Recap of the uKnowva HRMS Webinar ft. SkillsConnect held on 10th Aug 2024

Introduction

Let’s get into the recap of the uKnowva HRMS webinar. Our team hosted this in our partnership with SkillsConnect, Acura Solutions, and Ace Human Capital Limited on 10th August 2024. 

It was a 90-minute Zoom session on the topic of “Generation Elevation: AI’s Role in CHRO’s Upliftment” led by our invited guest speakers:

• Dr. Premankur Das (CHRO, Robustrade DMCC)
• Vipul Dave (Ex Group VP-HR, Jindal Poly Films Limited)
• Raamann Ahuja (Group CHRO, PDS Limited)

We are honoured to say that Sunil Kabra, Director at Ace Human Capital Ltd., anchored this season with grace and confidence, adding spice to his experience and distinguished viewpoints from time to time. 

Without further delays, let’s get down to business and learn more about the highlights of this incredibly insightful webinar we hosted last week!

Get into the Recap of the uKnowva HRMS Webinar ft. SkillsConnect

Sunil Kabra began the webinar by introducing all speakers and highlighting the topic of how AI can revolutionise and reshape the trajectory of CHROs. 

“AI is powerful enough to help the L&D solutions and make the talent search more strategic.”

• Sunil Kabra, Director at Ace Human Capital Ltd.

Surely, AI in HR is not just a trend or a momentary blip in the revolutionary times we live in. Rather, it’s the byproduct of decades of technological advancements in HR practices from the earliest workdays of recordkeeping to a level where we leverage AI-powered data and performance management systems. 

The Transition from Excel to Sophisticated AI-driven HRMS Tools

Raamann Ahuja (Group CHRO, PDS Limited) began pointing out his viewpoint on this question. He shared that in today’s world, information is freely available online from search engines to AI chatbots. 

“What today’s generation needs is experience, lessons to be learned from veterans, and to be smarter and better.”

• Raamann

Upliftment is the upgradation of one’s moral, spiritual score, or living condition in which they live. He started his career in 1996 and has been in organisations like Asian Paints, where he was hired straight from the campus hiring processes. 

That time, he was in a room full of manual paperwork or heaps of resumes. At that time, hiring and recruitment technology terms were just jargon that had yet to be explored and forayed into. 

Those were the times when they read resumes word-for-word by opening each such envelope of resumes they received. They segregated the same by:

• City
• State
• Education
• Gender and more

Then they had to put all that data in an Excel spreadsheet, which took them days if not weeks! 

“That experience taught me the chronology of reading the resumes and having meaningful conversations with each candidate as I was beginning my career as a management trainee.”

• Raamann

It’s an algorithm, data, chatbots, and much more now in 2024 that can make the work and candidate connection seamless. 

Technology has enhanced the speed of completing and delivering such tasks. 

There is a gap in the process, though, of not being able to find the right talent. Back in 1996, we would complete shortlisting top-of-the-tier candidates (10 out of 2000 as an example) in 24 hours because our human-to-human connection was pretty strong and to the point. 

So the technology is yet to evolve to a level where this supposed war of talent can be overruled once and for all. 

“While the technology remains, let’s not lose the essence of the reasons to bring these technologies onboard in the first place.”

• Raamann

Dr. Premankur Das (CHRO, Robustrade DMCC) took the baton and explained his viewpoint ahead. 

“Human intelligence must be sharpened further. AI tools are there to uplift our emotional intelligence and to adopt ethical and thoughtful practices while integrating them into different aspects of our business. ” 

• Dr. Premankur Das

Outcomes of the AI-driven Technological Adoption for CHROs and HR Leaders

“It’s not only about updating tools but also about evolving processes and mindsets,” said Dr. Premankur Das while explaining the relevance of technological adoption for CHROs. It’s like moving from a typewriter to a touchscreen phone or device. 

We do not just change the device when we move onto AI-driven HR software or tools but also transform the way we communicate at an enterprise level. 

“Remember that AI isn’t the magic wand but a powerful tool which needs to be thoughtfully utilised and implemented in our businesses.”

• Dr. Premankur Das

How are CHROs Preparing for AI-based Technological Shifts?

SkillsConnect is one of the partners of uKnowva HRMS today, helping campuses and corporates bridge the gap of talent, making it easier to hire, source, and onboard talent the right way. 

Similarly, uKnowva HRMS is here to streamline and automate major tasks like payroll, performance management, recruitment, requests and claims, reporting systems, timesheets, and offboarding all at once for the CHROs to make data-driven decisions at ease. 

Vipul Dave (Ex Group VP-HR, Jindal Poly Films Limited) took the webinar ahead while narrating his viewpoints on this topic. 

He was once leading a large organisation, in charge of mission-critical PMS activities. They had completed 98-99 percent of the activities. Rest of the tasks, he had delegated to the team to connect the Excel data entries to their online systems to be done with it. 

Interestingly, the person who was given this task goofed up the majority of the entries. 

Now, it’s a major onus on the CHROs to foresee and estimate these kinds of human errors while copying and pasting data from Excel spreadsheets to online systems. That seems like a challenge to many, given the stringent bandwidth and the strategic tasks they have to see through already. 

That is when the AI tools are expected to run these audits and multiple maker-checkers to avoid humane errors. That will enhance the quality of the payroll process and equip the organisation to pay, praise, and promote deserving candidates on time. 

However, who must we blame for such errors is also a question. Should we blame it on the person, Excel sheets, or the unintelligent and outdated systems?

“AI is at its nascent stage where artificial intelligence is developing rapidly. It is at a space where we see ChatGPT revolutionising our daily HR activities and performance. But are these data maker-checkers and processors reliable? We still need more vetting and re-confirmation as strategic partners to the business heads and CEOs for better outcomes.”

• Vipul Dave

How to Manage the Technological Shift as CHROs?

Here is a great opportunity for the HR function to uplift as when we say stay ahead of technology, Raamann suggests that we use it every day. 

Writing the queries on Google and other search engines is now easy to get on with tasks like coding, programming, scheduling, and executing anything possible on the net. 

With AI-driven tools like ChatGPT or AI Suggest by uKnowva HRMS, we can have questions, answers, scripts, or templates with us in seconds while shortlisting talent to bridge the talent war. 

“We must now continue to learn and become a better student of life.”

• Raamann

Similarly, Sunil chimed in and confirmed that human touch and intelligence are critical to making everyday decisions and managing work-life balance like a pro. 

A Take on Overcoming Barriers as CHROs when Adopting AI in HR

CHROs play the role of navigators, navigating our businesses in the sea of AI and automation. We have to team up and synchronise the entire task force. 

“For the purpose of continued development and learning, we have to team up to utilise our knowledge, be ethical, and ensure that there is a smooth transition of technology and responsibility.”

• Dr. Premankur Das

We must embrace a life-long learning process, and the same practice should be taught to our individual teams. Those are some of the ways to overcome the barriers to adopting new-gen technology as CHROs in the growing stages of our businesses.

Conclusion:

The overall recap of the uKnowva HRMS webinar ft. SkillsConnect was enriching as it ended with a full-fledged discussion. There were multiple questions from the listeners, forwarded by Vicky Jain (Founder & CEO, uKnowva HRMS) to our speakers to answer with grit, determination, and the experience of their lifelong journey as the masters of people management. 

YouTube Recording of the 10th August 2024 Webinar:

https://youtu.be/enHMXLrU2U8

Don’t forget to share this recording with your immediate network of HR professionals for learning insights on AI’s involvement in CHRO’s upliftment and the future of people management from a technologically-driven decisions standpoint.