HR pros urged to embrace AI without losing human focus

Human resource managers must move beyond tasks that artificial intelligence can perform and demonstrate their value through human judgement, empathy and leadership, the president of the Human Resource Management Association of Barbados (HRMAB) Incorporated, Tisha Peters, has said.

At the biennial 2026 People Development Conference at the Hilton Barbados Resort on Wednesday, held under the theme “Workforce 2030: Ready or Not”, Peters, an avid aviation enthusiast, used the example of commercial pilots, explaining that although modern aircraft have advanced automation systems, pilots must understand how they work and know when to take control.

The same principle applies to HR professionals as AI increasingly takes over routine administrative tasks, she said: “Technology will not replace people, but people who master technology will replace those who do not, and that includes all of us.”

HR professionals must demonstrate their value by moving beyond routine administrative functions and taking a more strategic role in their organisations, Peters said.

She cited the example of global fintech company Klarna, which announced in 2024 that its AI assistant was doing the work of 700 customer service agents, but later acknowledged that it was hiring humans again after customer service quality deteriorated.

She also pointed to US technology company Bolt, which she said had reduced its workforce from 2 500 people to 100 following a restructuring centred on AI.

Bolt’s chief executive had announced that its entire HR team had been eliminated, which raised questions for Peters about the value organisations placed on the profession.

“The answer is very simple. If all our HR departments do is what a chatbot can do for free, we would not be surprised when the company chooses a chatbot.”

Peters also called for employers to rethink their recruitment practices, noting that job advertisements sometimes required ten years of experience in fields where the technology was only a few years old.

“We have to stop hiring exclusively for what people have done and start hiring for what they can learn,” she said, urging employers to look within their organisations for workers who could be trained to fill emerging roles.

She outlined three principles for HR professionals: keeping people at the centre of technological adoption, making continuous learning a daily practice and leading digital transformation within their organisations.

“Every digital tool we adopt should exist to free up our time for human work, for the hard conversations, the coaching, and the intentional care. 

“If a tool makes your HR department less human, you are using the wrong tool.”

Peters challenged delegates to learn at least one new tool, use it to automate or fix a tedious task and then teach a colleague how to use it.

Also addressing the conference, Minister of Labour Colin Jordan said HR professionals had an increasingly important responsibility to ensure that technological advances did not come at the expense of workers’ wellbeing and dignity.

He also warned HR professionals against becoming so focused on being seen as part of the management team that employees no longer felt comfortable approaching them with workplace concerns.

“I’m not saying to you that you abandon discipline. I’m saying to you that you apply discipline in a human way.”

He also spoke of the challenges associated with hybrid work, including stress, burnout, isolation and blurred boundaries between professional and personal life.

Jordan said the expansion of gig and platform work was also challenging traditional approaches to employment relationships, worker protection and social dialogue.

He pointed to the International Labour Organisation’s adoption of a convention on decent work in the platform economy in June, which seeks to address working conditions, protections and fundamental rights for workers in the sector. Jordan said two Barbadians were involved in its development and that he chaired the standard-setting committee.

The minister said the challenge was no longer whether technology would change the world of work, but whether workers and organisations would be equipped to adapt.

“The challenge is whether we will equip workers and organisations to adapt successfully to the change.”

Jordan said preparing for the future would require governments to develop forward-looking policies, employers and workers to embrace change, and educational institutions to prepare learners for emerging realities.

He added that people development professionals would have to lead workplace transformation while all parties committed to social dialogue.

The conference marked 30 years of the Human Resource Management Association of Barbados Incorporated advancing people development in Barbados.

(LG)

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