IBM launches new venture to help companies adopt AI

Dive Brief:

IBM has announced IBM Talent & Transformation, a new venture geared to assist companies incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into their business practices, according to a press release. It also launched the IBM AI Skills Academy, which seeks to educate business and technical professionals in areas like marketing, HR, legal, finance and operations. IBM established IBM Garage as well, physical places where leaders can work with IBM experts to discuss, test and develop ideas.
Specifically, IBM Talent & Transformation can help companies use AI to attract and retain a diverse and talented workforce ready to keep pace with their organization's growth, according to IBM. Two-thirds of CEOs have said AI will bring value to HR, but only 11% of CHROs have reported that their organizations have adopted the technology, a recent IBM study reported.
When IBM introduced AI tools to its own HR department, it saw more than $300 million in benefits to the company, with more than $100 million in benefits in 2017 alone, it said. The tools also made way for better satisfaction among candidates, employees and managers.

Dive Insight:

The job seeker's market has created a strong need for AI among HR departments. Candidates expect a speedy time-to-hire, but hiring managers face piles of resumes. At the same time, recruitment officers need to select new hires who will do their job well and stick around for a while, or else engagement and retention — and the bottom line — will suffer. AI, if used correctly, can address these conundrums.

"Many large organizations are using AI in their recruiting platforms to do everything from facial/speech recognition to simulated assessments that crunch data based on emotional responses and body language," Jason Carney, HR director at WorkSmart Systems, Inc, previously told HR Dive.

AI has proved itself a helpful tool, but it hasn't eclipsed human workers entirely. "Although there is an abundance of resume screening tools and psychological profiling tests that do an excellent job of eliminating candidates who lack the necessary traits for the role or company, interviews, in particular, still need a human element," said Keith Johnstone, marketing manager at Peak Sales Recruiting.

In short, workers need AI and AI needs workers. AI can offer a major assist to employees who are bogged down with busywork, but the technology will not successfully offer the human touch a real person brings to the table, experts have said.