Which management tasks are ripe for AI automation?

Artificial Intelligence technology is on a roll. ChatGPT and other AI language models are taking the world by storm, and generative AI is making controversial waves in many creative fields. Meanwhile, organisations benefit from the way AI revolutionises automation into more intelligent processes, often requiring little to no human intervention.

What does this mean for managers? In particular, what tasks can AI automate that would make managers more efficient and effective at their jobs? 

5 management tasks that AI can automate

AI is now at the forefront of automation, doing more than mere repetitive tasks. AI can actually think and handle more complex jobs like administrative work and content creation. As for managers, here are five tasks that AI can practically automate according to Quartz:

1. Onboarding

Welcoming new employees to the team is easier said than done. New hires to different positions require different onboarding schemes, as do existing employees transferred to your department.

Managers have to provide them with information tailored to their anticipated jobs, and AI can make the task so much easier. AI tools can craft onboarding processes customised for each new team member and even schedule meetings that match your available schedules with that of your incoming employee.

2. Payroll

Worker compensation, as we all know, is not uniform. There are employees who may have worked overtime or taken paid leave or informed absences, and then there are those who have specialised jobs with a different pay grade.

Rather than doing all the computations manually or setting up an entire Human Resource department for the task, you can simply have AI automate your payroll system. AI-based payroll software can parse all of your workers’ data – including the hours worked, their work schedules, paid leaves, benefits, and more – and come up with satisfactory and accurate remunerations.

3. Scheduling

Setting up routine schedules for employees is quite straightforward, but managing emergencies like sick days and abrupt interruptions can complicate matters. Finding out who should cover for whom and reprioritising tasks can be difficult, but not with an AI assistant.

What AI would do in this case goes beyond working on individual employee schedules. It can set up automated communication with each worker to ensure they report on time and come up with reasonable arrangements in cases of emergency. The AI assistant loops the manager in the process to ensure that any changes are properly vetted and approved.

4. Training

Traditionally, training new employees and retraining existing ones require hands-on effort. It also takes painstaking work to come up with materials tailored to their existing skills and experience.

An AI assistant can make the whole process much easier. Using sophisticated algorithms and generative tools, the software can create tests based on the trainee’s apparent skill level and create training materials based on the data obtained from these assessments.

5. Improve team efficiency

Overall, AI can be set up to manage your entire team and facilitate collaboration. An AI assistant can handle most tasks traditionally assigned to a manager, from tracking project milestones to providing feedback.

Will AI put managers out of work? No, but it will certainly take a lot of load off the manager’s hands, allowing them to focus on core tasks like creating long-term strategies and refining the team’s AI-based automated systems as new requirements and problems arise.

AI and managers can work together

While there are fears that AI will eventually kick people out of the world of work, that is not the case – at least at present. AI can merely complement the human manager, allowing them to delegate complex, repetitive tasks to an extremely efficient virtual assistant. Under the human manager’s watch, AI can become a competent tool that will help improve the team’s overall efficiency and productivity.