Do you know the single most important thing people need? Both at work and in life overall? It’s ‘Knowing that they matter.’
At work, this ‘sense of mattering’ includes feeling valued by your manager and colleagues. Being appreciated. It’s knowing you would be missed if you don’t show up tomorrow. It’s the feeling that by doing your job, you are contributing.
Sounds so simple. But the opposite is happening right now.
Years ago every company was looking for software developers, marketeers, data analysts and content writers. At the moment it’s exactly these type of employees who fear for their relevance.
Over 30% of employees are convinced AI is coming for their jobs. Fear isn’t just bad for morale, it’s bad for business. When you are stressed about your job, and feel like you might not matter much anymore - it affects morale and increases turnover.
From AI Panic to AI Party: Turning Fear Into FOMO
We’re all getting a bit tired of these self-proclaimed AI experts on LinkedIn, who have no proof of ever solving a real business problem. Or TV shows in which they show marketing teams can be replaced. This might be the future, but we’re convinced creativity and common sense will still be valued for the foreseeable future. We need humans. But we can’t deny a real feeling most people have right now: ‘AI Fear or FOMO’..
It’s also the biggest HR opportunity we’ve seen in years. Because after years of shrinking budgets, Learning and Development is making a strong comeback thanks to AI. Think about it: when was the last time the entire organization - from the C-suite to junior employees - desperately needed guidance on adapting to a new technology?
Because the current problem is not that AI will instantly make people redundant. It’s a lack of knowing how to use it. It’s a skill problem and it requires a transformation.
And guess who's perfectly positioned to lead this transformation? That's right! You!
Half of employees think AI could make work better. It’s your job to make sure everyone’s in the “AI is my new work BFF” camp, not the “AI is stealing my job” camp.
(Somehow this became such a relevant meme again!👇🏼)
How do we do it? HR: The AI Adoption Superheroes
Let’s be honest, if every department tries to ‘do AI’ on their own, you’ll end up with more chaos than a kid’s birthday party. HR is the only team with the superpower to bring everyone together and make sure nobody gets left behind. Ready to become the HR legend your company didn’t know it needed?
Early adopters are your internal influencers. Find them and work closely with this group. One idea we really like is to add a monthly AI moment to the all-hands. Where real use-cases are presented by early adaptors. These colleagues can also be the ones driving the training sessions. Get people using AI on real tasks, not just theory.
Share success stories far and wide. Nothing builds momentum like a good “look what we did!” moment. Besides celebrating the wins, it’s also an idea to share the funny fails. As it’s all about being brave enough to experiment.
Shout about growth: Upskilling isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. It’s a chance to make people feel irreplaceable (in a good way). Employees who get to learn new things feel valued and are more engaged. So fight for your L&D AI-budget. Your goal should be to have an AI-fluent team as soon as possible. Link this budget to business outcomes, productivity, and retention.
We recommend creating an AI Roadmap from an L&D perspective. Similar to how you would create your People & Culture Roadmap. Identify, together with your leaders, opportunities to integrate AI into the business, and then build a learning roadmap so you can track AI-adoption milestones and deliverables.
AI: your new HR intern?
We invited Leandro Gomes da Silva to talk about how HR teams can leverage the free and easy to use tools.
39 minutes well spent if you are curious about:
Grow your own AI talent: Why In-house talent development wins
You might be thinking: “Should we hire AI experts?” While that might seem like a quick fix, developing AI capabilities internally is almost always the better long-term strategy. Due to the lack of experts in the market, external hiring is expensive and can take a long time. Plus, external hires are statistically more likely to leave within their first year compared to internally promoted employees.
Upskilling your existing team members is better idea!
When employees learn together, it’s a way to increase collaboration across departments. By offering AI training as a benefit, you offer a chance for people to feel valued again and to stay on top of their game.
By investing in your people's AI skills, you’re also investing in retention. Employees are more likely to stay in a role that offers career progression opportunities over an identical job with a higher salary.
TLDR: Don’t waste time and start with upskilling your people. It’s the best opportunity we’ve seen in a long time to make huge business impact by pushing AI - L&D.
Let’s build irresistible organizations, where employees are AI-comfortable ASAP!
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