Artificial intelligence: the way ahead for employee engagement in corporate India

Purpose Employee engagement (EE) can result in multiple positive impacts not only on the individual and his/her team but also on the organisational and financial outcome of the business. If artificial intelligence (AI) can be used as a tool to facilitate EE, organisations will be more than satisfied to adopt it. The paper aims to study the penetration of AI for EE in corporate India. Design/methodology/approach Based on the information gathered through secondary research, a framework of questions was built and sent to some senior people in the area of AI and HR to check for its completeness. Respondents based on inclusion criteria were selected through random purposive sampling to be a part of the study. A total of 23 respondents participated in the study. Qualitative data analysis of the transcripts was conducted using MAXQDA 2022 (Verbi Software, Berlin, Germany), which is a qualitative data analysis software. Multiple readings were undertaken to identify the patterns and relationships in the data. Findings The participants described a variety of issues while using or planning to use AI for EE. Some of the issues mentioned were related to cost, challenges, mindsets and attitudes, demography of employees, comfort in the use of technology, size of the organisation, change management strategies, software vendors and vendor support. The most common responses were grouped into headings such as Organisation, Process, Employee and Software Choice Related aspects. Originality/value Lately, the overall work environment, work and personal life balance, and quality of life have become more desirable than earning a good salary. AI is becoming a part of various aspects of business but its role in HR is yet to be explored. AI’s capabilities to predict may result in more employee work satisfaction. The paper explores the possibility of using AI as a tool in every aspect of employee life cycle, thereby attempting to make HR processes more productive and enhance EE.