Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing organizational operations, reshaping problem-solving approaches and enhancing client solutions. Contrary to what headlines say, it also has the potential to transform the workforce for the better.
Recent research found that 79% of employees believe AI skills will enable faster career progression, and 69% report AI could lead to job creation. While this is great news for businesses and their workers, careful planning is needed to ensure employees can effectively use the latest and greatest technology available to drive business growth.
Through incorporating AI alongside a skilled workforce, where attrition is low and engagement is high, companies can better deliver results for their business, be more innovative and cultivate the skills needed to address tomorrow’s challenges. As this technology becomes more ingrained in everyday life, companies must adapt now, or risk being left behind.
HR departments play a crucial role in this transition, ensuring employees have what they need to thrive and that companies are focusing their resources in the right areas to drive lasting, impactful changes that increase a company’s bottom line.
While companies, large and small, across all industries, are facing pressure to streamline costs, employee education and trainings are not where businesses should cut corners. In fact, this is where companies and HR departments should be focusing more resources as they incorporate new technology.
This starts at the very top by creating trainings to develop a strong bench of leaders. Through empowering individuals who will one day set the course for long-term business decisions and lead overall growth, organizations can safeguard their future. This all starts with ensuring future leaders have a clear understanding of the cutting-edge technology and tools that will be integral for businesses to succeed over the next decade.
From there, companies must focus on creating a tech-enabled workforce that can address any challenge. Through a mix of online, instructor-led and forum-based trainings, companies can help their employees master new skills necessary to complete their jobs. At Unisys, we do this through offering all employees base-level training as well as advanced trainings based on job role and seniority. Through this approach, we are constantly evaluating how technology is changing to make certain our employees understand how it impacts their roles. Not only does this create a culture dedicated to continuous learning, but it establishes greater trust among employees.
Companies can then take this one step further by providing internal platforms where employees can share how they are applying what they learned from ongoing training, leading to further breakthroughs in new ways to use AI. At Unisys, we host an AI Forum, where 250 people across the company are invited to come together to share case studies and data on how AI is easing their daily workload and assisting in the creation of new groundbreaking solutions.
Measuring the success of internal trainings
While trainings are an important first step to ensuring your workforce has what it needs to succeed, they are only as good as what your employees get out of them. This is why measuring training participation rates does little to evaluate its true impact. Companies must dig deeper.
Luckily, many organizations already have the infrastructure in place to effectively evaluate their training programs. Through tools like annual engagement surveys and exit interviews, leaders can receive greater insight into what is working as well as what needs improvement.
HR professionals can also measure success through pre- and post-training assessments, meant to evaluate how well employees retain information as well as if any follow-ups are needed. Through these assessments and external surveys, organizations have access to invaluable information about how an organization stands up compared to peers in terms of trainings and resource offerings.
Creating value for HR across an organization
HR leaders are often expected to fill a tactic-driven role, whether that is arranging onboardings, mandatory training, managing annual performance review processes or recruiting top talent. However, their true purpose is ensuring a sound people strategy is in place so a company can thrive. First and foremost, this means establishing what we call a “winning culture” where employees feel accountable and empowered to reimagine the status quo through innovative ideas, approaches and solutions. Its basis is centered on core aspirational behaviors: explore, experiment, act with agility and take ownership. A winning culture creates a thriving organization—and this formula is more important than ever when navigating technological transformations.
With this winning workplace culture in place, HR leaders can then create employee and business plans that advance growth opportunities. These can be tied to expanding retention and engagement among top performers and announcing new benefit offerings. HR leaders are also fundamental in keeping tabs on employee time—ensuring it is spent wisely and on tasks that will drive real impact.
With evolving technology serving as a main driver of change for employees, HR leaders play an active role in building and driving the business strategy. After all, when you are in a people business, the people strategy is crucial to the company’s success.
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