Overview

How can Artificial Intelligence add value for HR professionals? How can it save time and what difference can it make to productivity, creativity and collaboration? How can AI be used ethically and company data protected? This book has the answers. AI for People Professionals is a practical guide for mid-level HR professionals which explains what artificial intelligence is, how it works and the potential benefits it has for the people profession. This book covers how to align the use of AI with your HR goals and explains how it can save time, improve efficiencies and remove duplication of work in the functional HR processes. There is also discussion of how AI can add value to recruitment, talent management and learning and development activity. More than this, AI for People Professionals shows how artificial intelligence can improve creativity, problem-solving and collaboration between colleagues. Most importantly, this book covers how to protect employee and business data and ensure the ethical use of AI. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, this is ideal reading for all HR professionals wanting to get to grips with AI and use it in a responsible way to add value at work but who aren't sure where to start.

Full Product Details

9781398625990

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Erica's book is a must have to feel more confident about your role and the changes AI is driving in the workplace. It's full of valuable and practical advice, whatever you do as a people professional. The rate of change can seem overwhelming, but Erica clearly illuminates the multiple places where AI and people professionals come together and must remain in conversation. This book will enlighten you to the opportunities that AI creates whilst signposting how to avoid the pitfalls. Read it to help you redefine your identity whilst still focusing on what got us here; the desire to help people and organizations thrive."" * Stella Collins, author of Neuroscience for Learning and Development and brain-smart performance and capability specialist * ""AI for People Professionals is a highly practical and important book for HR Professionals. Erica provides smart thinking for how AI can be used as a thinking partner across all elements of HR. Importantly, Erica identifies guardrails for great use, and depth of thinking to identify workplace bias and unexpected prejudice, but also high impact for ways of working and improving the overall employee experience."" * Sukhvinder Pabial, Senior Learning Strategist, Challenging Frontiers * ""This book is a highly practical on-ramp for HR and People teams who want to build confidence with AI and apply it responsibly in real work. It covers the fundamentals clearly, then grounds them in what matters to HR: where AI fits across the talent lifecycle, how to think about governance and risk and what actions to take now. What stands out is the skills angle. It breaks AI adoption into learnable, repeatable skills (how to ask good questions, how to quality-check outputs, how to refine and improve), which is exactly how teams move from ad-hoc experimentation to reliable practice. For HR teams early in the journey, it's an excellent foundation and a shared language. For experienced practitioners, it's a strong alignment tool to bring the wider function up to baseline, reduce variance in quality, and set teams up for the next horizon of AI, including more agentic workflows."" * Dr Markus Bernhardt, Principal, Endeavor Intelligence * ""As an experienced global supply chain leader, guiding teams through transformation, disruption and constant change, I immediately recognized that AI for People Professionals is not simply a guide for HR - it is a leadership playbook for anyone navigating the realities of AI in today's workplace. This book has a rare ability to translate emerging technology into practical, human-centred strategy. It moves beyond hype and grounds AI in real organizational challenges: capability building, leadership development, cultural readiness and long-term competitiveness. This book is both insightful and practical. It challenges assumptions while offering clear frameworks leaders can apply immediately. Those who ignore AI risk falling behind; those who adopt it without structure risk creating noise. It provides that structure - demonstrating how AI, when implemented thoughtfully, drives not only efficiency and measurable performance gains, but also improved wellbeing across teams. If you are responsible for performance, people or shaping the future direction of your organization, this book will sharpen your thinking and expand your toolkit."" * Kim Clark, Supply Chain Leader * ""This insightful book from Erica Farmer is an essential companion for anyone seeking to integrate AI confidently and responsibly into the workplace. It positions AI not as a threat, but as a guide and assistant-an enabler that gives you headspace for the initiatives that make the real difference. Erica reinforces that strategy must come before technology, offering a clear, practical pathway for reshaping roles, enhancing learning and strengthening workforce planning. More than an AI guide, this is a blueprint for modern change leadership, championing curiosity, clarity of purpose and a human-centred approach to transformation. If you want AI to be a true partner in your organizational odyssey, this book will help you navigate the journey and unlock the full value of what's possible."" * Linda Martin, Managing Director of Professional Assessment Ltd * ""At a time where AI commentary can often either be alarmist or very abstract, this book is a stand-out practical guide for people functions, navigating complexity. It does a brilliant job of translating AI into tangible value, by outlining where AI genuinely adds value and where human judgement is crucial. The tips are actionable and immediately applicable. Importantly, it reframes AI not as a threat to People teams, but more as an enabler of better decision-making and allowing teams to make greater strategic impact."" * Rachael Langley, Chief People Officer * ""Erica Farmer's long-awaited book AI for People Professionals is now here. This book is an absorbing read from end to end. It guides the people professional through a series of reflections and considerations about the relationship they want to have with AI (treating AI like a collaborator, not vending machine!). I especially appreciated the inclusion of many practical checklists and easy-to-follow guides. The second half of the book then focuses on each of the people professions. I found this such an easy to read book, constantly useful to my own AI journey. I feel this book could easily be used as a ""field guide"" for any people professional trying to navigate the new and changing world of AI, increasing their impact on their organization as a result."" * Anthony Ryland, Tap'd Talks HR podcast host, and CEO of Tap'd Solutions Limited * ""Drawing on her extensive HR experience, Erica doesn't leave any part of the people role untouched in AI for People Professionals. Stepping us through the whole employee experience lifecycle, Erica has tips and ideas for every element. Chapter after chapter sets you up for success, with voices from the industry as well as Erica's. If you cannot conceive of how to practically use AI in your people professional work, Erica shares many ideas within the book. This book is a call to action to use AI to work smarter, not harder, to avoid burnout and help people, and it gives us the practical ideas and frameworks to be able to do that."" * Michelle Parry-Slater, Director, Kairos Modern Learning & Learning Uncut * ""AI isn't just another workplace trend; it's a seismic shift that's redefining how we hire, develop, lead and learn. In AI for People Professionals, Erica cuts through the fear and hype to offer something which is incredibly valuable: clear thinking, ethical grounding and practical guidance for real-world people practice. This isn't theoretical commentary; it's a thoughtful, credible, and actionable handbook for navigating AI in people practice with confidence, responsibility and impact. At a time when the people profession is being challenged to evolve, this book provides both the compass and the courage to lead the transformation rather than react to it."" * Andy Lancaster, Chief Learning Officer and Consultant, Reimagine People Development *

""Erica's book is a must have to feel more confident about your role and the changes AI is driving in the workplace. It's full of valuable and practical advice, whatever you do as a people professional. The rate of change can seem overwhelming, but Erica clearly illuminates the multiple places where AI and people professionals come together and must remain in conversation. This book will enlighten you to the opportunities that AI creates whilst signposting how to avoid the pitfalls. Read it to help you redefine your identity whilst still focusing on what got us here; the desire to help people and organizations thrive."" * Stella Collins, author of Neuroscience for Learning and Development and brain-smart performance and capability specialist * ""AI for People Professionals is a highly practical and important book for HR Professionals. Erica provides smart thinking for how AI can be used as a thinking partner across all elements of HR. Importantly, Erica identifies guardrails for great use, and depth of thinking to identify workplace bias and unexpected prejudice, but also high impact for ways of working and improving the overall employee experience."" * Sukhvinder Pabial, Senior Learning Strategist, Challenging Frontiers * ""This book is a highly practical on-ramp for HR and People teams who want to build confidence with AI and apply it responsibly in real work. It covers the fundamentals clearly, then grounds them in what matters to HR: where AI fits across the talent lifecycle, how to think about governance and risk and what actions to take now. What stands out is the skills angle. It breaks AI adoption into learnable, repeatable skills (how to ask good questions, how to quality-check outputs, how to refine and improve), which is exactly how teams move from ad-hoc experimentation to reliable practice. For HR teams early in the journey, it's an excellent foundation and a shared language. For experienced practitioners, it's a strong alignment tool to bring the wider function up to baseline, reduce variance in quality, and set teams up for the next horizon of AI, including more agentic workflows."" * Dr Markus Bernhardt, Principal, Endeavor Intelligence * ""As an experienced global supply chain leader, guiding teams through transformation, disruption and constant change, I immediately recognized that AI for People Professionals is not simply a guide for HR - it is a leadership playbook for anyone navigating the realities of AI in today's workplace. This book has a rare ability to translate emerging technology into practical, human-centred strategy. It moves beyond hype and grounds AI in real organizational challenges: capability building, leadership development, cultural readiness and long-term competitiveness. This book is both insightful and practical. It challenges assumptions while offering clear frameworks leaders can apply immediately. Those who ignore AI risk falling behind; those who adopt it without structure risk creating noise. It provides that structure - demonstrating how AI, when implemented thoughtfully, drives not only efficiency and measurable performance gains, but also improved wellbeing across teams. If you are responsible for performance, people or shaping the future direction of your organization, this book will sharpen your thinking and expand your toolkit."" * Kim Clark, Supply Chain Leader * ""This insightful book from Erica Farmer is an essential companion for anyone seeking to integrate AI confidently and responsibly into the workplace. It positions AI not as a threat, but as a guide and assistant-an enabler that gives you headspace for the initiatives that make the real difference. Erica reinforces that strategy must come before technology, offering a clear, practical pathway for reshaping roles, enhancing learning and strengthening workforce planning. More than an AI guide, this is a blueprint for modern change leadership, championing curiosity, clarity of purpose and a human-centred approach to transformation. If you want AI to be a true partner in your organizational odyssey, this book will help you navigate the journey and unlock the full value of what's possible."" * Linda Martin, Managing Director of Professional Assessment Ltd * ""At a time where AI commentary can often either be alarmist or very abstract, this book is a stand-out practical guide for people functions, navigating complexity. It does a brilliant job of translating AI into tangible value, by outlining where AI genuinely adds value and where human judgement is crucial. The tips are actionable and immediately applicable. Importantly, it reframes AI not as a threat to People teams, but more as an enabler of better decision-making and allowing teams to make greater strategic impact."" * Rachael Langley, Chief People Officer * ""Erica Farmer's long-awaited book AI for People Professionals is now here. This book is an absorbing read from end to end. It guides the people professional through a series of reflections and considerations about the relationship they want to have with AI (treating AI like a collaborator, not vending machine!). I especially appreciated the inclusion of many practical checklists and easy-to-follow guides. The second half of the book then focuses on each of the people professions. I found this such an easy to read book, constantly useful to my own AI journey. I feel this book could easily be used as a ""field guide"" for any people professional trying to navigate the new and changing world of AI, increasing their impact on their organization as a result."" * Anthony Ryland, Tap'd Talks HR podcast host, and CEO of Tap'd Solutions Limited *

Author Information

Erica Farmer is a professional speaker, trainer and author specializing in AI and future skills. She has over 25 years of experience with brands such as LV=, British Gas, Specsavers and Virgin. She is also a frequent conference speaker, shortlisted as Best AI Speaker in the 2025 Speaker Awards, an advisory member of the AI in Work & Skills Forum and the host of the 'AI for the Average Joe' podcast. She is based in Devon, UK.

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