How can AI bring the human back to HR and transform the employee experience?
86% of HR leaders believe AI & automation will free up time for more strategic, human-centered work, but only if it’s implemented with purpose'. That’s according to Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report.
It’s an optimistic statistic, no doubt, but it comes with an important caveat. AI alone won’t magically make work more meaningful. AI, and any automation or tech for the matter, is not the solution improving employee engagement or retention. Purposeful implementation though, could be!.
AI presents HR with a new opportunity, one where technology isn’t the end goal, but the enabler of more meaningful human experiences. As ironic as it sounds, the better we get at using technology, the easier it becomes to enhance the human experience at work. But what does this actually look like in day-to-day HR?!
The everyday reality behind the HR role
It’s important to pause for a moment, and recognise just how much HR is carrying these days. Between managing constant labour market change, supporting employee wellbeing, and responding to business pressures, the weight of responsibility can feel immense. Many HR professionals entered the field to make a difference in people’s lives, yet the demands of administration can sometimes pull them away from the human connection that inspired their work in the first place.
HR is now expected to look after people, shape culture, lead transformation, leverage data, and influence strategy - all at once. On top of this, AI has become the latest “must-have”. But how clearly does AI, or automation, help reduce turnover, engage employees, and attract the right talent? Which is ultimately the business need around this innovation.
In this context, carving out time for reflection learning, and re-imagining the employee experience can feel like a luxury, when, in reality, these are the very basic ingredients of a thriving workplace.
If anything, HR doesn’t need to do more. HR needs the space, clarity, and supportive tools to do what truly matters - the people work that no technology can replace.
The opportunity: from efficiency to experience
This is where AI and automation offer a real opportunity; not as another system to learn or a layer of complexity to manage, but as a partner that helps HR return to its purpose. When implemented as part of a well-designed employee-experience, AI can work quietly in the background to streamline repetitive, time-heavy tasks, relieving the cognitive load and freeing HR to focus on what matters most: human connection and time with team members.
In other words, AI isn’t about doing more with less. Simply speeding up outdated processes doesn’t change anything. But when it’s applied as part of a ‘process’ that now can include more thought-out communications, creativity, inspiration, and so on, AI becomes a tool for transformation, enabling HR to move beyond managing processes to designing experiences that transform the employee experience. In such workplaces, technology and humanity coexist, insights from data guide empathy, and every interaction can be more a little more personal, a little more intentional.
The impact? A ripple effect across the organisation:
Lower turnover, higher engagement, higher performance.... why? because the environment is designed for the employee to thrive (and in turn the business thrives)
That’s the real opportunity AI brings — not to do HR faster, but to make work more human.
AI isn’t about doing more with less. Simply speeding up outdated processes doesn’t change anything. But when it’s applied as part of a ‘process’ that now can include more thought-out communications, creativity, inspiration, and so on, AI becomes a tool for transformation, enabling HR to move beyond managing processes to designing employee experiences that drive business results.
Where to begin: one human experience at a time
Reimagining the employee experience doesn’t require a radical transformation. It starts with intentional, small steps.
Here’s how HR teams can begin:
Pick one crucial challenge at the workplace: lack of quality CVs being received? Early turnover?
Understand the challenge from the people experiencing it: HR team? Line managers? Leadership?
Discuss and co-design a purposeful solution with the parties involved: could any tech be part of this solution by easing the problem or enriching the experience?
Test and measure: Test your solution and assess its impact using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods - whatever best captures any results.
Share the story: Communicate your results through internal channels, and where relevant, share learnings externally to inspire or strengthen your employer brand.
Through co-creation, HR can change their own narrative around the function. It’s a powerful way of how HR becomes the architect of connection rather than just the executor of administrative tasks.
A more human future begins today
Imagine if just five years from now:
Routine HR tasks are largely automated
Leaders and employees co-design solutions
HR designs experiences that employees talk about for years
That future starts with the choices we make today. By using AI purposefully, not simply for efficiency, but in the service of employees, HR can create workplaces where people feel they genuinely belong. Each small redesign sends out ripples of engagement, gradually building a culture where people want to stay - a space where they can thrive, and contribute their best.
If you're interested in moving away from HR process to employee experiences that drive performance and help you stand out, lets have a chat. hello@vanessacamenzuli.com
This article was adapted from a keynote delivered at the HR Connect Malta virtual conference UNMUTED, Sept 2025.