The integration of AI into organizational processes, including HR, is a key priority for most people functions today—and it’s one that is fundamentally transforming what it means to be an HR leader, says Prerna Ajmera, general manager of digital strategy and innovation at Microsoft.
One of this year’s HR’s Rising Stars, Ajmera is a key contributor to shaping Microsoft’s AI journey, tapping into her extensive tech background to drive the HR function forward at this pivotal moment. She was a critical voice in the effort to design and roll out an AI-powered Employee Self-Service Agent, which transformed how more than 220,000 Microsoft employees—and later, millions of customers—interact with HR.
Read more about this Rising Star: Driving the AI revolution at Microsoft
Ajmera’s work on the ESS Agent is “a testament to her ability to envision the future of HR and bring it to life,” wrote Chris Fernandez, chief HR officer and corporate vice president of HR and Ajmera’s manager, in a nomination letter for the Rising Stars award.
The tool sped up HR responses to queries by 25% and improved IT self-help, while reducing support-ticket creation by nearly one-third. Fernandez wrote that the agent streamlined service delivery and fueled meaningful boosts in employee engagement and satisfaction.
AI in HR means ‘leading and learning’ for HR pros
Ajmera also shaped the Microsoft Career Hub, an AI-powered platform to drive internal talent mobility and facilitate relocations. The effort has since been credited with reducing relocation costs per employee by about one-third, with an annual savings of about $55 million.
Achieving such results with the integration of AI is creating both new demands on and opportunities for HR leaders, Ajmera told HR Executive in a video interview. Staying on the leading edge of that transformation, she says, means HR professionals will have to prioritize both “leading and learning”—thinking long-term, working across functions and staying “two steps ahead of the curve.”
Fernandez says all of these capabilities are found in Ajmera: “Prerna exemplifies the qualities of a Rising Star: visionary, collaborative and relentlessly focused on impact.”
See also: ‘Shaping the future of work’: Introducing HR’s Rising Stars for 2025
Watch the video above to learn more from Ajmera.
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