In this closing keynote, Dr Max Blumberg will delve into the transformative power of AI and analytics in shaping the
future of local councils. Discover how AI can catalyse positive change, from enhancing public services to fostering community engagement. Learn actionable strategies to leverage data-driven insights for more effective decision making, all while keeping the community at the heart of innovation. Walk away with a renewed sense of purpose
and the tools to make a lasting impact in your organisation.
Unlocking the Future - Dr Max Blumberg, Founder of Blumberg Partnership
1. All content remains the property of Blumberg Partnership Ltd
and may only be used with prior written consent
Unlocking the Future:
How Local Councils Can Harness AI for Community-
Centric Solutions
www.maxb.com
max1@maxb.com
2. 2
WORK
• Accenture
• Technology start-up & trade-sale for IPO
• People Analytics Consultant & Advisor
• Coach
ACADEMIC
• Data Science, Mathematics & Statistics
• Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society
• PhD (University of London)
• Visiting Professor, University of Leeds Business School
• Associate Researcher, University of Southern California
Max Blumberg
3. Agenda <To be decided when sections are defined>
3
• HR’s role in delivering organisational outcomes
A
• What is GenAI?
B
• GenAI in Local Government:
C
• Call to Action
D
• GenAI and your career
E
4. A. The Role of HR in Delivering Organizational
Outcomes
5. What do HR Professionals do?
5
Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1
ORGAISATIONAL
OUTCOMES
(BO)
ORGANISATIONAL
CAPABILITIES
(OC)
WORKFORCE
CAPABILITIES
(WC)
PEOPLE
PROCESSES
6. The Human Capital Value Profiler (f)
HUMAN CAPITAL
STRATEGY
CULTURE DESIGN
STRUCTURE &
JOB DESIGN
CAREER
DEVELOPMENT
WORKFORCE PLANNING
COMPETENCY
MANAGEMENT
SUCCESSION PLANNING
HUMAN CAPITAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
RECRUITMENT &
SELECTION
WORKFORCE ANALYTICS
WELL-BEING
PERFORMANCE DIALOGUE
LEARNING &
DEVELOPMENT
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
REWARD &
RECOGNITION EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
STRUCTURAL CAPABILITY
COLLABORATION AND
PARTNERSHIP
SKILLS
INNOVATION
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
AGILITY & ADAPTATION
PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION
SERVICE EXCELLENCE
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
EDI
PRODUCTIVITY
QUALITY AND
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
STRATEGIC
PLANNING
EVIDENCE-BASED
POLICY
COMMUNITY
WELLBEING
STRATEGY
STRUCTURE
PRACTICES
PEOPLE PROCESSES
LEVEL 4
WORKFORCE CAPABILITIES
LEVEL 3
ORGANISATIONAL
CAPABILITIES
LEVEL 2
ORGANISATIONAL
OUTCOMES
LEVEL 1
ENVIRONMENTAL
DESIGN
ONBOARDING
RISK MANAGEMENT
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
PUBLIC TRUST
VALUE FOR
MONEY AND
COST-
EFFECTIVENESS
PARTNERSHIP
IMPACT
SERVICE ACCESS
SOCIAL VALUE
CREATION
SOCIAL IMPACT
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
7. The vital role of HR for driving Council success
7
How can GenAI help HR overcome obstacles and drive HR & personal success?
2. So HR is crucial for delivering strategic priorities
1. Only the right workforce can deliver the right organisational outcomes
8. GenAI & HR: Operational vs Strategic Tasks
8
• Automated by AI
1. Operational
Tasks
• Human-led
• Critical for career growth
2. StrategicTasks
• Drive organisational success
• Increase impact and visibility
• Unlock opportunities
HR professionals
should focus on
strategic tasks to:
10. What is Generative AI? (GenAI)
10
1. GenAI:Your Knowledgeable AI
Assistant
Trained on vast data to understand and generate
human-like text
Engages in conversations, answers questions,
creates content
One of several types of AI, alongside machine
learning, computer vision, etc.
2. Leveraging GenAI Effectively
Skill in prompting is key to getting desired
outputs
Be aware of potential bias and hallucinations
Use alongside other AI and traditional methods
for optimal results
11. GenAI in Local Government
11
1. Case Studies:
Swindon: "Simply Readable" converts documents
to easily readable formats
Bromley:Analysing resident comments
LOTI (London Office ofTechnology &
Innovation): Drafting content, data analysis,
coding
2. Implementation:
Automate tasks, and provides assistance
Frees HR for strategic work
Accelerates growth and impact
13. Top Challenges Faced by Local Authorities (Survey)
13
1. Recruitment
2. Strategic Workforce Planning
3. Upskilling & Knowledge Management
4. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
14. Employee Recruitment Process: GenAI-Powered
14
Step Automation Aspects and Usage Time Reduction Strategic Human Focus
1. Identify Hiring Need and Plan Utilize AI for workforce planning and forecasting,
generate recruitment plans.
10% to 5% Align with organizational goals, secure
stakeholder input.
2. Create Job Description and
Person Specification
Generate job descriptions with LLMs, ensure bias-
free language using AI tools.
15% to 10% Tailor to company culture and values,
ensure legal compliance.
3. Determine Salary and Grade Use LLMs for job evaluation and salary
benchmarking.
5% to 3% Manage internal equity and develop
negotiation strategies.
4. Promote and Advertise the Role Create and target job ads with LLMs, manage social
media campaigns.
10% to 7% Enhance employer branding, drive
diversity and inclusion initiatives.
5. Collect and Screen Applications Screen resumes and match with job requirements
using LLMs, integrate with ATS.
20% to 10% Identify potential beyond keywords,
assess cultural fit.
6. Conduct Interviews and
Assessments
Automate scheduling, use AI for video interviews
and scoring.
25% to 20% Evaluate soft skills and team fit, make
final hiring decisions.
7. Make Hiring Decision and Offer
Employment
Automate reference checks, generate offer letters
with LLMs.
10% to 8% Negotiate offers, ensure a positive
candidate experience.
8. Onboard New Employee Implement LLM-powered onboarding workflows,
use chatbots for new hire queries.
5% to 3% Introduce company culture, foster team
integration.
TOTAL REDUCTION 34%
15. Strategic Workforce Planning Process: GenAI-Powered
15
Step Automation Aspects and Usage Time
Reduction
Strategic Human Focus
1. Establish Strategic Goals and
Scope
Automation: Use LLMs to generate meeting summaries, draft
strategic goal statements, and gather initial data. Usage: Automate
the processing of survey data and stakeholder communications to
draft strategic objectives.
10% → 8% Decision-making on strategic alignment, defining planning
scope, interpreting nuanced stakeholder needs.
2. Analyze Current Workforce
Data
Automation: Analyzing employee data, creating skills inventories.
Usage: Input data into LLMs to automate analysis and generate
comprehensive skills inventories; identify skills gaps.
25% → 13% Deep analysis of data implications, prioritizing skills gaps,
strategic decision-making on critical gaps.
3. Forecast Future Workforce
Needs
Automation: Generating workforce scenarios. Usage: Use LLMs to
input demographics and industry trends to create multiple
employment scenarios and identify future skills needs.
20% → 12% Assessing the impact of different scenarios, selecting
critical future skills needs, strategic planning based on
nuanced projections.
4. Identify Gaps and Develop
Action Plans
Automation: Comparing current workforce to future needs, drafting
action plan templates. Usage: Use LLMs to identify gaps, suggest
initial actions, and draft plans.
25% → 15% Prioritizing actions based on strategic impact, tailoring
plans to organizational context.
5. Implement Workforce
Strategies
Automation: Generating progress reports, monitoring
implementation. Usage: Use LLMs for routine monitoring and
generating automated reports; draft communication materials
related to workforce initiatives.
15% → 10% Adapting strategies based on feedback, engaging with
stakeholders for effective implementation.
6. Monitor, Evaluate, and Refine Automation: Analyzing workforce data over time, generating
evaluation reports. Usage: Continuously collect and analyze data,
using LLMs to track changes and identify trends.
15% → 7% Making strategic refinements based on evaluation
findings, incorporating innovative approaches.
Total Reduction 45%
16. Upskilling Process & Knowledge Retention: GenAI-Powered
16
Step Automation Aspects and Usage Time
Reduction
Strategic Human Focus
1. Skills gap analysis and
needs assessment
- Process and analyse employee data to generate
comprehensive skills reports and identify training needs
15% to 10% Strategic skills priorities and data
interpretation
2. Training program design - Generate training outlines and draft content based on skills
gap analysis
15% to 8% Finalising training content and aligning with
strategic goals
3. Resource allocation - Automate budget calculations and resource scheduling 5% to 3% Strategic resource allocation decisions
4. Training delivery - Create and dynamically update training materials; Send
automated reminders
20% to 15% Personalized coaching and adapting training
to individual needs
5. Knowledge capture and
documentation
- Automate creation and organization of training documents;
Generate FAQs based on common questions
10% to 5% Ensuring documentation quality and
relevance
6. Knowledge sharing and
collaboration
- Implement LLM-driven bots for discussions; Generate
discussion prompts
10% to 7% Cultivating collaborative culture and
strategic oversight
7. Reinforcement,
application, and retention
- Create and administer quizzes; Track and analyze learning
retention
10% to 7% Personalized mentoring and long-term
retention strategies
8. Evaluation and
improvement
- Analyze feedback and generate reports on trends and
improvement opportunities
10% to 6% Strategic planning based on evaluations and
setting priorities
9. Reporting - Compile performance data for reporting; Generate initial
report drafts
5% to 2% Analysis and strategic decision-making
based on reports
Total Reduction 37%
17. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI): GenAI-Powered
17
Step Name Automation Aspects and Usage Time
Reduction
Strategic Human Focus
1. Policy Development Use LLMs to generate draft policies based on input data, summarize
research, and analyze feedback sentiment.
15% → 10% Gathering stakeholder input, making final decisions, stakeholder
negotiations
2. Recruitment and
Selection
Employ LLMs to generate inclusive job descriptions and automate initial
screening based on predefined criteria.
15% → 10% Conducting interviews, final hiring decisions, diversity strategy
planning
3.Training and
Development
Use LLMs to develop training materials and automate creation of
personalized training plans based on employee feedback data.
10% → 7% Delivering training sessions, adapting content to local context,
strategic planning
4. Performance
Management
Utilize LLMs for sentiment analysis on employee feedback and automate
generation of detailed performance reports and development activities.
10% → 7% Performance review discussions, personalized coaching and
development
5. Service Delivery Use LLMs to assist with EIA data processing and analysis and automate
analysis of service user diversity data.
10% → 8% Strategic decisions based on outcomes, engaging with diverse
communities
6. Supplier Diversity Automate generation of supplier diversity reports. 5% → 5% Developing relationships with diverse suppliers, negotiating contracts
7. Data Collection and
Monitoring
Automate data collection and analysis processes and generate
compliance and progress reports with LLMs.
10% → 8% Identifying data requirements, interpreting complex data insights, using
insights for EDI initiatives
8. Communication and
Engagement
Utilize LLMs to generate draft content for EDI communications,
ensuring consistency and adherence to policy.
10% → 9% Developing strategic communication plans, engaging directly with
communities
9. Continuous
Improvement
Use LLMs to analyze feedback, identify trends, and suggest and automate
policy updates based on analytical findings.
15% → 12% High-level strategic reviews, implementing significant changes based
on insights, soliciting feedback
Total Reduction Total Reduction 24%
19. Practical Steps for Implementing GenAI
1. Learn about your council's AI policies and identify "safe"
GenAI tools.
2. Define a specific use case to pilot GenAI in your HR
role.
3. Develop a responsible implementation plan with
human oversight.
19
20. Considerations for GenAI
20
1. Data
Privacy
Comply with
regulations
Implement
access
controls
2.
Algorithmic
Bias
Regularly
audit for bias
Maintain
human
oversight
22. Upskilling
22
Upskill yourself on
prompt engineering
and ethical AI practices
with courses:
• CIPD
• Udemy
• LinkedIn
1
Start small, gather
feedback, iterate, and
share learnings.
2
Champion broader
adoption by
demonstrating value
and best practices.
• Consider starting a Local
Authority GenAI Centre of
Excellence
3
23. GenAI, Human Capability & Career Development
23
4. Demonstrates abilities to drive efficiency, innovation, and value
3. Enables less time on operational, more time on strategic tasks
2. Increases your organisational value and role security
1.Augments rather than replaces human capability
24. Personal Use
24
Everything
I use it for “everything”
One conversation for each of
my projects
• Summarise regularly for length
Key Prompts
Favourite prompt:
• Let me know what additional
information you need to respond
effectively to this prompt
25. Closing Remarks
25
1. Embrace
Embrace GenAI
proactively for your
career and
organisation
2. Collaborate
Collaborate with
colleagues
3. Keep
Keep humans at the
center using GenAI
to augment