Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Next Generation Workforce and Workplace

We help individuals, organizations, and communities think innovatively about the next generation workforce and workplace. Read these forward-thinking stories and best practices from our work and lives.

  • 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.

  • 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? 

  • How To Toss Around Ideas

    How To Toss Around Ideas

    Today I saw a giant raccoon throw light bulbs to people at Space Camp. That’s a real sentence. 

    Sprocket, loveable mascot of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, threw Horizon Point stress balls – made to look like light bulbs – to attendees of the 2024 Launch Tank Competition. It was a wild and wonderful moment. But let’s back up. 

    John Kvach and his Singing River Trail team partner with LAUNCH and Innovate Alabama to host a business pitch competition for entrepreneurs in North Alabama, known as Launch Tank. “Our vision goes beyond the competition,” Kvach says. “We want to connect as many entrepreneurs to the Singing River Trail as possible, making North Alabama a better place to live, work, and play.”

    This year, Horizon Point supported Launch Tank as a Seed Sponsor. If you know Horizon Point, then you may know that Give Back is one of our operating values, and each year we intentionally earmark a portion of the budget to financially support an initiative or two that we believe in. So, this week’s blog is all about celebrating the innovation happening in our own backyard.

    Horizon Point is a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and we proudly support entrepreneurship and small business initiatives in our state. Mary Ila is an Advisor for EDPA’s Alabama Launchpad. I get to serve on the selection committee for Decatur Morgan CEO for high school students interested in entrepreneurship. We partner with The Catalyst, The E-Center, and the Alabama Network of Entrepreneurial Women. We believe in equal opportunity, and it’s a joy to support opportunity networks. 

    When Launch Tank Co-Chair Lisa Mays said she might throw our Horizon Point light bulbs to people, we didn’t know John Kvach and Sprocket would start throwing them on stage. We also didn’t realize how symbolic it would be to throw light bulbs at an event built on innovation until Lisa said, “They’re like ideas! We’re just tossing around ideas!” We could not have said it better ourselves. 

    We are so grateful for programs like these in our backyard, and it’s an easy decision to Give Back to Singing River Trail Launch Tank. After all, who doesn’t want to catch a light bulb from a raccoon? 

    Want more? Check out the featured clip below or this article from WHNT. See the full list of finalists from Quad Cities Daily. 

  • Why Appreciation in the Workplace Matters

    Why Appreciation in the Workplace Matters

    Remember Mary Ila’s take on “How to Be Authentic with Your Appreciation at Work”? We reference Chapman & White all the time in training and coaching with our clients. To celebrate Valentine’s Day with full hearts in the workplace, we’re bringing you an early look at the new updated version of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. 

    We subscribe to the newsletter from Appreciation at WorkTM and got one of the first announcements of the new, post-COVID research on professional appreciation. Right away, I asked the team if we could do a blog about it. New research!? Yes! Here’s the blurb we got: 

    Appreciation at Work has done peer-reviewed research and polling through and post-COVID. The result of this research is a completely new chapter on how to effectively show appreciation to remote and hybrid employees including topics such as: 

    • the variety of remote work relationships 
    • trust in remote work relationships 
    • creating and maintaining a workplace culture 
    • the employer/supervisor perspective 
    • the employee perspective 
    • the key to keeping remote employees 
    • what neuroscience is showing 

    This edition also includes updated research (50+ citations) of data shared about the importance of appreciation and its positive impact on the functioning of businesses & organizations (including increased productivity and higher profitability when your employees feel appreciated.

    Source: Appreciation at Work

    I read it, loved it, laughed, cringed, and mostly just appreciated for the millionth time that Gary Chapman & Paul White adapted the Love Languages for professional relationships. They present their research on appreciation at work in a relatable, real life way. Here are some of my favorite quotes, classic and new:

    • “During the Great Resignation of 2022, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that employees were three times more likely to resign due to a lack of appreciation in comparison to financial compensation issues.”
    • “When leaders actively pursue teaching their team members how to communicate authentic appreciation in the ways desired by the recipients, the whole work culture improves. Interestingly, even managers and supervisors report they enjoy their work more. All of us thrive in an atmosphere of appreciation.”
    • “74% of employees never or rarely express gratitude to their boss.” (Reminder that appreciation is important up, down, and sideways!)
    • “There is a distinct difference between the Quality Time employees desire from their supervisor and what they value from co-workers. In response to this issue, we expanded the Motivating by Appreciation Inventory to allow individuals to indicate what actions they desire and from whom they want them.”
    • Acts of Service are about the other person, not about you. “Ask before you help. Don’t assume you know what help they want or need. If you are going to help, do it their way.”
    • “Our research with over 375,000 employees found that Tangible Gifts is the least chosen language of appreciation.” So if you’re going to do it, it’s important to give gifts “primarily to those individuals who appreciate them” and “give a gift the person values”. (Lorrie wrote about HPC’s take on gifts in “A Few of Our Favorite Things”.)
    • “The surest way to find out the appropriateness of Physical Touch is simply to inquire.” Many people appreciate a good high five, fist bump, or handshake to celebrate a job well done. Just check with them first, and don’t hold it against them if they prefer not to touch.

    Chapman & White also devote an entire chapter to the ROI of genuine appreciation. Take a look at these charts from the book: 

    Flow chart indicating that personally relevant authentic appreciation leads to employee engagement; which leads to reduced turnover, reduced absenteeism, and improved productivity; which leads to a better bottom line. 
    Table chart indicating the overall impact of employee engagement in organizations. One column lists results of employee engagement, and one column describes the associated research findings.

    Regarding remote and hybrid teams, Chapman & White basically say the needs are the same as fully in-person teams, but the intensity of certain needs are different. Here’s a snippet from the chapter on remote teams: 

    “In one study, prior to COVID-19, with almost 90,000 individuals who had taken our online assessment…we found that Words of Affirmation was the most desired appreciation language, followed by Quality Time and Acts of Service. But remote employees chose Quality Time as their primary language of appreciation more frequently (35% of employees) than workers on site (25%). The same pattern was found with employees both during the pandemic and afterwards.” 

    They go on to say, “…the single most important lesson we learned for effectively communicating appreciation to remote colleagues is that one must be more proactive than in face-to-face relationships. The most important factor is to understand, affirm, and relate to your colleagues as people.”

    If you saw our new team video highlighting our operating values, or if you’re a longtime HPC friend, you know that People First is our number one value. We are all just people, with the same ups and downs, and the same desire to be loved, appreciated, and valued. If we were to sum up the 5 languages book(s) in the simplest terms, we’d say Be People First. Be people first toward yourselves, and be people first towards others. 

    If we remember to be People First, we just might get better at genuine appreciation all on our own. 

    For individuals or teams interested in learning more about The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, we highly suggest starting with the MBA InventoryTM, then reading the book (or listening to the audiobook). If you purchase the book, it comes with an access code to take the inventory. If you’d like to jump straight to the inventory, you can buy a single access code or codes for your entire team here. (I feel like it’s important for me to say that we’re not being paid to promote any of this, we just really like it.)