Artificial intelligence: Three tips for preparing your teams
Articles
Human resources
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence: Three tips for preparing your teams
Corporate deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) is expected wide-ranging consequences, of which three are already foreseeable: new jobs will be created, old jobs will be eliminated and exiting roles are going to change. Advanced technology, seen by experts as revolutionary, is already starting to transform the labour market. Here’s what you need to do to prepare your teams for the arrival of AI at your growing SME.
- Explain the upcoming positive benefits
AI already outrips humans in certain fields of expertise. Whether it’s assessing insurance risk or identifying fraudulent financial transactions, AI is already known for performing complex, routine analytical tasks. Now the employees who formerly performed that work can be reassigned to more highly skilled positions, where they can bring more added value to the organization.
For example, tasks currently performed by call centre staff can be assigned to an AI system instead. But while the chatbot will handle 90% of the regular workload, more complex cases requiring human intervention will continue to be handled by staff, with a “market development” component to be added to their job description.
In a different vein, social media giant Facebook currently employs over 110 AI researchers worldwide. Your employees need to understand depoying AI at your company is not necessarily a threat on its own. A range of business opportunities will also emerge as a result of this shift in technology. Expose employees still resistant to change to both sides of the coin. AI enhances the status of employees within society by bringing people to the fore of the company’s strategies.
- Prepare a detailed training plan
Since some employees will have their repetitive tasks reassigned to AI—and will have the opportunity to play a different role within the organization—training needs will emerge during this transition period. Addressing this will entail preparing a plan to help your employees develop the necessary skills to perform their new responsibilities. Plan the development of your workforce with the same care as you deploy new technology. The two are often inseparable.
In all cases, when an SME seeks to embark on its first AI projects, it should engage a firm with specialized expertise. Consider a turnkey solution to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Entrepreneurs are ill-advised to skimp on technical support—the investment is worth it. The provider you choose could even handle the above-mentioned employee training needs. Regardless of the form it takes, the successful deployment of your first system will not only reassure your teams, but help them understand the benefits of the new technology.
- Take small steps towards your new approach
AI is a big trend that is here to stay—it’s better to embrace it than to try and avoid it. Start by mapping out your first steps as business leader at your SME. By deploying small targeted support initiatives that can take on some of the work currently handled by your teams, your employees will realize that their jobs not necessarily in jeopardy, and their day-to-day workload might even get lighter!
For inspiration, take your cue from world-class industry leaders. French cosmetic giant L’Oréal was agile in adopting AI in a high profile project, launching a mobile recruiting application in which applicants answered three specific questions. An algorithm analyzed the answers, then highlighted the profiles that best were the best fit with the firm’s corporate culture. While the results of this initial AI project have remained mostly under wraps, they nevertheless demonstrate the positive impact AI can have on human resources departments.
Making the necessary changes to effectively integrate AI at your company requires considerable time and energy. You need to put time and energy into adapting to the arrival of AI at your company. Whether it is developing management’s leadership skills by helping them adapt to an automated work environment or thoroughly reviewing your organizational structure, careful preparation is required to take full advantage of this next revolution. Are you up for the challenge?