What happened
In an opinion column, as reported by Talent Canada, AI adviser and author Sharon Gai argues that leaders are asking the wrong question. Instead of "Will AI replace my people?", she says, they should ask how to redesign work so people and AI each do what they do best.
Gai uses a beehive comparison. AI agents are the worker bees that handle repetitive, high-volume tasks such as scheduling interviews, screening resumes for baseline qualifications, drafting first-pass offer letters and compiling turnover reports. HR professionals become the beekeepers who handle judgment, coaching and talent strategy.
She cites McKinsey, which found that 72 per cent of organizations have adopted AI but only a fraction capture meaningful value. Her view is that the problem is approach, not technology: tools get handed to teams without any rethinking of the workflows around them. She also says the split in most HR functions is roughly 60/40 in favour of repetitive work, and she expects agentic AI, which starts actions on its own, to be the next step.
Why it matters if you are hiring
This is one adviser's framework, not research, but the hiring implications are practical. If routine screening, scheduling and reporting shift to software, the HR and recruiting roles you hire for change. Job descriptions that list coordination and data entry as core duties will be out of date.
Expect to look for people who can judge candidates, advise managers, plan the workforce and manage AI output. That matters for recruiters, HR business partners and HR analysts in Canada, where these hires are often made one at a time and need to last.
It also changes how you assess candidates. Ask how they have used automation, how they check its results, and where they decided a human had to take over. Someone who can only run the old process will be less useful than someone who can redesign it.
The pitfall Gai describes is real for any team: adding a tool without changing the role adds complexity, not capacity.
One thing to do this week
Have each person on your HR or recruiting team log their tasks for one week and mark each as repetitive and rule-based or judgment-based. Then pick the single highest-volume, lowest-value process and decide what the person doing it will do instead once it is automated. Write that down as a revised job description.
Traverse helps employers hire HR, recruiting and operations professionals who can work alongside AI tools and take on the judgment-heavy work that remains.