'People are starting to get into the groove, and we're seeing how this works. We're seeing how it can free up time,' KFC Canada CPO Nick Dillman
A new global report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that while 25% of the world’s jobs are exposed to generative AI, HR managers remain among those least affected.
According to the ILO’s four-tier exposure index, HR managers have dodged a bullet for now with only “minimal exposure” – meaning automation poses potential risks for only select tasks.
The findings are consistent with the observations of Nick Dillman, CPO at KFC Canada, during the company’s rollout of two AI-centred programs. The company is using AI to enhance – not replace – human capability.
“What its purpose is to really help the organization continue to build muscle around how to use and incorporate AI, generative AI tools into day-to-day work,” he says.
Gen AI is helping – not replacing – HR
Dillman stresses that AI tools aren’t supplanting people, but enabling them to shift their focus toward higher-value contributions: “Is it taking away training from someone and putting in the hands of AI? I'd say no, it's not doing that,” he says.
“But it is helping them free up time, from what I would say would be simpler tasks, into more of the strategic thinking.”
Yum! Brands, parent company of KFC, partnered with NVIDIA this year to scale AI innovation across over 61,000 global restaurants. Part of this partnership includes a global “AI Academy,” a learning platform integrated into a larger consolidation of systems including ordering, scheduling, inventory, and labour management.
“One of the things that this AI Academy is helping teach people is what exactly can this program do? How can we use it effectively? How can we use it securely?” Dillman says.
“So part of what we're doing for that, from an HR standpoint, is we're saying, ‘Okay, now we're getting even more muscle around this AI capability. And how can we use it on very specific tasks?”
Gen AI’s HR uses: strategic yet tactical
The ILO report found that clerical occupations – especially in payroll, bookkeeping, and data entry – have the highest exposure to generative AI, while strategic roles such as HR managers remain largely unaffected. However, Dillman sees an important role for GenAI in balancing HR’s dual mandate.
“HR, honestly, is probably a really good example of a function that is both strategic in nature, but still holds a lot of tactical execution type work,” he says. “We are seeing… how this can free up time.”
As a basic use case, KFC Canada’s HR team has been using Microsoft Copilot to generate first drafts of internal documents and job descriptions, Dillman says. It’s a simple use, but as team members get used to the tool, the more benefits they’ve been seeing.
“It is helping, because it’s speeding up that process,” he says.
“I would say we're probably in the tail end of the learning curve, and that people are starting to get into the groove, and we're seeing how this works. We're seeing how it can free up time.”
The tools also support creative functions, cutting down time spent on brainstorming and crafting strategy for things such as team member experience. As part of Yum!’s AI collaboration with NVIDIA, HR teams are beginning to explore use cases like automated talent scheduling and early-stage employee listening analysis.
“We actually can use the generative AI tools to help start thinking through what these things look like,” he explains.
“We can feed it information. It can reference certain files that we've got internally, and then we can come back and get ideas on what we can do to improve, what can we implement, et cetera.”
Use of the technology is optional but encouraged. “There’s no mandate that anyone uses it for… any specific task,” Dillman says. “We’re not saying you have to use it… but we’re training people to see the value themselves and how they can apply it to their day to day.”
Source: www.ilo.org
‘Reclaiming and redeploying’: time saving Gen AI
While HR manager roles are safe, functions like payroll are more vulnerable – something Dillman acknowledges.
“We’re seeing a lot of benefit in using it to free up some of the more mundane type of tasks,” he says of his team’s experience.
“We’re kind of reclaiming that piece of the time, and then we’re redeploying that towards places, honestly, where we can add more impact.”
Generative AI tools are now being used at KFC Canada to handle everything from drafting internal communications to acting as a notetaker during meetings. The technology’s ability to support rather than substitute work reflects the ILO’s overall conclusion that job transformation – not job loss – is the most likely outcome in occupations with moderate AI exposure.
HR gen AI use case: engagement calendar
The practical benefits of Gen AI go beyond writing and brainstorming. One example from KFC Canada’s support centre involved using a generative AI tool to build a company engagement calendar aligned with Canadian cultural observances.
“One of the prompts that the team has put in is build a calendar based to drive engagement at … our HQ office. So, ‘Build a calendar to drive culture and engagement with meaningful moments throughout Canada's national observances calendar,’” Dillman says.
“It'll pop in these observances and recommend different ways to engage a specific audience on that. Now we'll go through and scrub, and we'll say, ‘Okay, this is relevant for this particular audience, this is where we don't want to lean in. This is where we do want to lean in.'”
Training employees to use GenAI tools securely and creatively is now a major part of Yum!’s approach, with compliance training built directly into new hire training "on the specifics on how you do and don’t use it, how you maintain compliance,” Dillman says. “Yum! overall has a really robust generative AI policy and guidelines.”
Yum!'s AI-powered engagement planning also supports broader people strategies, Dillman explains. By integrating HR data streams from all levels of the organization, employee engagement strategies and troubleshooting can be more specified and targeted, helping HR teams anticipate workforce needs across markets faster and more efficiently.
Continually using AI to add value, not replace
As AI becomes more embedded across sectors, the ILO warns that occupational shifts will require new skill profiles, including digital fluency and adaptability. Dillman agrees, noting a growing focus on recruiting talent that embraces technology.
“How do we ensure that the talent pools that we're building really have that digital capability, the technology capability there, or willingness to learn and grow in that space?” Dillman says.
“For HR, I think what I would be looking for … is somebody who's willing to say, 'This is part of the journey going forward, I want to learn. I want to think through how I can build technology and digital experiences into HR.'”
However, that openness to change matters more than technical expertise: “I wouldn’t say it’s a deal breaker,” he says. “It’s less about knowing anything specific about the technology, and more about a willingness to innovate.”
For workers in exposed roles like payroll, the company’s approach is to support skill development.
“We’ll continue to grow the skill set of the folks … whose departments would be maybe most impacted,” Dillman says. “We’ll continue to find ways to make sure that they can add value to the organization.”
HR and IT – a crucial collaboration
The ILO notes that adapting to AI requires internal coordination between HR, technology teams, and leadership. Dillman says collaboration between HR and IT has been essential to rolling out AI tools at KFC Canada.
“We’ve kind of got the insight into what are we actually trying to achieve by this,” he says. “From the IT standpoint… they’re much closer to, how do we integrate this with everything else?”
He also highlights the emergence of new HR-technology liaison roles. “You're seeing a lot of people who are almost kind of specialized in people technology,” Dillman says. “Familiar enough with the end goals that the HR teams are trying to accomplish, but also familiar enough with the technology to … bridge a gap.”
