{"id":1195,"date":"2018-01-16T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T08:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/modernworkplacelearning.com\/magazine\/?p=1195"},"modified":"2018-12-24T13:03:52","modified_gmt":"2018-12-24T13:03:52","slug":"the-impact-of-ai-on-employees-and-ld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/modernworkplacelearning.com\/magazine\/the-impact-of-ai-on-employees-and-ld\/","title":{"rendered":"The impact of AI on employees and L&D"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It\u2019s no secret that many industries have already felt the impact of automation. There are some truly inspirational and wonderful applications of new technology in healthcare, transportation, security, entertainment and media, among others. There\u2019s so much that we don\u2019t know, either. That uncertainty has been unsettling, to say the least. At some point, each one of us has thought, \u201cHow will AI impact my <\/em>job?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s natural. Progress is being made at incredible speed and it\u2019s only a matter of time before people working in finance, marketing, human resources, legal, and education are faced with the reality that some aspects of their work might become more automated in the future.<\/p>\n

However, as Forrester\u2019s predictions for 2018 notes<\/a>, over 60 percent of executives say their organisation is behind regarding digital transformation. The report also notes that, as AI becomes more ingrained in the corporate world, people with highly specialized skills as data scientists and software developers will want to work for companies further along their digital transformation journey \u2013 making it more difficult for companies struggling to adjust to these new realities to attract and retain top talent.<\/p>\n

Before all of this can make a real impact, organisations need to be culturally ready. Culture is what drives readiness and change; not technology. In fact, Forrester\u2019s report cautions that many AI-related projects in 2018 \u2013 up to 75 percent \u2013 will \u201cunderwhelm because they fail to model operational considerations, causing business leaders to reset the scope of AI investments.\u201d In other words, a lot has to be done right in order for new technology to have a lasting, positive impact on people and the business. The important of cultural readiness and acceptance can\u2019t be overstated.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s important for L&D professionals at this point in time, as Larry Boyer explains in Forbes<\/em><\/a>, is to do what they can to assist others embrace digital transformation by helping people understand, prepare for, and adapt to the \u201cdirect and indirect\u201d impact of automation on their jobs and responsibilities. After all, we\u2019re more likely to live in a world where technology is used to enhance how people do their work<\/a> \u2013 to make it easier, faster, and improve quality.<\/p>\n

This means being more proactive than ever to help people develop their skills and learn new ones as needs change \u2013 something that\u2019s at the very heart of creating an organisational learning mindset when it comes to digital transformation. The good news is the numbers show people want to. PWC\u2019s Workforce of the Future<\/em> report<\/a> found that 74 per cent of respondents said they are ready to learn new skills or re-train to remain employable in the future.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at three ways L&D professionals can assess the impact of AI on employees and help them prepare to take the right next step.<\/p>\n

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  1. Assess and project skill requirements: <\/strong>A centralized HR system that holds job descriptions, employee profiles, tracks one-on-one meetings, goals and performance can really make the job of L&D easier. Benchmarking this data against current business needs will help provide a critical look at what skills are needed in the short, medium, and long term. There are critical questions to ask, such as: How will an employee\u2019s core responsibilities change? What technology will they need to know? What areas of the business can they contribute to with the skills they have?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Having this big picture view of where people in critical roles stand in terms of skills, and what will be needed in the future, is important for L&D to keep resources and learning tools up to date and valuable.<\/p>\n

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    1. Re-evaluate resources and encourage open learning: <\/strong>Once you know which skills employees have and which ones will be needed in the future, you can start to compile essential resources and learning tools that will help employees cross train and develop. L&D departments are well on their way to becoming an education and development enabler for people and teams<\/a>, providing quick and easy access and recognition for many forms of learning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Results from the 6th annual Learning in the Workplace Survey<\/a> showed that this self-serve type of learning is what is most valued. Employees ranked different learning formats in order of usefulness and put daily work experiences, knowledge sharing with teams, web search and the use of web resources at the top of the list. Classroom training and e-Learning \u2013 which has traditionally been the focus of L&D \u2014\u00a0 dropped to the bottom of the list.<\/p>\n

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      1. Embrace new forms of technology <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Bersin\u2019s 2018 HR Technology Disruptions<\/a> highlights the use of virtual and augmented reality in corporate learning. These new types of learning experiences, in addition to formal and informal learning, present L&D professionals with seemingly endless opportunities to help create highly skilled workforces with the help of new technology<\/a> such as wearable devices.<\/p>\n

        The application of this new technology can provide employees with a different and perhaps more enjoyable twist on learning. Think of when you\u2019ve been able to use a new tool or software to help you learn or get something done. It may be daunting at first, but with practice and time, that technology becomes valuable and can result in faster learning and the retention of knowledge.<\/p>\n

        Recognize the impact and act on it <\/strong><\/p>\n

        We live more intimately with technology<\/a> than ever before. At the end of the day, it\u2019s made our lives easier. We can order a ride, our groceries, shop for essential items \u2013 all with a few taps on our smart phone. What\u2019s even better is that systems learn about our preferences and can even nudge us when it might be time to stock up on. And these same types of interactions and connectedness is happening at work. While digital transformation is important, we can\u2019t forget about the fact that culture underlies everything in business. Without a culture that\u2019s ready to embrace digitalisation, to help remove barriers for people so they find success at all stages of their career, change will be difficult to manage.<\/p>\n

        Companies are learning how to adapt to the advancements, diversity and challenges it brings to their business. Our systems are so intelligent that they are constantly learning and picking up information to help us work better, learn faster, collaborate and share information and files with people easily and more securely than ever before.<\/p>\n

        L&D needs to recognize the impact \u2014 and the perceived impact \u2014 technology and AI in particular has and will continue to have on employees. In order to help them to be top performers, we need to ensure organisational culture is ready, establish policies and practices to support digital transformation, and embrace technology that will help them get there.<\/p>\n

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