REBA Inside Track: AI is coming...is your career ready?
At REBA the conversations we’re having about the use of AI within the reward and benefits arena are really stepping up, no more so than at this year’s Future Forum where it was one of the hot topics of the day.
And although we often talk about how new technology is being developed and introduced into reward and benefit platforms, it’s not often that we talk about its impact on people’s careers.
It’s a conversation we should be having more.
During the panel session AI’s transformative role in shaping future benefits strategies at REBA’s Future Forum, Evan Harris, co-founder and CEO of Peppy, asked: “Are you working at a company that’s embracing AI?
“Because if you’re not, you’re putting your career at risk. Or you’re potentially putting a decelerator into your career.”
It’s an interesting thought (and one that sparked this article.).
AI adoption is rapidly increasing
For reward and benefits professionals, the move towards using AI in the workplace is not always straightforward and may well depend on the organisation you work for.
As with any new technology, there is always caution – especially when it comes to dealing with sensitive information such as employees’ pay, benefits and personal details.
Yet the adoption of AI in the workplace is rapidly increasing.
The 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn found that three-quarters of global knowledge workers use generative AI at work.
Of those using it, nearly half (46%) have been using it for less than six months – demonstrating just how quickly AI is being implemented.
REBA’s Benefits Trends for 2025 Research, which specifically surveyed reward and benefits professionals, finds an interesting juxtaposition.
Nearly two-thirds (59%) believe the use of some form of AI for benefits management (eg, large language models; generative AI) will be not or less important over the next two years.
However, this is despite the vast majority (81%) seeing the increased use of digital and/or data tools to manage benefits as being very or fairly important over the next two years.
The views around benefits technology may be somewhat surprising – but the good news is that reward and benefits professionals are broadly optimistic and excited about the opportunities that AI will bring.
The future of AI use in reward is bright
The feedback I got during a roundtable discussion at Future Forum showed that most professionals are keen to explore how AI can help to support their work – freeing up their time to focus on the things that really matter to them and their organisation.
Delegates gave examples of how ChatGPT was already helping them to update policies – a task that previously would have taken hours was dramatically reduced.
Other examples of how AI could be used to analysis pay data to ensure fairness were also highlighted.
A quick snap poll I ran on LinkedIn showed that 81% of respondents are embracing the opportunity of AI, 16% said they were nervous but open to change, just 3% thought they might be out of a job in the future.
Now, granted, this was a very small poll with only 32 respondents, but it shows that the consensus is one of opportunity, rather than taking away.
Even if your organisation isn’t yet open to using AI tools, you can still explore ChatGPT to understand how to use it and the opportunities it could provide.
