Why AI Helps the Workplace: What HR Teams Should Know

If you work in HR, you might be worried that artificial intelligence (AI) is coming for your job. It's a reasonable concern, since AI can automate tasks people do every day. But while AI handles repetitive, rules-based tasks, HR work depends on human judgment that no algorithm can replicate. Some jobs will always require a human touch, and HR is one of them.

This post looks at how AI can help HR teams and includes real-world examples about the benefits of using AI in the workplace.

The Advantages of AI in the Workplace

A lot of what makes a workday feel long has nothing to do with the actual hours. It's the busywork: manual documentation, calculating FMLA eligibility, or double-checking every leave request against your company policies. AI's real value in the workplace is taking that busywork off your plate.

Here’s what AI can help with:

Faster Decision Cycles

When an FMLA leave request comes in, the clock starts ticking. You have five days to respond and either confirm or deny FMLA eligibility, and when you’re juggling multiple leave requests, you may find you’re racing to meet deadlines. AI can alleviate that pressure by immediately running eligibility checks and formally notifying the employee of next steps well within the 5-day window.

Personalized Return-to-Work Plans

Creating a return-to-work plan takes time, and depending on the type of leave, there may be several rules you have to follow to maintain compliance. AI can coordinate the full RTW plan for you. For example, AI can determine whether a phased RTW plan would be the best option based on an employee’s limitations, apply the correct jurisdictional and federal leave rules in its RTW plan, and automate basic communication with the employee.

Enhanced Risk Management

When you have a heavy workload, it’s easy to miss a regulatory update that impacts your leave management processes, and one small oversight can trigger a compliance violation. One of the benefits of AI in the workplace is that it’s never overloaded — it can handle numerous tasks at once and ingest enormous amounts of data. That means it can monitor regulations for all leave types 24/7 and alert you when there’s a change. It can also automatically update your processes to conform with new regulatory requirements.

A Better Employee Leave Experience

When an employee needs time off for an illness, injury, or to care for a family member, they don’t want to navigate a complex or confusing process. They may also be uncomfortable explaining the personal nature of what they’re going through. AI can help employees throughout this process, from providing self-service leave request initiation that feels less intimidating, to explaining next steps and timelines.

AI can automate status updates, which means HR teams respond to fewer leave-related questions, and employees always know what’s happening. Should a question or issue require a personalized, human response, AI can bring you into the conversation.

Budget Management

The benefits of AI in workplace budget management include:

• HR teams can do more work in less time, eliminating the need to hire
• Reduced risk of fines and legal costs, thanks to AI compliance automation
• Lower employee turnover, due to a better leave management process

AI can also reduce the recurring costs of outsourced leave management. When you can efficiently handle leave requests in-house, there’s no need for a TPA.

Transparency and Accountability

One of the benefits of artificial intelligence in the workplace is that it eliminates ambiguity about who’s responsible for specific actions. For example, for enterprise staffing firms, AI can discern when joint-employer FMLA rules apply and trigger notifications for the correct administrator throughout the leave lifecycle.

Pros of AI in the Workplace: 3 Use Cases

So, how are forward-thinking HR teams using AI? The examples below illustrate actual benefits of switching to Pulpstream, the fully customizable absence management platform with AI-powered automations:

1. Replacing Inflexible Systems

The Aspen Group, a multi-brand healthcare organization operating in all 50 states, used to outsource leave management to a third-party administrator. But HR leadership found the TPA to be too rigid for their complex leave processes, and the HR team was still spending a lot of time wrestling with fragmented, manual processes.

After bringing leave management in-house with Pulpstream, The Aspen Group was able to manage leave for more than 20,000 employees without adding more HR personnel. Pulpstream’s custom solution adapted effortlessly to The Aspen Group’s leave workflows and reduced administrative reviews associated with compliance issues.

2. Standardizing Processes

As the discount retail operator 99 Cents Only Stores grew to more than 375 locations and 17,000 employees across California, Nevada, Texas, and Arizona, its leave of absence practices became increasingly inconsistent. Store managers at different locations handled leave requests their own way, which created confusion for employees and legal exposure for the company.

The retailer switched to Pulpstream's leave of absence management platform, standardizing its LOA workflows across every location. Employees now get an immediate notification when a request is received, and automated approvals or documentation reminders keep the process moving without a manager needing to intervene case-by-case.

3. Automating Communication

At The Commerce Casino, which employs more than 2,600 hospitality workers, HR staff spent hours each day sending leave-related emails and tracking which LOA cases were assigned to each HR coordinator. On top of this work, the HR team had to keep track of when employees were due back from leave.

Once the company switched to Pulpstream, the team saved two to three hours a day on leave management work. Pulpstream reminds HR coordinators when a task is overdue, tracks leave start and end dates, and pings the appropriate case owner if someone doesn't return from leave as scheduled.

Why It's Time for AI in the Workplace

The Aspen Group, 99 Cents Only Stores, and Commerce Casino are proof that AI doesn’t replace HR teams. Instead, AI offers infinitely scalable administrative support, so HR teams can focus more on people and less on paperwork.

Pulpstream is a fully customizable leave management platform that uses AI-powered automation to extend your capabilities without adding headcount. With an intuitive interface and white-glove onboarding support, you can get up to speed quickly with Pulpstream and begin enjoying the benefits of AI-assisted workflows.

See how Pulpstream can eliminate case overload and bring order to your leave processes. Request a demo today.