A few years ago, advanced technologies were the subject of science fiction movies or futurist novels. Artificial intelligence and robotics were something mad scientists worked on in their laboratories. Since then, these technologies have become a part of most people’s daily lives. Most of us use advanced technologies daily, from purchase suggestions on online shopping platforms to smart home assistants.
But what about the workplace? Here, too, the use of advanced technologies is increasing. As a result, advanced technologies are exciting for human resources professionals to help improve workplace safety. In this article, we are taking a closer look at the potential of advanced technologies in the HR field.
Attracting Top Talent and Selecting the Best Candidates
Recruitment takes up a large proportion of the human resources workflow. Sifting through cover letters and resumes to identify the best interview candidates, going through the interview process, and choosing the best candidates for a job is time-consuming. In addition, there are other pitfalls when the entire process is left to human HR professionals. For example, even with the most thorough training, humans may introduce bias into the selection process by inadvertently considering the age or gender of applicants. Improving the selection process is where advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), can help make the process safer and equitable and support creating a more diverse team.
Processing and analyzing vast quantities of data is one of the strengths of AI-based tools and platforms. As a result, these platforms assess the information they receive faster and with fewer errors than humans could. For example, HR software can evaluate applications for a vacancy, check candidates’ background information, and deliver a pre-selection to your company’s HR team. In addition, programming technology to consider qualifications and experience rather than personal details minimizes bias at this stage of the recruitment process. It also helps keep applicant data safe. Plus, your HR team saves time by eliminating unqualified and unsuitable candidates right at the start.
Streamline Onboarding and Train Employees Effectively
Every new employee requires onboarding and training, whether your business wants to fill a senior executive or entry-level customer service position. In an ideal world, line managers and colleagues could fill that role, but their days are busy already. As a result, onboarding and employee training are in danger of becoming an afterthought.
Compromised onboarding and training processes can easily cause workplace safety problems. For example, in a production environment, new hires may need to be aware of potential dangers from equipment or chemicals. Likewise, in a customer service role, new team members need to learn how to protect customer data and prevent breaches.
eLearning applications offer excellent onboarding and training solutions. Think about providing easy access to company policies and standard operating procedures and presenting them in an interactive way that encourages employees to ask and answer questions. Online learning platforms can also deliver training on critical workplace safety measures or specialized equipment. Delivering this type of training does not necessarily replace an induction provided by the new hire’s line manager. However, it can ensure nothing is missed, limiting the likelihood of incidents and potential worker’s compensation cases later. Online-based training solutions make onboarding more efficient and bring new team members up to speed faster and more efficiently. In addition, they provide your HR team with proof of training delivered.
Alerts for Emergencies
What are your day-to-day on-site safety measures like? For example, has your business installed a CCTV system, and employees must use passes to access your site? These are all excellent technologies to help keep your assets safe. They do limit unauthorized access. But what about protecting workers from environmental hazards? In many jobs, employee safety is impacted by exposure to noise, dust, and other hazardous substances. It can be challenging to realize when safe limits are exceeded and workers are in unnecessary danger.
Environment, health, and safety (EHS) management technology can fill that gap. For example, cost-effective, easy-to-install sensors can measure dust and noise levels in a facility and warn workers when safe levels are being exceeded. Equipping potentially dangerous machinery with panic buttons is another option for keeping lone workers safe 1. Your business could also consider automatic programming shutdowns when a piece of equipment overheats or when the machine detects an anomaly in its typical workflow. More recent safety technologies include wearable panic buttons that send alerts discreetly via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. These solutions allow employees to call for help quickly and effectively.
Robotics and AI
Earlier in our article, we touched on the growing use of AI technologies. Robotics offers another solution to increase workplace safety. Anyone working in a production environment understands that robots are far from the scary creatures that movies would make you believe. They have become indispensable in industries such as automotive manufacturing. The World Economic Forum referred to human-robot collaboration as “the future of manufacturing”2 during the coronavirus pandemic. There is no reason to abandon this collaborative path now.
In hazardous environments, AI-powered robots are excellent tools to help complete tasks that could be dangerous for human workers. By delegating those jobs to machines, companies, and their HR teams can minimize the potential for workplace-related injuries or illnesses and their associated costs.
Robotics are also ideal for completing repetitive tasks. While many of those tasks are relatively easy for humans, they can become mundane over time, increasing the potential for errors and even accidents. Using robotics for repetitive, time-consuming work allows human team members to focus on the tasks that require their creative input and increases overall productivity and safety.
Conclusion
Advanced technologies like AI, robotics, eLearning, and recruitment software offer human resources professionals ways to make workplaces safer and increase efficiency and productivity. These technologies are not designed to take work away from humans. Instead, they can supplement and augment what humans do while reducing workplace dangers for their colleagues. As technology develops, we will likely see new opportunities emerge for further integrating novel technological solutions.
References
1 Keeping lone workers safe, https://bit.ly/3WOpAtG
2 The future of manufacturing, https://bit.ly/3ozFrA0
