Accelerate human-centered HCM with AI

This matters more than ever before

Employee expectations have changed faster than organizations’ HR systems have. People want clarity, speed, and simplicity. They want technology that adapts to them, not the other way around. At the same time, HR leaders are under pressure to reduce cost, strengthen compliance, improve productivity and deliver better experiences, all with fewer resources.

Trying to achieve this through traditional HCM optimization approaches is nearly impossible. Gaps in experience can’t be fixed with more training. Adoption can’t be achieved through mandates. Processes that are fundamentally misaligned with the way people work can’t be expected to scale.

“When one company thought that more training would solve the adoption issues, we pushed to engage with the frontline employees,” said Grant Thornton Business Consulting Partner Joe Ranzau. “We identified that the system’s language didn’t match what they used on the job, and critical steps were buried in confusing prompts. By listening to their experience, we uncovered simple changes that made the process intuitive, and adoption soared.”

Human-centered redesign is more than a trend. It’s the only sustainable way to realize the value of your HCM investment. 

Where AI changes the game

AI has become a powerful engine behind smarter human decisions. It can analyze thousands of workflows in hours, identify patterns across personas and regions, uncover misalignments between configuration and reality, and highlight friction long before it becomes visible in support tickets.

AI can draft documentation, produce early versions of SOPs or test scripts and surface anomalies that humans would miss. It compresses weeks of analyses into days, and days into hours. But AI alone cannot design better experiences. That requires empathy, context, and human interpretation.

AI can surface patterns, but humans give them meaning. Technology can show us where things break down, but human-centered design can tell us why it does.

Organizations must remember that simplicity can be complex — they need intentionality and discipline to reduce friction, remove unnecessary steps and design interactions that feel obvious rather than overwhelming. AI exposes the complexity so that humans can simplify it. 

Design that reflects how people work

Once organizations have a clear view of lived experience, the redesign process becomes more powerful. Real employee journeys become the blueprint, not system documentation. Reimagine workflows with clarity and speed as the North Star. Test designs with real employees before configuration changes are ever made. Ensure global consistency without creating unnecessary rigidity.

This is the moment transformation becomes real, as employees see that the system finally reflects their day-to-day reality. When that happens, something else shifts. Adoption rises organically. Support tickets fall. Compliance strengthens as workflows become obvious instead of confusing. Managers trust the data because it reflects the real world, and HR regains the capacity to focus on strategic priorities instead of operational firefighting.

“We’ve seen support tickets drop by 25% after redesigning workflows based on real employee journeys,” said Grant Thornton Business Consulting Partner Vlad Anichkin.

“The biggest win isn’t just efficiency,” Anichkin said. “It’s hearing managers say, ‘The data finally feels real, because it reflects how we operate day to day.’ That’s when you know the transformation is real.”

Metrics that reveal meaningful change

In a people-first HCM transformation, measurement moves beyond traditional system metrics. Yes, process cycle times and first-pass accuracy still matter, but so does the effort required, the drop-off moments, the emotional highs and lows captured during redesign, and the signals from employees at scale.

The organizations that lead in this space focus on the metrics that reflect human experience, not just system performance.

The real outcome is a system designed for humans

When done right, a human-centered, AI-accelerated HCM transformation goes beyond improving processes to restore confidence, culture and clarity. It changes HCM from something employees have to use into something that helps them do their jobs better and faster.

Most importantly, it creates a system that works with people, not against them.

Transformation cycles are accelerating, and employees expect enterprise tools to provide the same simplicity as their consumer apps. Organizations can no longer afford HCM systems that work as systems, but not for the people.

The real power of your HCM isn’t the technology, it’s the people who use it. Empower them.