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With the introduction of generative AI and other AI systems, workplaces are experiencing sweeping and transformative changes that are rapidly reshaping roles, teams and organisations and changing the ways that people work. In the face of these quite rapid changes, there is a pressing need for organisations in both corporate and higher education settings to prioritise upskilling and reskilling initiatives that can help to prepare organisations to harness the full potential of AI. In this article, we look at some of the learning strategies organisations can employ to help teams and staff navigate the AI transformation effectively.
Know the Skills Your Organisation Needs
As with any learning plan, the essential first step is to understand your organisation’s specific skilling needs. A comprehensive skills strategy entails identifying roles and skills most susceptible to disruption by AI, while also recognising AI as a significant opportunity rather than exclusively a threat. Look at your organisation holistically and determine which roles will be most impacted and how AI will reshape those roles, and identify the skills gaps between what employees currently know and what they need in order to take full advantage of AI within their workflow. This will allow you to focus your training where it is most needed to smoothly shift workflows and processes while supporting your affected staff.
Provide Training in AI Tools
As with any new tool, staff will need to be trained and supported as they learn how to use AI tools to their best advantage. Provide specific training programs tailored to the utilisation of generative AI and AI systems, emphasising collaborative methods in which humans work in tandem with AI in order to streamline processes, improve throughput and free up capacity for workers to focus on areas of value creation that bandwidth may have prohibited prior. This process also provides an opportunity to work alongside your teams to determine how best to include and optimise AI within their workflows, getting feedback throughout the AI onboarding process and instituting processes that will most benefit all of the stakeholders involved.
Offer Upskilling and Reskilling Pathways
Your AI upskilling program should be supported throughout by structured pathways that cater to diverse employee needs. Recognising that different roles will be impacted differently by AI adoption, customised training programs are almost essential. Consider how each of the groups you have identified will be impacted by the introduction of AI, and develop specific pathways that provide each group with the information they need to get the best results from AI integration into their specific roles.
Develop and Sustain a Learning Culture
The adjustment to these new ways of working will not be a one-and-done process. As AI tools continue their rapid development, expand their functions and offer new possibilities, your learning programs and the capabilities of your workforce will need to grow alongside them. To keep pace with technological change, it will become ever-more important to be able to integrate learning into the flow of work and promote a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and knowledge sharing, fostering an environment conducive to continuous growth and adaptation. Provide the time, space and support for your workers to develop their skills and continue to make the best use of the new tools that are available to them.
By prioritising upskilling initiatives and fostering a culture of continuous learning, organisations can be developed and guided towards successful AI integration, not only enhancing productivity but also unlocking new avenues for innovation and growth, helping organisations to effectively accomplish their goals.