The narrative is everywhere: AI is replacing HR roles. IBM has reported that AI now handles 94% of routine HR tasks, and headlines regularly predict an AI-first workplace where algorithms replace recruiters, managers, and HR leaders. As with most of these statements, the reality is far more nuanced and warrants further exploration.
Research from Lightcast shows that the jobs most exposed to AI are not defined by technical expertise alone. In fact, eight of the ten most in-demand skills for AI-enabled roles are durable human skills such as communication, leadership, problem-solving, and writing.
This matters because AI does not erase human capability; it reshapes it. For HR in particular, AI is already automating transactional work, but in doing so, it amplifies the need for human judgment, empathy, and creativity. The more AI advances, the more critical human skills become.
This article examines why durable skills are the new currency in the age of AI, which specific skills HR professionals must master, and how organizations can build them within their teams.
What AI means for HR roles and responsibilities
Lightcast’s analysis of millions of job postings demonstrates a consistent pattern: AI amplifies the value of human capability. Even in roles requiring technical fluency, the skills in greatest demand are what we refer to as durable skills.
Durable skills are human capabilities that remain valuable as technology, tools, and job requirements change. Unlike technical or task-based skills, which can quickly become obsolete, durable skills are transferable across roles and industries because they rely on human judgment, empathy, and creativity—skills that AI cannot replicate.
These form the foundation for interpreting, applying, and governing technology in ways that align with organizational goals and values. Notably, in postings for AI-focused jobs, communication, leadership, decision-making, research, and writing appear more frequently than machine learning or coding.
Below, the Lightcast skill disruption matrix for HR reinforces this point. Skills such as people analytics and performance management are seeing rapid AI exposure. These functions have moved past manual data gathering or administrative oversight and are becoming more data-driven and technology-enabled.
HR professionals are now responsible for guiding how AI-generated insights are interpreted, communicated, and applied in ways that align with organizational values.
This shift extends across the HR function. Traditional operational tasks, like resume screening, training content development, and performance tracking, are increasingly handled by algorithms.
What remains is not execution but direction: setting the right parameters, monitoring for fairness, and stepping in when outputs need human adjustment. Drafting a job description, for instance, doesn’t start with a blank-page task anymore. It’s become a process of refining AI-generated drafts to ensure accuracy, inclusivity, and cultural fit. Similarly, performance reviews are less about collating scores and more about interpreting data patterns and deciding how to translate them into constructive conversations with employees.
HR work is being transformed before our eyes. Whether it be the macro processes and programs HR engages in, or the micro-behaviors day-to-day HR people undergo, HR people are being bombarded with AI. And AI workforce transformation of skills and tasks is the next layer of the cake. Big things are coming, and some are here already.
In this reframed reality, the HR role is evolving. HR professionals are becoming interpreters, governors, and sense-makers. The emphasis is less on producing outputs and more on ensuring that AI-driven processes deliver the right outcomes. This means three key shifts:
- From execution to oversight: HR moves from carrying out tasks to supervising the systems that carry them out.
- From process to judgment: Efficiency is no longer the primary measure of value; human judgment about what the data means and how to act on it is.
- From transactions to trust: AI can generate information, but HR ensures that employees and leaders understand it, believe it, and see its relevance.
While AI can quickly generate insights, the differentiator is human interpretation and judgment. HR professionals who can contextualize AI outputs, communicate them clearly, and make ethically grounded decisions will add lasting value.
The durable skills that every HR professional needs
If the nature of HR work is shifting, then the skills that define success must evolve accordingly. As Lightcast’s data confirms, even in AI jobs, the most in-demand capabilities are not technical but durable human skills.
In a world of work disrupted by technology, the most disruptive skills remain deeply human. From the labor market at large to HR specifically, one finding from our research stands out: the success of both workers and companies will depend on their ability to use human skills to critically judge how and when to apply technology and when to leverage human strengths.
At AIHR, we define AI Fluency as a skill for HR professionals in the context of durable skills such as critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving.
In addition, the Lightcast research highlights four standout skills that will be non-negotiable for HR: communication, decision-making, leadership, and writing. These skills are being reframed in practice as they intersect with AI. Emotional intelligence and ethical judgment are also evolving, shaping how HR professionals use their durable skills to connect, decide, and lead effectively.
Communication is consistently the most requested skill in AI-augmented roles. With algorithms generating insights and content at scale, the value lies in translating these outputs into clear, empathetic messages that people can act on.
→ Practical example: An AI system may identify a spike in attrition risk among high performers. It takes a skilled HR professional to communicate that insight to executives in a way that drives action and to frame it with employees as an opportunity to strengthen engagement and support, rather than as a sign of concern.
Decision-making has become more visible and consequential. AI tools can surface multiple recommendations, but humans are responsible for choosing the right course of action.
→ Practical example: A predictive model may flag candidates most likely to succeed in a role, but HR still decides how to balance algorithmic recommendations with diversity goals, cultural fit, and organizational values. This judgment is what turns data into responsible hiring practices.
Writing, often overlooked, ranks among the top skills in AI-driven postings. With AI now producing first drafts of job descriptions, policies, and training content, the real value lies in editing and refining for nuance, tone, and alignment with organizational culture.
→ Practical example: An AI draft may describe a role in generic terms, but a competent HR professional adapts the language to highlight what makes the company unique, ensuring the posting appeals to the right candidates and authentically reflects the employer brand.
Leadership is a durable skill with high value and low AI exposure, meaning it is resistant to automation and central to HR’s strategic role. Today’s HR leaders must guide organizations through change, champion ethical AI adoption, and align technology with culture.
→ Practical example: When rolling out an AI-driven performance system, leaders must ensure employees understand the purpose, trust the process, and feel heard in shaping how the tool is used. This is leadership as stewardship, which is something AI cannot provide.
These skills matter because they anchor AI in the realities of human work. At their core are emotional intelligence and ethical judgment, which help HR professionals use AI responsibly and maintain trust in how it’s used. Without the human skills, AI outputs become data points without context, policies without trust, and recommendations without follow-through.
Put simply, durable skills are not a counterweight to AI. They make AI actionable, ethical, and effective in the HR function.
Three actions to reshape HR upskilling
For decades, organizations have approached skill-building as a linear progression: start with technical skills (help me do the job), then layer in interpersonal skills (help me work with others), and finally add leadership skills (help me guide others). Along the way, communication and similar skills were introduced, but rarely prioritized. This made sense in an era when rigid hierarchies defined careers, and advancement was measured by upward progression and the number of people you managed.
That logic has expired. The linear development model cannot keep up with the complexity of today’s work. AI is accelerating this disruption by reframing what matters most.
In an AI-driven workplace, technical expertise is now an expectation. The differentiator is how leaders and teams apply human skills in tandem with AI, navigating ambiguity, building trust, and creating value that machines cannot replicate. What was once considered intangible has become mission-critical.
For HR, this shifts how we prepare our own teams and where we focus on building capability.
To get started, HR leaders should take three key actions:
Action 1: Ensure durable skills are a core part of the job design for HR professionals
In the past, communication or leadership might have been listed as generic competencies at the bottom of an HR job description. Given their rising importance, they need to be refined as core to the role and illustrated as a key requirement to assess HR talent for the future.
Old approaches
A recruiter was expected to “communicate clearly with candidates.”
New approach
A recruiter must “interpret AI-generated candidate insights and communicate them in ways that build trust and strengthen the employer brand.”
Action 2: Focus on developing emotional intelligence and ethical judgment as values
Traditionally, emotional intelligence and ethical judgment were viewed mainly through an interpersonal lens—how managers treated employees or applied policies. Today, their scope is far broader.
As AI becomes embedded in daily work, ethical judgment must evolve from being an individual competency to a shared organizational value. It is no longer just about how we interact with people, but also about how responsibly we engage with and act on AI-driven outputs.
Old approaches
Emotional intelligence meant showing empathy in a difficult conversation.
New approach
Emotionally intelligent HR professionals are also capable of questioning whether an AI-generated shortlist or performance score is fair, equitable, and aligned with company values before acting on it.
Action 3: Durable skills must become core, cross-functional capabilities.
HR teams once developed and applied durable skills, focusing on communication, collaboration, and people management. Today, it’s clear that these skills cannot sit in a single function. To build a thriving AI-enabled workplace, they must become core, cross-functional capabilities that shape how every team operates.
Old approaches
Durable skills were developed later in careers, and often only when identified as “developmental” gaps.
New approach
Durable skills should be proactively developed from entry-level to senior roles to build an organizational baseline.
A final word
The drive to integrate AI into every corner of work is undeniable, and the pressure to reskill is real. However, the data reveals a clear story: the skills that carry the most weight in AI-enabled roles are not technical; they are human. Communication, leadership, decision-making, and writing, built on emotional intelligence and ethics, remain at the core of what makes HR indispensable.
The future of work is about creating workplaces where AI amplifies what people do best. Durable skills do not merely balance the technology expertise but are the foundation that allows organizations to use AI responsibly and effectively.
In the race to reskill, HR cannot lose sight of its essence. Tools will evolve, but the ability to guide, connect, and inspire people will remain the defining value of the profession and the ultimate driver of organizational success.
