Upskilling employees in the AI revolution
Generative AI is developing rapidly, and it means employees are in desperate need of new skills. You might think these would revolve around things like coding and data science, but in fact the key areas needed are creative problem solving, critical thinking and digital literacy. These are the skills that work in tandem with AI.
Why upskilling employees with AI has become urgent
Even if we disregard the power of GenAI and how it can impact daily workflows, AI as a technology is here to stay. It’s time to shift towards an ongoing skills strategy, one that emphasizes continual learning.
The challenges in integrating AI
AI comes with a lot of promise and potential, but many HR professionals are finding more barriers to its implementation being thrown up. To overcome those barriers, it can help to understand them from the ground up.
- AI anxiety
A 2023 Gallup survey found that nearly 1 in 4 U.S. workers fear AI will eliminate their jobs. That’s a huge reason that employees are often resistant to AI initiatives. Helping employees feel empowered and understand AI as an assistant rather than a replacement is critical, as it involves them in conversations about potential applications early. Get them inspired, don’t dictate the future to them.
- New technology means more L&D
According to a McKinsey Global Institute report, 87% of executives report experiencing skill gaps in the workforce or expect them within a few years. AI usage demands new levels of upskilling and digital literacy, from data governance to prompt engineering.
- Governance and ethical AI use
HR teams are also on the front lines of managing the use of AI. There are many policies still in the works on federal and state levels. For example, the Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act requires you to get consent from applicants before using automated processing. There are a lot of implications to consider, including bias mitigation and transparency. Without due diligence in these areas, your reputation could take a hit, or you could find yourself open to lawsuits.
What to assess when implementing AI
1. Define your AI strategy for mission-driven impact
Do you have a clear roadmap that aligns AI adoption with your organization’s goals, like improving retention and engagement? Deciding you need AI for the sake of it won’t help anyone. Matching AI to a specific task is very important for clarity.
2. Evaluate data quality and compliance
Is your data clean and comprehensive enough for fair and effective AI outcomes in recruitment, employee engagement and performance management?
3. Assess workforce readiness and HR team skill gaps
Have you evaluated your HR team’s capabilities and whether they have the skills to analyze AI-driven insights to translate them into actionable policies?
4. Establish ethical AI implementation for fairness and inclusion
Do you have guidelines that prevent AI bias in recruitment, promotions and performance reviews?
5. Invest in AI training and upskilling for HR teams
Do you offer continuous learning opportunities to help your HR team develop AI skills and literacy?
6. Monitor AI performance and compliance
Do you have procedures that regularly audit AI models and algorithms to make sure you comply with nondiscrimination policies? Do you track emerging AI governance regulations where data protection is paramount?
7. Foster a culture of AI adoption and change management
Have you communicated the value of AI to employees and stakeholders while addressing concerns about AI replacing human roles? Are you encouraging collaboration to help your organization more effectively integrate AI into existing workflows beyond the HR function?
Final thoughts
The real promise of AI lies in its ability to augment your people, not replace them. The pitch to your team should be AI as a productivity partner, not a threat. To that end, you can look to transparently talking about AI, being very explicit in how it's used. Conduct audits for fairness and ensure every decision made by AI is explainable. Then you can shift to building a culture of continuous learning.
Make space for employees to experiment with AI tools and reward those learning behaviors. Embed learning into workflows. It’s important to accept that many of your employees won’t instantly pick up how AI works and how it can help them; it’s an entirely new tool and needs to be treated as such.
For more details on this strategic approach, as well as three more strategies to power up your people team, download our complete eBook, Reinventing HR.
