AI + HR: Enabling Resilience in an AI-Driven World

As we saw in the first blog of this series, many employees are feeling a sense of uncertainty regarding the integration of AI into the workplace. While these fears are well-founded, organizations have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to support employees through this transition.

Once a culture of trust and transparency has been established, the next critical step is encouraging employees to actively engage with and utilize it. The main facilitator of effective employee engagement is a comprehensive upskilling and reskilling effort for all. Upskilling is not just about acquiring technical know-how; it’s about cultivating the uniquely human skills that complement artificial intelligence. 

How is AI reshaping work as we know it?

Time and time again we hear that AI will augment human intelligence, not replace it; however, the reality is much more complex. In essence, we will see the AI revolution sparking both the displacement of jobs and simultaneously the creation of new ones. In fact, experts predict a structural labor market churn of 23% of jobs as a result of leading technologies – a combination of 10.2% job growth and 12.3% decline (WEF, 2023).

The anticipated job decline has been triggered by AI-driven automation. The jobs that are most likely to decline are those that involve routine or manual tasks, such as data entry, basic customer service and manufacturing processes, which can be easily automated. Goldman Sachs estimates that generative AI will eventually automate 300 million of today’s jobs (2023). 

As AI increasingly automates routine tasks, the importance of certain job roles shift, hence sparking the job growth cited above. New roles centered around AI oversight, data analysis and interpretation and human-AI collaboration will become highly sought after. As traditional roles evolve or phase out, the importance of various skill sets will evolve. 44% of workers’ skills are expected to be disrupted as a result (WEF, 2023). The skill demands are evolving in two main areas: technical AI skills, particularly in programming, data analysis and machine learning, and non-technical human skills that are challenging to automate, like problem-solving and critical thinking. 

The net effect of AI integration into the workforce is a transformation of job structures that simultaneously emphasizes automation and human leadership. While many employees remain hesitant about adopting AI, those open to embracing this change can find significant new opportunities, if their employers are prepared.

How can HR equip the workforce for the transformation ahead?

Continuous learning has therefore become a key focus for companies amid AI transformation. Around 62% of organizations planned to increase their L&D spending in 2024, with an average budget increase of 8.3% across training initiatives and 13% specifically for leadership development (Blanchard, 2024). The challenge is now less getting the budget, but rather spending it wisely.

1. Align strategy with business goals: Given the pace of change in today's business environment, L&D leaders need to ensure that their approach is consistently aligned with the broader strategic vision of the organization. Consider the following strategies:

   1. Build robust competency models: Build a detailed understanding of current skills inventory assessing how these competencies align with job roles and functions to pinpoint both skill gaps and redundancies.

   2. Collaborate across departments: Partner across departments to develop more targeted L&D initiatives that address the department-specific skill needs for both today and the future.

   3. Encourage constant communication: Business goals can shift quickly for various reasons. Hold regular meetings with key stakeholders to foster strong feedback loops, ensuring your strategy remains adaptable.

2. Redefine performance and success metrics: Job roles are being fundamentally re-written and therefore using old KPIs may result in you missing out on identifying your top performers. Consider the following strategies:

   1. Shift your focus to soft skills: Success metrics must reflect the rising importance of soft skills. This means adopting a mix of both quantitative and qualitative performance reviews.

   2. Value an open approach to change: Adaptability is essential to thrive long term in an ever changing business landscape. Consider tracking upskilling, learning agility and cross-functional knowledge as a measure of performance.

   3. Focus on impact over task completion: Adopt impact-based metrics that focus on an employee’s contributions to broader strategic goals and team success instead of just tracking task completion.

3. Ensure Flexible Learning for Continuous Growth: As the disruption to the structure of work continues, HR needs to ensure that training programs are not only built for today’s needs but also carry employees into the future. Consider the following strategies:

   1. Encourage Real-Time Skill Assessment: Tailor training to employees' current skill levels by regularly assessing competencies, enabling more relevant and impactful learning aligned with their knowledge base.

   2. Deploy Adaptive Learning Technologies: Use AI to your advantage and create content on the fly based on real-time analysis of employee engagement, progress and learning style.

   3. Facilitate human interaction: Combine learning technologies with a social learning environment by embedding opportunities for human interaction, like peer coaching and mentorship, throughout.

AI is challenging us to adapt to a new future of work; however, we must also recognize the potential opportunities here. If done thoughtfully a renewed focus on continuous learning could result in vastly improved workplaces where human connection, creative thinking and rich communication abound. To realize this vision HR must lead with flexibility so that, even as the landscape continues to evolve, employees are equipped with the skills they need to push forward business objectives.