highlighted how AI can help make learning more personalized, efficient, and inclusive. But they also underscored the need for thoughtful implementation; the future of T&D is not just about adopting new technologies, but about doing so in a human way that truly enhances learning for everyone.

    For now, my AI journey is all about “do it anyway”. Feel intimidated by AI and use it anyway. Don’t feel very creative? Create anyway. Using AI in my work helps me be creative anyway, and that’s a positive in my book.

    Image made with AI to illustrate the idea of “create anyway”
  • AI and HR- A Series

    AI and HR- A Series

    How would your grandmother state your organizational values? Well, ChatGTP might give you some insights. 

    As I sat down with a client to help them form their values statements after the values mapping session I facilitated, we decided there were a few words that just weren’t right. They were close, but we needed a better word or two, so we stuck what we had into ChatGTP. After various takes on the language, including how your southern grandmother would say it-with of course, several “bless your hearts” thrown in from ChatGTP and some laughter from us- we landed on descriptors that resonated with the behaviors we were trying to articulate through shared language. 

    There is a lot of talk about what AI- Artificial Intelligence-is going to do to this world, or has already done.  Jillian highlighted how it was a focus at the Annual ATD conference in her recent blog post.  As she said, we are all relatively new to it and not very good at it, but think it deserves some attention.  

    Whereas many people want to make AI out to be the next major moral dilemma or our times, the way everyone is going to “cheat” in school and on the job, or what is going to take all our jobs away, I think taking more of a practical approach to what AI is and can do for business, specifically HR deserves some focus. So we are going to spend some time learning and then sharing that learning with you in a series of blog posts. 

    Over the next few weeks, we will be writing about how we and others are using AI to impact HR practices that will hopefully provide insights into how you might use it at work as well. We will talk about the tools being used, give you some thoughts on how it might make you a better practitioner and leader, and provide insights on what we see may be coming next.  

    AI may not be right for your organization just yet, but it may help you get a good laugh in or channel the language of your inner grandmother when you are trying to find just the right words for your next job description, proposal, or values statements.  Or, you could try CanvaAI and let it illustrate your next blog post…. Which illustration do you like better? 

  • Summer is Here – Do You Need a Vacation or a Rhythm?

    Summer is Here – Do You Need a Vacation or a Rhythm?

    Summer is in full swing. The days are long, the kids are out of school, and the office may not be quite as bustling as it usually is whether it’s the physical office space or your email inbox because people are taking vacation. Have you heard of slow productivity?

    I myself just took a long vacation, kicking off the summer for two weeks at the beach, but working intermittently while there. It was a long spring, and for the first time our family was able to check out for more than the standard one week, once a year vacation and get away. 

    While there, I dove deeper into some of Cal Newport’s work around slow productivity. He postulates in his book Deep Work that there are four philosophies for deep work. The type of work you do, your natural disposition, and the season of life you are in all play into which one is best for you. 

    They are: 

    • The Monastic Approach- Eliminate all the shallow work you can to focus deeply on one thing
    • The Bimodal Approach- Create clearly defined stretches for deep work and then back to regular routine for stretches of time
    • The Rhythmic Approach- Daily deep work sessions that occur at consistent times each day
    • The Journalist Approach- Fit in deep work when and where you can. To note, this approach is not for the novice of deep work!

    Watch this cool video to get a good overview of these. 

    While I find something that is appealing in each one of these approaches, you, like me, may not be at a stage in life or working at a place or in a field where one or some of these are realistic. 

    Even though only one approach is called “rhythmic” all of them have some thought of a rhythm tied to them, and it takes some reflection on what rhythms work for you. And these may change overtime.  

    In looking at some of the research as well as my own experience, some thoughts on rhythms emerge to order to do deep work and do it well and consistently: 

    Daily Rhythms- To do your best work: 

    • Break every 50 min to an hour, get up and move around if you work with your mind, sit down and rest if you work with your hands
    • Utilize time blocking techniques to complete tasks that take deep thought; batch work shallow work into a time block to get it done efficiently
    • Honor the “trough” period of the day when your energy is lacking (most people’s is in the early afternoon) by scheduling shallow work or a break during this time
    • For more great thoughts on daily rhythms and the research behind it, read When. 

    Weekly Rhythms– To do your best work: 

    • Take one hour to plan at the beginning of each week (or at the end of the previous week) to map out your “big rocks” for the week and schedule time to get deep work done
    • I like to have one day a week that does not have any meetings or appointments scheduled to focus on deep work and catching up
    • Get a Full Focus Planner to help you with the weekly rhythm and big rock setting

    Monthly to Quarterly Rhythms- To do your best work: 

    • Reflect- What worked and what didn’t in the previous period? Celebrate what did. 
    • Refocus- Chart out goals for the upcoming period and block time for those that may require or need the bimodal approach for deep work if you are lucky enough to have the autonomy to deploy this approach.
    • Again, use the Full Focus Planner to help with this. It operates on a quarterly model so it naturally helps you structure your thinking around reflecting and focusing.

    Yearly Rhythms- To do your best work: 

    • Honor the seasons if your work has periods of intensity and down time and schedule accordingly; deploy the bimodal approach if you can.
    • Our approach at HPC is every three years a sabbatical occurs for deep rest and deep reflection.  This is a period of six to eight weeks of complete time off from work. 

    Overall, rhythms and slow productivity create the opportunity for reflection that helps foster deep and creative work. As the CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky stated on Adam Grant’s podcast, if you don’t create rhythms, “you’re just on the treadmill and that gets boring and anxiety ridden fairly quickly.” 

    How do you create rhythms in your life to do work and do it well?