As AI has broken into the mainstream conversation, its ability to fundamentally transform how work is done has been put in the spotlight. From customer service to fraud identification and supply chain optimization, there are extensive reports on how AI is being used in virtually countless areas of business.

However, more important than the question of what AI can do or the operational gains it can bring is how prepared organizations are to maximize its use while keeping their people at the center.

People are the ones using AI. So, to maximize its full potential, leaders should keep human experience at the core of AI adoption. How will it empower your team and enhance the employee experience?

In this article, we will explore how leaders can strike a balance between creating sustainable value through AI implementation and adopting a people-first mindset by investing in the skills and development of their workforce.

Weighing the Human Component of AI Adoption and Navigating Considerations

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report, 74.9% of organizations are looking to adopt AI in the next five years.

This is parallel to the results of the EY 2023 Work Reimagined Survey, which showed that 84% of employers are looking to integrate generative AI into their businesses within the next 12 months. Both employers and employees generally showed positive sentiment around this, with a net positive 33% expecting benefits in productivity and new ways of working.

However, for AI adoption to work, leaders must ensure that their employees have the human-powered skills that will enable them to embrace AI effectively.

This is not the case currently. Seventy-three percent of HR leaders have said leaders & managers are ill-equipped to navigate change.

Key skills required for leaders to effectively lead through change are resilience, a growth mindset, the ability to build trust, have collaborative conversations, and to exercise emotional intelligence that enables giving and receiving effective feedback. These human-powered skills are more necessary than ever as companies race to keep themselves relevant and ahead of their competitors.

It may have seemed that large organizations were rushing to adopt AI just because it was a hot topic, and they didn’t want to be left behind. As the AI dust settles, we can see they are pursuing AI use when it makes sense for their organization. Just as strategy is crucial, including your employee upskilling plan in your overall AI strategy remains as integral as looking at the tools themselves. If your employees are overwhelmed with their current task loads and facing burnout, which many still report they are, more change handed to them will be additionally stressful, even when those changes promise relief of low-level tasks in the future.

Leading organizations are ensuring that their employees have support and community as they learn and grow by adopting a continuous learning culture underpinned by true support from their managers and just-in-time learning opportunities, and participation in the best leadership training programs.

Investing in AI and people is not an either-or decision. Companies must invest in innovation but invest even more in their most valuable asset: their people.

AI can help create first drafts, analyze reports and generate insights, or accomplish other non-core tasks to make work more efficient, but human involvement remains indispensable. Through AI, experienced and skilled professionals will be free to focus on higher-value tasks like developing strategies, crafting innovative solutions, and making final decisions, highlighting the importance of leveraging expertise from leadership development companies to optimize human-machine collaboration.

So, in finding the right balance between AI and people, it’s important to evaluate how it might fit within your organization. For example, Gartner’s Digital Worker Experience Survey found that 47% of digital workers struggle to find the data they need to do their jobs. If your team grapples with the same issue, your organization could integrate AI-powered collaboration tools that eliminate data silos to improve efficiency.

Many respected companies are harnessing the power of technology while still recognizing the value of skilled professionals. Take, for example, Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada. Tesla combines AI-powered robotics and human workers to establish an efficient manufacturing process without compromising quality.

Meanwhile, UPS uses a network planning tool (NPT) that leverages AI to integrate its pickup and delivery systems. The NPT boosts operational efficiency across multiple geographical locations by tracking packages and helping employees optimize vehicle use and routing. This synergy between AI and human workers allows the shipping giant to deliver packages more efficiently than ever.

It’s clear that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to AI integration and implementation. However, these examples highlight the importance of a business strategy that leverages AI for operational efficiency while considering employee needs, input, and experience.

Here are some of the ways AI can empower your workforce and how human-powered skills play a pivotal role in maximizing the benefits of AI:

Augment expertise- Investing in the right tools can eliminate busywork and allow your skilled professionals to concentrate on higher-value tasks. The synergy between your team’s expertise and AI can drive business success. However, to effectively integrate AI insights into strategic decision-making, collaboration and communication skills are essential.
Streamline processes- Because seamless operations signal business growth, company share prices were 40% more likely to increase when leaders highlighted their use of AI during earnings calls. AI can streamline operations and promote organizational agility by breaking down silos and improving collaboration. In order to foster a smooth transition to enhanced workflows, employees must be adaptable enough to embrace AI-driven process improvements and able to give and receive feedback effectively as these improvements are tested, tweaked, and finalized.
Improve operational efficiency- AI can make workflows more efficient by automating manual processes. However, it’s crucial to evaluate if the AI solution could synergize with your team. To be able to identify areas where AI can enhance operational efficiency without disrupting the overall workflow, leaders need critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Elevate customer service- AI-powered tools can act as the first point of contact and address simple, straightforward questions. The instant answers can enhance customer satisfaction while reducing the load on human customer service representatives. However, it’s crucial to note that human agents with empathy and complex problem-solving skills remain indispensable in providing a personalized experience, underscoring the importance of investing in communication courses for leaders to ensure effective human-machine collaboration.

By training your team to wield AI tools as a co-pilot, you can empower them to be more efficient and allow them to focus on doing what they do best. Consequently, this productivity boost and seamless operations lead to sustained business success, as employees can dedicate more time and energy to higher-value tasks and deliver exceptional value to customers.

Leadership in the Age of AI

AI is transforming leadership practices, helping leaders navigate the complexities of the modern workplace and identify opportunities for improvements in communication, processes, tech investments, and other challenges. It can also provide new ways to improve talent acquisition, engagement, management, and company culture.

For instance, AI can help assess candidate profiles objectively. It can also be used to gather data to understand employee engagement and identify areas for improvement. For instance, Panasonic leveraged Visier’s AI-powered people insight platform to identify employees’ reasons for leaving. Through Visier’s data analytics tools, they eliminated manual processes and gathered intensive employee feedback on topics such as mentoring and learning faster.

Furthermore, in virtual workplaces where building genuine connections can be difficult, AI tools can help foster a remote culture of collaboration and camaraderie. For instance, AI-powered chatbots such as Slack’s “Slackbot” can facilitate team collaboration by automating reminders, providing smart suggestions for channels and people to connect with, and even initiating casual conversations or icebreakers, demonstrating the potential benefits that can be harnessed through executive leadership training online. This doesn’t only help teams stay organized but also encourages informal interactions that promote a sense of camaraderie.

In implementing a people-centered approach to AI integration, leaders can harness AI for talent development by using it to identify training or upskilling opportunities and to help develop highly personalized employee development paths - whether that’s by preferred learning style, incorporating generational values into the learning experience or helping to provide personalized reminders based on motivation feedback the user sets up at the start of their learning journey. Having a highly personalized approach to employee development can not only minimize turnover but also equip your team with the updated skills that your business needs.

Some employees are nervous as AI makes its way more and more into company strategy and conversations. It’s important for leaders to be aware of potential anxiety that individuals may feel and respond proactively with an empathetic approach. Even a small activity like sharing an AI-based productivity tool in team meetings, can help normalize the topic to those more hesitant and slowly bring those teams into the AI utilization conversation. In addition, providing AI training to employees and helping them shift to new roles if necessary can be an important step in assuring them that AI integration is a positive change. This type of response will strengthen trust between employee and direct managers as teams navigate these changes.

Futureproof Your Business While Building a Resilient Workforce

AI will continue to reshape businesses and industries worldwide. As exciting as these advancements may be, it’s important to stress that value and sustained success don’t come from AI itself but from what people can achieve through it.

This means expanding the capabilities of your existing team by embracing AI while upholding people-centered values to maintain an engaged culture and build an empowered workforce. Only with a strategic perspective will your organization be able to achieve its full potential amid AI disruptions.

At Leadership Impact Strategies, we can help partner with your organization as your leaders consider their approach and adoption of AI, helping you to build a culture of continuous learning that enables your workforce to upskill quickly and remain adaptive through the process, including through participation in high potential leadership programs.

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