Aimee
van der Haar
Published on
July 22, 2025
Have you ever felt like a huge decision about your work was being made in another room, without your input? For many in Human Resources, the current explosion of conversations around Artificial Intelligence can feel just like that. Major strategies are being formed and tools are being vetted, but the very people who are the guardians of the employee experience are often not included in the discussion.
This is more than just a feeling; it’s a reality we see every day. And it’s a reality that puts your company, your employees, and your department at risk.
In a recent episode of Verified First’s HR At The Table webinar, our founder and CEO, Beth White, explored this growing disconnect. As she put it, “Frankly, I'll put it out there. I'm a little concerned that HR people are not part of some of these conversations”. Increasingly, we see IT departments tasked with the enormous job of finding and approving AI technology for the entire company. While this makes sense from a security and infrastructure perspective, it overlooks the unique and critical needs of HR.
An IT professional is trained to look at technology through a specific lens. They are focused on system integrations, data security, and operational efficiency. Their goal is to find a robust tool that can be implemented company wide. However, they may not fully grasp the nuanced and highly sensitive nature of the information HR handles daily.
For Human Resources, there is absolutely no room for error. Beth explained this perfectly: “IT teams may not understand why that's so critical in HR. We deliver policy information. We deliver payroll benefits. All the critical information that there's no room for misalignment from an AI answer”. Your work is built on a foundation of precision and employee trust. The risk of an AI tool “hallucinating” or providing an incorrect answer is not just an inconvenience; it can be a massive breach of that trust. If technology is chosen for you without your expert input, it will almost certainly fail this fundamental test.
This is not a problem for the future; the AI conversation is happening today. Your CEO is likely discussing AI’s impact in their annual reports and in boardroom meetings as you’re reading this. The risk of sitting back and waiting is that solutions will be chosen for you, and your team will be forced to adapt to tools that do not truly serve your employees or your strategic goals. The train is leaving the station, and ensuring it heads in a productive, people first direction requires your voice.
Feeling empowered to step into this conversation can be daunting, but it starts with simple, proactive steps. Beth’s main message was one of action: “If you leave here today, I hope it will be with empowered energy to be a voice and to be part of these conversations that will impact not only your role within the company but the role of all the employees in the future as well”.
Begin by talking with your manager and other HR leaders. Ask simple but direct questions: What is our company’s official stance on AI? How do we foresee it impacting our employees and our customers? You can even use publicly available tools to research what your own company is saying in its annual reports to get a head start.
You are not alone in this. Your counterparts in marketing, sales, and operations are also eager to use these new tools to make their work better. Reach out to them. By forming a coalition, you can present a united front asking for safe, approved, and effective AI solutions that meet everyone’s needs.
No one knows your world better than you. Take the time to think through and document your specific needs for any AI solution. Beth advises that “the more we become vocal and start to actually approach the people within other departments and say, 'Hey, I need to have a say in the types of solutions we're going to be using, especially if it impacts the employee experience,' Then you'll be invited to those conversations”. Being prepared to clearly articulate your requirements is one of the most powerful things you can do.
It is natural to have some hesitation about AI, but the true purpose of AI in the workplace is not to replace people, but to augment and empower them. “The idea is that people will have more meaningful work to do and not the routine manual work,” Beth shared.
One of the best ways to overcome this fear is to embrace curiosity. As Beth said, “A lot about using AI is bringing that playful self of yours out…with AI, especially generative AI… it is meant for you to play and experiment with”. Get comfortable with AI tools in your personal life. Use them to create a recipe or plan a weekend trip. The more you use these tools, the more you will demystify them and see their incredible potential.
Think of AI as the newest member of your team. It is a powerful assistant, but one that needs direction. As Beth noted, “AI needs a boss. It needs human supervision. And you guys get to be that”. With AI handling the repetitive questions, you will finally have the time to build better manager training programs, drive employee retention, and design the kind of personalized career development plans that truly help people thrive.
The world of work is being fundamentally reinvented, and you, as an HR leader, have a chance to be its architect. “I just frankly think this is such an exciting time and it is really a time for HR to shine,” Beth concluded. This is your opportunity to ensure that as we innovate, we do so with a people first approach. Your voice is not just a valuable addition to the AI conversation; it is essential to guiding your organization toward a more productive, creative, and human centric future.
Beth shared many more practical tips and strategies for getting started with AI in the full webinar. You can watch the full episode of HR At the Table here.
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