Jobs Are Becoming Tasks in AI Era, Says Phenom CEO

Hyderabad: US-based HR technology company Phenom plans to create more than 2,000 additional job opportunities in India in the coming years as part of increased investments in technology, talent and innovation, while expanding its presence in Telangana.

The company said its India growth plans would be highlighted at IAMPHENOM India 2026, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on December 17. The event will bring together HR professionals, talent acquisition leaders, HRIT teams and senior executives to discuss the use of Applied AI in hiring, employee development and workforce retention.

Phenom CEO and co-founder Mahe Bayireddi said India’s technology expertise, talent base and ambition placed it in a strong position in the changing workplace environment.

Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Bayireddi said, “Today, AI is fundamentally transforming the talent landscape. The future is about combining automation, intelligence and experience. Frontline hiring, for instance, can be highly automated, while hiring for specialised roles such as nurses or software engineers requires deeper intelligence to understand skills, capabilities and fit.

Explaining the future trend, he said, "A key shift is that jobs are becoming tasks. The typist disappeared as a profession, but typing became a universal skill. AI will create a similar transition: some jobs will become tasks, while entirely new jobs will emerge. We are in the middle of an unprecedented transformation of work.”

He said India, with a workforce of about 50 crore and more people entering the workforce every year, offered a significant opportunity. He cited platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato as examples of how technology had reshaped workflows and created new categories of employment.

According to Bayireddi, AI would further change workflows by reducing time and cost and improving coordination. Phenom’s talent experience platform connects candidates, employees, managers, recruiters and HR teams and uses data and AI for hiring, onboarding, talent retention and workflow redesign.

Phenom’s India operations are centred in Hyderabad, with additional centres in Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru. Its teams in the country work across engineering, product development, data science, customer success and support, making India one of its largest technology and talent hubs outside the US.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Greater Philadelphia, Phenom operates across Canada, India, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, with employees across about a dozen countries. It serves more than 500 enterprises across sectors including technology, healthcare, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, transportation, finance, energy and utilities.