Two thirds of HR professionals (66.3 percent) are using AI on a daily basis, representing a 12 percent increase in use from last year.
However, while informal AI use is growing, just 3.6 percent of HR have formally integrated it into their work processes, research has found.
The findings, from Brightmine, come as AI is quickly becoming an essential tool for business growth.
The research, conducted with 196 organisations, representing a total of 276,171 employees, revealed a number of barriers to formal, and potentially more effective, AI adoption. These include time constraints, a dearth of skills, and gaps in internal employer policies.
Almost two fifths (38.8 percent) of respondents said their employer has not started to officially use AI at work.
Six in ten (60 percent) HR professionals pointed to a lack of time as a key obstacle to AI adoption. The same proportion (60 percent) highlighted a skills gap issue, reporting that they feel they lack the necessary AI knowledge to use the tool effectively.
Less than a third (32.1 percent) of employers have formal AI use guidelines indicating a major policy gap that will slow take up.
Researchers said that smaller organisations are particularly affected as 60 percent of companies with fewer than 250 employees said they had no AI guidelines, policies, or principles in place.
In spite of this, smaller organisations still recognise the benefits as 100 percent of the small businesses surveyed said AI has helped reduce HR’s workload.
It’s clear that while HR teams are experimenting with AI, they are hesitating to formally integrate it into their processes. Survey results showed that 67.5 percent of organisations with more than 1,000 employees have experimented with AI but have not formalised its use in HR. Less than half (47.5 percent) of these medium sized firms have developed guidelines, principles, or a policy for the use of AI.
HR are aware of the greater potential AI has to transform work, with 96.3 percent reporting that that the biggest potential value for HR teams is time saving.
Results showed different perspectives of AI’s value across sectors. Two fifths (40 percent) of not-for-profits worry about AI’s impact on job security, while 45 percent of public sector organisations have not experimented with AI at all, compared to 35 percent of not-for-profit organisations.
“HR professionals are eager to use AI, but without the right skills and clear guidelines, there’s a risk of inconsistent use leading to poor decision-making and missed opportunities. Organisations that invest now in training, clear policies, and support can turn AI from a personal productivity boost into a strategic organisational advantage,” said Sheila Attwood, senior content manager, HR data and insights, at Brightmine.
