How AI is changing HR (With a Prompt to Future-Proof Your Role)

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Change is coming, but won’t happen overnight.

Robots are not taking over our jobs just yet. For most people, the change will be significant but gradual. New tools will be introduced and quickly become the new normal. When e-mail replaced fax, we welcomed it. The same will happen with AI.

HR needs a reset, AI is an opportunity.

Let’s be honest, HR has some ground to make up in terms of evolution. We aren’t known for our big bold bets and innovative spirit. We’ve been stuck in firefighting mode for too long, going from crisis to crisis, instead of getting ahead of it.

We should be building companies where people thrive. AI is our ticket out of this existential crisis, as it allows us to lead that much needed change. But only if we pay attention to the big shift that is happening and jump on this opportunity. Time to press CTRL, ALT, HR (AI came up with this joke, I do apologize).

My name is Roland Grootenboer. I write, speak and work as a People Leader and work expert. I’m on a quest to shape the future of work. Our career consists of 2000 weeks, which is too long to live for the weekend and wait for retirement. I’m trying to help people make their working lives full of joy, impact and meaning. Check out my bestseller (in Dutch), Substack (Het Betere Werk), my recent keynote or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Here’s how AI is changing HR today

Let’s take a closer look at three core HR functions: Operations, Business Partners and Recruitment. How are they evolving already with AI and what space is left for humans (spoiler: a lot)?

The biggest change is happening in People Operations.

There is a lot of recurring, predictable work in this space. Five years from now, fewer people will be working as a People Ops Specialist (but there is hope, keep reading). Here are two examples that are happening today.

• AI HR agents can answer questions about policies and processes (e.g. leave management, payslips, data collection) based on FAQs and workflows created by People Ops.
• Standard workflows can be automated with AI. Contract generation, holiday planning, onboarding checklists, data collection and reporting, note taking and calendar management.

If your job consists of a lot of clicking, printing, signing, scanning, planning, it’s time to switch gears. Familiarize yourself with AI agents and tools. There are a lot of tools (Deel, HiBob, Ashby, Remote, Personio, Humaans) out there which have incorporated AI brilliantly. You don’t need to be an AI-wizard to get started.

This is where the People Tech Specialist enters the chat. Although AI agents will take over most of this recurring and predictable work, we need people to manage these tools. Technical specialists who understand the process, preferred quality outcome and how to leverage AI. The people who are currently doing the work (the People Ops Specialist) are best placed to transform into this role. Use the prompt at the bottom of this article to get started on your transformation.

Next up are the HR Business Partners (HRBPs), who give strategic advice and solve complex and dynamic issues in the workplace. This consulting role feels quite soft as you’re having a lot of conversations with human beings. You’re coaching, advising, mediating, so what is there to automate? Here are a few examples of how AI can help you:

• Taking notes, extracting action items, scheduling follow-ups and generating summaries.
• Create career paths and facilitate deep growth conversations based on resumes, historic data, open roles and performance reviews.
• Create training material, slide decks, templates and guides.
• Company wide performance history lookup, surface trends, deliver insights and generate summaries.
• Track wellbeing through surveys, surface issues, suggest solutions, and plan interventions strategically.

AI will allow HRBPs to double down on the added value of a personal interaction. Applying judgment and making nuanced decisions with empathy and intuition. Coaching and advising managers on layered challenges. Mediate conflicts, manage sensitive exits and work on leadership development. With AI in the mix, we have more time to experiment with new ideas and implement frameworks and structures that allow people to thrive. Let’s use the time we’re getting back to get ahead of issues and reinvent (or reimagine) the workplace.

Last but not least, there’s a lot happening in Recruitment. Historically, people involved in hiring are the most tech savvy, innovative and forward thinking (doing Boolean search before it was cool). Here are some examples of how AI can support during the hiring process:

• Autogenerate candidate profiles, job descriptions (JD) and score cards, based on intake forms and various input from stakeholders.
• Supporting fairer and faster hiring committee decisions (reducing bias).
• Correlating hiring decisions to actual performance after 12 months. Rating hiring managers based on quality of hires.
• Scheduling (no more calendar Tetris).
• Sourcing: finding, selecting, matching candidates and reaching out.
• Create databases of structured interview questions and work samples (take home assignments) and tailor them to the role or candidate.

Like People Operations, Recruiters will have to become even more tech savvy, to leverage all of these possibilities. Next to that, it will allow them to spend more time on strategy, candidate experience, employer branding, building talent pools and closing candidates in the offer stage. All in all, this is good news.

Okay, now what?

I hope you agree that this is good news. Our work is changing (yay!). If you don’t know where to start, take your own job description and put it in ChatGPT (oh the irony). Copy (and tailor) this prompt below, which I generated and tailored with AI.

Act as a strategic advisor for the future of HR. I’m an HR professional working in a fast-growing company [ADD SPECIFICS TO YOUR ROLE AND SITUATION HERE]. My goal is to future-proof my role by understanding how AI, automation, and new ways of working are changing HR — and how I can adapt, lead, and stay relevant.

Break your advice down into these layers:

1. **What to automate** in my current role using AI or tools (based on common workflows and time spent)
2. **What to evolve** — practices, mindsets, skills that are becoming outdated or need rethinking
3. **What to learn** — skills I need to build now to stay valuable in 1–3 years
4. **What to lead** — strategic initiatives I could own in my org to drive the future of work

Give me insights that are practical, forward-looking, and tailored to someone in HR who wants to lead transformation, not chase it.

Enjoy the ride, we got this friends.

And let me know in the comments how your role is changing and what trends we should not miss in this space.