As AI takes over the repetitive work, HR leaders are finding time to focus on culture, talent and judgement. Senior HR leaders Milton Owor and Gedion Kimutai see the shift as less about replacing people and more about redefining where human effort adds the most value, as administrative tasks give way to more strategic, people-centred work.
Milton Owor, chief people and culture officer at Uganda’s National Social Security Fund, sees the pace of technological change in HR as overdue rather than threatening. Years of manual processes have shaped the profession, making the impact of automation immediately visible in day-to-day work.
Changing the focus of HR
“I actually wonder how we managed all those years without the level of technology that we have now. We recruit on a daily basis. You’ve got to go through all that paperwork, you’ve got to review all those things,” Milton says.
AI, as he sees it, has taken over the most repetitive parts of the function, easing tasks that once absorbed hours of attention. Screening CVs, sorting documentation and handling routine reviews are no longer central to HR work, changing how professionals spend their working day.
“AI has been long overdue. It’s doing HR work a lot easier, faster and cheaper. We don’t get to review tons and tons of paperwork; all of that is done for us,” Milton explains.
The result, he argues, is not a diminished HR role but an expanded one. With less time spent on transactional work, HR teams can focus on areas that directly influence organisational health and performance.
“What it has done is free up HR people to do the real HR work. We can now focus on things like organisational culture and talent development,” he says.
Milton is clear that this shift also changes how HR leaders contribute at a strategic level.
“Instead of just managing processes, we’re now expected to think more strategically about rewards, performance and long-term skills, and to use innovation in HR to help the organisation perform better,” he adds.
At Del Monte Kenya, where the workforce spans thousands across agricultural and manufacturing operations, technology plays a different but equally critical role. Gedion Kimutai, the company’s head of HR, operates in an environment defined by scale, seasonality and constant operational pressure, making efficiency a practical necessity rather than an abstract goal.
Using technology in HR
“Technology, including AI, is something we are incorporating to gain insights and help us navigate future HR challenges. We have a payroll system for about 7,000 employees to ensure timely and accurate payments,” Gedion says.
Gedion sees the value of technology in its reliability and visibility. In a sector where delays can disrupt entire production cycles, systems that strengthen tracking and consistency benefit both employees and the business.
“Despite the complexities of seasonality and the unique skill requirements in agriculture, we are leveraging technology to improve our performance-tracking systems. It helps us see where we need to act faster and where we need to improve,” he explains.
While automation has clear benefits, neither leader frames AI as a simple efficiency story. Both acknowledge that technology reshapes roles built around repetitive tasks, raising questions about skills, reskilling and redeployment.
“There are some jobs that technology can do better than human beings, which inevitably means some people will no longer perform those repetitive roles,” Milton says. “What that means for us is reskilling and redeploying.”
He sees this as a responsibility that sits squarely with HR leadership, requiring deliberate planning rather than reactive change.
“That same human being can do something very different, engaging with customers, for example, understanding pain points and how we can serve them better,” Milton explains. “Whenever we automate processes, efficiency in time and cost is critical, but the second part of the equation is reskilling and redeployment.”
