RIYADH — The human resources industry is undergoing a massive transformation with the ongoing convergence of artificial intelligence, robotics and the introduction of advanced digital tools. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of change, diversity, and reinvention in lines with The Saudi Vision 2030. The 3rd Annual HR Tech Saudi Summit 2019 kicked off today at Crown Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel and Convention.

Hosted under the theme – Reshaping the Future of HR in Saudi Arabia: From HR Transformation, HR Disruption to HR Reinvention, the two-day conference is supported by Ministry of Civil Service, KSA and Human Resources development Fund, KSA and brings together HR leaders from top public and private sector companies along with global HR solution providers, to converse and deliberate on the progressive and innovative processes from AI, data analytics, cloud solutions, virtual chatbots that can integrated to ensure that they are future ready. The international keynote speech delivered by global speaker and thought leader, Bill Jensen, focused on discussing emerging technologies that can increase HR efficiencies and further enunciated on how AI and robotics can pose a challenge to the traditional norms of work. Some of the key speakers in the summit include Mohammed Almukhalfi, Assistant Deputy Minister for Systems & Development, Ministry of Civil Services – KSA; Hussain Shaikh, HCM Strategy Leader – ECEMEA, Oracle; Ahmad Khamis, Co-Founder & CEO, BLOOVO, Mohammed AlOtaiby, Chief Information Officer, Saudi Customs, Ahmed O Baaboud, Executive General Manager Organization Design & Compensation, Mobily amongst many others

In line with the Kingdom’s HR leadership under Vision 2030, Mohammed Almukhalfi, Assistant Deputy Minister for Systems & Development, Ministry of Civil Services – KSA delivered the government keynote speech on understanding the role of HR officials and how the industry can thrive with the support of advanced digital tools and technologies. He further discussed the three pillars of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision including education gap, digital workforce transformation and Saudi nationals in the workforce and advised corporations to implement thoughtful strategies that will contribute towards shaping the HR sector.

According to a research conducted by KPMG, reports reveal that 84% of Saudi Arabian CEOs predicted that AI will create more jobs than eliminate while 63% of HR executives predicted the opposite. The study further revealed that 25% of HR functions are already AI dominant in the Kingdom while 8% of the corporates have already initiated complete AI transformation to the workforce. In consideration with the recent development, the keynote presented by Oracle focused on the evolution of AI in HR and the key innovations that have led to the adaption of technology in HR. The session shared deeper insights on how AI can play a pivotal role in the recruitment sector elevating the quality of employees and businesses

More than 58% of HR executives in Saudi Arabia use predictive analytics in HR to recruit newer employees and improve the quality of engagement among workers as the Kingdom is looking for strategies that will fuel business operations and efficiencies. Also, with the domination of the millennials in the country where 70% of the population is under the age of 30, the current business culture is digitally driven and proactive to create further opportunities through the support of technology. The summit featured an exclusive session by BLOOVO where the challenges faced by talent acquisition managers were highlighted and emphasized on the benefits of using AI algorithms in recruitment.

Commenting on the Day-1 success of the 7th Annual HR Tech Saudi Summit 2019, Sidh N.C, Director, HR Tech Saudi Summit says “Through this summit, our objective is to accentuate use of HR technologies that can make organizations and the workforce in the Kingdom future ready. The summit witnessed some top-notch speakers from both public and private sector sharing innovative insights through real-life case studies of HR tech implementation. This summit will also bring together some of the most influential women leaders who have immensely contributed to the HR and tech industry and have addressed some key issues that need real-time solutions.” — SG