Shine HR Conclave takes off in Gurugram

The Hans India is the event partner for the conclave which focuses on artificial intelligence

New Delhi: The 52nd Shine HR Conclave, which began at Gurugram here on Friday, drew the attention of industry bigwigs and corporate honchos to certain challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) to HR heads in leveraging potential appropriately, while avoiding the pitfalls.

The Hans India is the event partner for this mega HR conclave attended by representatives from over 100 companies.

To begin with the conference's Delhi edition posed the panellists some key questions haunting the business world following the advances in AI and sought their advice on the strategies to be adopted.

The key factors discussed were: How will AI impact the skill sets required by business in the next two to three years? What’s going to be the effect of AI on traditional HR functions like recruitment, performance reviews, diversity & fairness in the workplaces? What kind of skills will be required so that man-machine collaboration & HR function can work hand in hand? What are the challenges to transition to an AI culture? Eventually, will robots replace the entire human workforce or will there always be new skills in demand? As a number of companies are targeting intelligent assistants, also known as chatbots, or computer algorithms designed to simulate a human conversation to recruit employees, answer HR questions, or personalize learning experiences, the panellists were asked whether it was advisable to plunge into the AI world without weighing in the costs blindly. Some of the major concerns expressed were whether AI would fundamentally alter the nature and culture of the work place, could one really team up with the robots in future to the benefit of the company as well as the society at large and whether the wearable tech help one track mood, productivity and organizational health etc.

HR people are confronted with machine learning and artificial intelligence which have already begun to change the way one understands how organizations work, automate, and make the most effective decisions in their roles as people experts. The conclave sounded out to them that they must be prepared to deal with the new reality as these technologies will be the foundation for our success in the coming years.

One question was sought to be answered by the participants: Is there a choice? The answer was: Yes. It is a Hobson's choice. Well that summed up the conversation. The conclusion was YES AI has its challenges. But, AI will benefit if adopted intelligently. The message was: Let the man's intelligence triumph over the challenges.

The opening note was delivered by Sachin Malhotra, Director, IMS which was followed by stand-up comedy performance by Vasu Primlani. Dr Indira Bharadwaj, chairperson PGDM (Delhi School of Business) furthered the discussion with her note.

Suchitra Rajendra, VP, Human Resources, Pepsico, Ratna Singh, Director HR- Flipkart, Deepa Chadha, Chief Human Resources Officer, Vistara, Kinjal Choudhary, Chief Human Resources Officer, Volvo - Eicher and Biplob Banerjee, VP-Human Resources, Jubilant FoodWorks were the esteemed panellists who guided the participants through the maze of the futuristic scenario. Naveen Diwan, deputy general manager of Paytm and Dr Mary Verghese, Executive Director, The Leprosy Mission, presented the closing note.