Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo, North America: Day 2 Highlights

We are bringing you news and highlights from the Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo taking place today through Wednesday, October 28 in Orlando, FL. Below is a collection of the key announcements and insights coming out of the conference. 

On Day 2 from the conference, we are highlighting the managerial tasks you shouldn't automate, the manager's role in guiding teams through change, the cost of the unconnected workplace, and reshaping the recruiting manager role in the era of AI. 

Be sure to check this page throughout the day for updates.

• Gartner HR Research Finds 77% of Board Members Expect AI to Deliver Productivity and Cost Savings, Yet Just 3% of Organizations Exceed Cost Savings Goals Via Productivity

Presented by Carolina Engels, Senior Principal Analyst, Gartner

As AI transforms managerial work, organizations face a critical choice: not simply what can be automated, but what should remain human. In this session, Carolina Engels, Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner, explored why higher AI adoption is not automatically translating into higher manager effectiveness and offered a framework for identifying the managerial work that organizations should automate, augment, and protect. 

• “We expected with more AI, we would remove friction, but we just moved it. Today, 79% of CHROs say managers are overwhelmed, and 1 in 4 managers would opt out of management if they could.”
• “HR should apply three strategic filters:
  • Automate Tasks, Not Workflows. Organizations that strategically automate routine administrative task components are more likely to report higher enterprise contribution and discretionary effort.
  • Protect Zone of Genius. Organizations should identify and protect the activities that create the greatest value and meaning for managers, including coaching, development, navigating ambiguity, and building trust.
  • Beware of Interconnectivity. The question is what disappears when a task is automated. Organizations should assess second- and third-order effects before scaling automation.”
• “Beware of interconnectivity: AI doesn't just change a task, it changes everything connected to it. Benefits appear immediately; costs appear later.”  
• “Gartner predicts that 75% of organizations that reduce middle-management headcount due to AI investments will rehire at least half of those roles by 2028.”

Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with Carolina Engels by contacting Gerri Weinberger at gerri.weinberger@gartner.com.