Organizations create an incredible amount of employee-related data every second. Think about it: More than 400 million terabytes of employee data are created daily, an estimated 1.5 billion Slack messages are exchanged every week and over 2 billion new Microsoft 365 documents are saved each day. On paper, this should be a dream. More data should mean better decisions and better employee experiences.
But that’s not what’s happening.
Most of this data gets lost, ignored, or buried in silos. It becomes what we call “dead data” — a huge missed opportunity. If we could tap into it, HR teams could use it to help people grow, streamline how work gets done, and boost performance.
Thanks to AI, that might be changing. Companies now have a way to bring this forgotten data back to life, turning it into something useful — what we like to call “companion knowledge.” This shift will change more than just how we manage information. It should lead us to fundamentally rethink how businesses use data to support people and thrive in an era of hybrid work.
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The Data Paradox: Abundance vs. Actionable Insights
We’ve got more data than ever, but it isn’t doing us much good. That’s the paradox. Every tool we use — Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Drive — is constantly churning out information, but for HR leaders and managers making sense of it all? That’s the hard part.
The problem isn’t the tools used to create this data but that they don’t talk to each other. lmportant information gets stuck in different places, and HR teams are left digging through a mess of unorganized content. Without the right systems, the flood of data can overwhelm rather than empower.
AI offers the ability to cut through the noise and deliver insights to drive real impact.
How AI Breathes New Life Into Dead Data
AI is built to deal with messy, fragmented and underutilized data. Unlike traditional analytics tools, which require manual effort to pull and sort data, AI can do it on its own. It connects the dots between platforms, finds patterns, and puts everything in context.
One of AI’s biggest game-changers lies in creating centralized knowledge hubs. No more jumping between apps or digging through folders — AI pulls it all together in one place. From project updates to employee feedback, it’s all there, easy to find and actually useful.
But centralization is just the beginning. AI offers several other groundbreaking benefits that address specific challenges HR leaders face today:
- Transforming Performance Reviews – Performance reviews can be clunky and incomplete, especially when they rely on spotty data or vague anecdotes. AI changes that by blending hard numbers (like project completions or resolved tickets) with peer feedback and other insights. You get a fuller, fairer picture of how someone’s really doing — and where they could grow.
- Providing Contextual Assistance – Unlike generic tools, AI designed for HR purposes can help managers turn feedback into action without wasting any time. Say a manager wants a quick rundown of a team member’s recent work or a pulse check on team communication. AI can pull that info fast, analyze team engagement and help build a plan to take action that fits the team’s needs.
- Empowering Hybrid Teams – Managing hybrid teams isn’t easy. People are in different places, working at different times. AI can help managers understand how those teams are functioning, where things might be lagging, and how to boost collaboration. This makes sure that hybrid work is functional, and it’s optimized.
Creating a Foundation for the Future
The next step for AI? Getting ahead of problems before they show up. Imagine AI notices your team’s motivation dipping and flags it early — or one that suggests a learning opportunity just when an employee is ready for it.
This kind of proactive capability could be especially transformative for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), which don’t always have HR teams of fancy systems in place, but AI can help level the playing field. By plugging into the tools companies are already using, AI can offer customized help without the extra overhead.
Of course, as organizations adopt AI, they must prioritize privacy and security. People are rightfully worried about how their data is used — 63% of consumers expressing fears about generative AI compromising personal data. That’s why it’s so important for organizations to stick to strong data privacy rules and make sure only the right people have access
Reclaiming Time and Impact for HR Leaders
AI can help HR leaders and managers reclaim their time. Instead of spending hours searching for insights or juggling administrative tasks, they can focus on what truly matters: their people.
By summarizing employee experiences, analyzing collaboration patterns, and identifying growth opportunities, AI empowers HR teams to take action with confidence and sooner. This helps improve individual performance and scale improvements across the organization.
For example, AI can help managers figure out their next move, whether that’s enhancing communication, addressing skill gaps, or fostering engagement. In doing so, it multiplies the impact of every HR decision, creating a workplace culture where employees feel supported and aligned with organizational goals.
The crisis of vanishing workplace knowledge doesn’t have to persist. With AI, organizations have a way to resurrect dead data, transforming it into a living, breathing source of actionable insights.
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