Undoubtedly, artificial intelligence has seen rapid advancement in recent years. According to reports from Gartner, 38% of HR leaders were piloting, planning, or implementing generative AI in their departments in 2024.
As soon as that trend gained traction, workplaces began to shift their focus to agentic AI, which enables systems to operate independently without human intervention.
The organizations that are best able to lead markets in today’s business landscape are those that put their focus on adaptability and skill velocity. Here’s why these two aspects of your talent management strategy are essential to achieving company goals.
AI’s Impact on the Workplace
There is little doubt that AI has changed the way employees work. Some shifts and benefits that organizations have seen in recent years include:
- Task Automation: Streamlining mundane tasks so employees have time to focus on more creative or strategic work
- Augmentation of Human Capabilities: Assisting with tasks like coding, data analysis, and report generation to enhance productivity, efficiency, and accuracy
- Changes in Work Processes: Creating more efficient workflows, leading to improved communication and project management
- Shifts in Skill Requirements: Pushing employees to develop AI literacy and understand AI-driven decision-making
Clearly, AI is more than just a temporary trend. Now that AI has infiltrated the business environment, its progress is unlikely to slow down. This means that HR professionals and their employees must do everything in their power to adapt in order to see continued success.
How AI Has Made Adaptability a Non-Negotiable
With a shift in workflows and skill requirements comes the need for a different hiring and workforce management approach. Traditionally, HR professionals often push for skill depth — a profound understanding and expertise in a particular area.
In today’s rapidly changing environment, there is now a need for HR teams to focus more on skill velocity — the speed at which an employee can acquire new skills. There are several reasons why skill velocity has become critical in the age of AI.
Innovation
As the pace of change continues to accelerate, you’ll need to ensure that your organization can keep up. A faster time to market depends heavily on your employees’ ability to stay ahead of the curve, know what’s next, and quickly acquire the skills to turn new concepts into tangible products and services.
Agility
When employees gain new skills rapidly, it enables your organization to pivot quickly when market conditions shift. This, too, has a significant impact on your time to market and your ability to grow and maintain market share.
Productivity
The longer it takes your employees to upskill or reskill, the more it hinders productivity in your organization. Employees can’t be efficient at tasks they don’t have the skills to do, so it’s important that they can learn quickly.
Shifting Your HR Strategy for Success in the AI Environment
If you want to keep your employees engaged and excited about learning new skills, you must create the right environment. Here are a few ways you can build the right foundation for AI adaptability and ensure your organization benefits.
Focus on Growth
It’s important that employees understand how their new skills can help the organization achieve goals and objectives. When they can connect AI use to future growth, it can motivate them to gain the skills they need to work with this technology.
Encourage Continuous Learning
Create opportunities for employees to acquire new skills. This can involve building online learning platforms, sending teams to conferences and events, or offering stipends or reimbursement for certification programs.
Put a Spotlight on Talent Density
Hiring more employees doesn’t necessarily lead to more innovation. Instead, focus on hiring high performers with a proven dedication to continuous learning. Craft teams that are full of employees who go above and beyond in their roles.
Involve Employees in AI Innovation
Give employees the technological tools they need to craft their own AI tools and workflows. Not only can this help you find new use cases, but it also makes adoption much more likely.
Push the Pace of Skill Development in Your Organization
Experts expect that AI will only continue to get better, and organizations must learn to adapt quickly. Still, developing a strategy for employee skill development can be daunting, especially when it comes to AI.
From HR consulting to custom leadership development programs, AssetHR offers expertise to help you overcome these hurdles and ensure your organization is ready for the future. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist your team in successfully navigating this new world of technology.