What happened
AI is already common in Canadian workplaces, but employers and workers still want people in charge of the judgment calls. That is the finding of an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey, as reported by Talent Canada.
According to the survey, 63 per cent of hiring managers say their company uses AI. Even so, 82 per cent say AI will never replace the need for actual employees, and 89 per cent say their company is committed to keeping a human element in the workplace. Among employed job seekers whose company uses AI, 81 per cent agree it will never replace people where they work. Still, 75 per cent of job seekers fear that growing AI use will lead their company to shrink its workforce.
The support for human involvement is strongest in high-stakes moments. Hiring managers said people should handle crisis situations (76 per cent), employee disputes or grievances (75 per cent), business deals and contracts (73 per cent), ethics and compliance decisions (72 per cent), performance reviews (71 per cent) and decisions about who gets laid off (70 per cent). 65 per cent also want people reviewing applications and choosing who gets interviewed. Small businesses lean furthest this way on customer service: 78 per cent of companies with 2 to 9 employees prioritize human interaction there, against 60 per cent of those with 100 or more.
The surveys ran in November 2025 among 504 Canadian hiring decision-makers and 502 adults aged 18 and older.
Why it matters if you are hiring
AI is taking routine work, not accountability. The roles tied to judgment, trust and conflict are the ones employers say they still want filled by people: HR generalists and employee relations specialists, customer-facing staff, account managers who negotiate, and compliance and ethics owners. Expect those roles to need people who can work with AI tools and still make the final call.
The 65 per cent figure on screening applications also matters. Candidates are wary, and 75 per cent of job seekers worry about job cuts. If your process leans heavily on automated screening, you may lose strong people who want to deal with a person before they accept an offer.
Smaller employers face the sharpest version of this. With fewer staff, one customer service or HR hire carries a lot of the human side of the business.
One thing to do this week
List every step in your hiring and people processes where AI now plays a part, from resume screening to performance review drafts. Next to each, write the name of the person who makes the final decision. If a step has no name beside it, assign one.
Traverse Staffing helps Canadian employers find the people who hold these judgment-heavy roles, from HR and operations to customer-facing and compliance positions, and who can work well alongside the tools.