Arlington, VA – May 21, 2025 – Manufacturers Alliance Foundation in partnership with American Fidelity published “Keeping HR Human in the Age of AI,” exploring where human resource departments are finding balance between department efficiency through advanced technologies while keeping the personalized human touch.
"People remain the key to reinvigorating manufacturing. In this fight for talent, HR leaders are relentlessly pushing for greater efficiency and impact, and AI offers them that advantage,” noted Stephen Gold, President of Manufacturers Alliance Foundation and President & CEO of Manufacturers Alliance. “Still, our research shows that AI is only complementary – it’s the HR leaders’ experience and intuition that are key to attracting and keeping the talent to move the sector into its next stage.”
The research found that 96% of manufacturers are fully committed or highly interested in adopting AI enhancements, primarily in three priority areas:
- Recruiting
- Nearly all (92% ) respondents believe that AI can enhance workforce strategies. While the most popular system for recruiting performs AI-driven skills-matching algorithms at beyond a human pace, respondents fear that non-traditional skills or experience may not be understood or considered like a human reviewer.
- Onboarding
- During onboarding, chatbots can be pre-programmed to answer the general needs and questions of new hires, leaving front-end remedial work to AI, and saving time for both employees and staff to overlap greater on where human connection matters.
- However, more than two-thirds believe companies must guard against losing human touch by leaning too heavily on AI during onboarding.
- Retention
- Over 75% of respondents believe that AI can assist in creating in-person touch points to help increase employee awareness of available benefits. Experts believe future technology will be capable of delivering more engaging and personalized development to deliver and maintain better employee experience.
Many companies today are seeking to find the balance between technology and human touchpoints. Chief Sales Officer, Rafael Garcia, American Fidelity Assurance Company shares, "While we leverage Artificial Intelligence to drive efficiency and precision in our processes, we are deeply committed to keeping the human spirit at the core of our benefits administration functions. The goal is to complement human capabilities, not replace them. This study reaffirms that principle, reminding us that our greatest asset remains our people, even when AI is trending like it is. And that sentiment rings true for manufacturers as well."
