Onboarding new employees using generative AI

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) is onboarding workers across industries at a record pace. Traditionally a labor-intensive practice, Gen AI significantly reduces the time it takes humans to design and implement onboarding, and may even improve the overall experience.

Also read: Generative AI revenue in fintech market to surge to $16.4 billion in 2032

Gallup research found that only 12% of new hires believe their organization does a good job onboarding new employees. This number is staggering, so if Gen AI can increase that number to half, the long-term retention benefits will be huge. Gallup also found that employees with good onboarding satisfaction were 3.3 times more likely to think their jobs were more beneficial than expected.

Gen AI can take corporate content (video, audio, and text) and extract and deliver it in eLearning modules. For example, getting a new warehouse manager familiar with everything from company culture to day-to-day responsibilities can sometimes take anywhere from three weeks to a month. With Gen AI, however, one can feed the language model employee handbooks as well as company videos and audio for specific job areas. Within minutes, employees can follow several modules in collaboration with a human to guide the process.

Proponents of artificial intelligence are quick to point out that humans remain vital. The conventional argument against AI is that it will destroy jobs. But Gen AI alone cannot replace the voice of the company. Rather, it is a supplement that, with human guidance, can make the entire process more efficient.

Experts in the field follow a 5-step process for integrating artificial intelligence into onboarding. The first step is to recognize the urgency of the current program and the issues that need to be addressed. Secondly, the need to collect data on problem areas, analytical insights, and feedback from department heads is critical. The third is a company-wide AI literacy planning plan, and the fourth is incorporating AI activation into the plan. Artificial intelligence is eventually deployed, but only after metrics for long-term success are developed.

Every company wants talented people to grow and develop within the company. If only 12% of new hires believe the onboarding process is effective, the benefits of Gen AI cannot be ignored.