Lead the Future Workplace with AI

The emergence of ChatGPT

Given the buzz it’s created, there’s a great chance you have heard about ChatGPT – an interactive chatbot powered by machine learning. All you have to do is give it a prompt and wait for the work to be done.

ChatGPT is smart – and could be the beginning of a revolution!

• It would have received a B or B- on a Warton MBA exam, according to a professor at Wharton.
• It passed all three parts of the United States medical licensing examination within a comfortable range.
• It recently passed exams in four law school courses.

And hundreds of users have tried it out – and the technology can do an endless array of things.

HR Chats with ChatGPT

If you haven’t tested ChatGPT to see what it can do to make your HR job easier, we have! We asked it to produce a job ad content for different roles, an email to an unsuccessful applicant, and a warning letter for disciplinary issues – Check out its responses here. And to be fair, with some minor tweaks, some of these are ready to be used!

A user challenged ChatGPT to draft the first invitation email to begin a performance review process and the agenda for the meeting. And to be honest, the outcome produced by AI was surprisingly close to a final version. If the user had asked an intern, or an executive assistant to write the first draft, it would likely take them a lot longer and the outcome would not necessarily be better. 

What could be the difference?

However, let’s have a closer look at the warning letter produced by ChatGPT and compare it with a sample from Employment New Zealand.

The sample letter from Employment New Zealand:

• Clearly states that the letter is private and confidential
• Makes it clear that this is a written warning from the start
• Details the meeting that happened prior to the warning and the employees’ responses
• Stated if this is first/ second or final warning and possible disciplinary outcomes (termination) if the expectations are not met

Although ChatGPT’s warning letter is completely usable, Employment NZ’s sample sets out a better example of good practice. And this may have been built through consultation and the experience of the composer.

This is an example of how people learn and grow by doing things themselves. We may love the potential for ChatGPT and similar technologies to reduce the burden of writing the first drafts, but we may also risk removing the “figuring things out” part of young talent’s career path. (Source: Castlebridge – Please note: This article may contain strong language and potentially offensive content)

A question for HR professionals

How can we actively plan for knowledge management and skills development in an era of "automagically" generated first drafts?

Always start with your people.

Keep in mind, ChatGPT or any other AI technology acts as a tool rather than a replacement. This tool can accelerate the start of a thinking process, but it’s human judgement and discretion that makes a difference.

• Remind them not to completely rely on AI for tasks without any judgement. For example, if they never actually write a job ad themselves, how can they call out any mistakes generated by AI?
• Be careful with any AI technology adoption. Bringing in a new system requires lots of planning and engagement.
• Equip your employees with proper training on how to best use the technology
• Reassure your employees that the technology does not have the emotional intelligence and empathy that people possess, and that their human touch matters
• Keep yourself updated with new technologies and implied associated potential and risks