Take a minute to think about how generative artificial intelligence (AI) has already changed your job: You may turn to AI for help with research and market analysis, writing and reviewing lines of code, drafting an outline for your quarterly report or any number of other tasks. Day-to-day work is beginning to look a lot different now — and generative AI solutions sit at the center of that rapidly moving workplace evolution.
However, while advancements in AI are poised to make work easier and more efficient, they’ve also exposed areas in which our current workforce and leadership teams fall short. Teams may lack the necessary soft skills to complement technologies, holding them back from introducing efficiencies and reducing redundancies, accelerating organizational growth and gaining greater value from generative AI.
Today’s employees need more than technical knowledge — they also need to be able to communicate, collaborate, problem-solve, and think critically and creatively to succeed in the modern workplace. In a Salary.com report, 70% of businesses are addressing these skills gaps by upskilling and reskilling employees on in-demand soft skills — a capability generative AI doesn’t deliver.
Upskilling and skills-based training are crucial steps to bridging the gap. But to prepare employees for the AI era, employers must invest in more modern workforce development resources and prioritize soft skills. The way we work is evolving. Why shouldn’t our training and development programs evolve as well?
Soft Skills That Support Generative AI
Generative AI is a two-way street. While generative AI excels at functions like automating routine, repetitive tasks, analyzing vast amounts of data and summarizing insights to aid decision-making, it often falls short when it comes to creative, abstract tasks or decision-making that rely heavily on interpersonal skills. In these instances, your employees’ soft skills are vital to ensure effective collaboration with AI systems.
In particular, the following soft skills are essential in aiding and augmenting emerging AI technologies:
- Critical thinking: AI offers powerful data analysis and insights, but the technology cannot assess and problem-solve complex and unique situations. Critical thinking remains vital to extract meaningful findings from AI and apply them across broader business contexts, such as navigating current markets, changing socio/political conditions and an organization’s unique business needs. Likewise, it’s crucial for humans to vet AI output for accuracy, ensuring that nuanced and context-specific considerations are taken into account.
- Communication: Humans are required to communicate AI findings and insights to nontechnical stakeholders (e.g., clients, team members, etc.) in a clear and comprehensible manner. Effective communication skills are crucial to fostering a shared understanding and facilitating informed decision-making across diverse teams.
- Innovation: It’s the human touch that challenges the status quo, thinks creatively and solves complex problems. Innovation empowers employees to develop new solutions and work alongside AI to advance business goals and diversify technology applications.
You derive less value from your technology investments when you lack a team capable of bridging the gap between technical and soft skills — no matter how sophisticated the technology is.
3 Ways to Upskill for the AI Era
Despite heightened demand for soft skills, today’s workforce is hard-pressed to keep pace. In fact, 3 out of 4 employers are struggling to fill roles and find the skills they need. As generative AI and other technologies continue to reshape the modern workplace, you must find new ways to help your company acquire the skills it needs most.
Now and into the future, it won’t be enough to invest in AI technology — you must also invest in the people using it. If you are a smaller company (or have a tight budget), it may not be feasible to hire outside talent. But recruiting outside talent isn’t your only option. When it comes to your existing workforce, reskilling and upskilling can offer a strategic lifeline to building stronger, more skilled teams.
As you look to upskill for the AI era, the following steps can improve your professional development programs and set your employees up for long-term success:
No.1 Empower employees and their professional goals.
Professional development works best when employees are interested, engaged and excited about the skills they’re learning. So, the training and professional development opportunities you offer should match employees’ interests and the relevant skills sets they hope to develop at work. Blending technical training and soft skills development can lead to increased job satisfaction as employees learn to use AI to automate repetitive, manual tasks so they can focus on more creative and fulfilling job functions.
But remember: Upskilling shouldn’t only support employees in their current roles, it should help them build skills and expertise to advance their careers and achieve their professional goals. Offer opportunities that take into account the individual’s potential career growth within your organization, the skills necessary to reach those milestones and any experiences that will benefit their future career prospects.
No. 2 Align individual skills with business needs.
While focusing on individual growth is important, you also need to align upskilling efforts with your organization’s strategic objectives and broader business goals. Start by considering the roles and skills sets required across your organization and develop programs strategically designed to meet those specific needs. For instance, if you want to leverage AI to boost efficiency, productivity and team collaboration, you might have employees complete the Six Sigma certification or other project management training.
Balancing individual career aspirations and broader business needs pays dividends for both parties: Your employees earn increased career flexibility, mobility and opportunities for advancement, while your organization gains a motivated, specialized workforce ready to drive long-term growth. When you consider that 94% of employees say they would stay longer at a company that prioritizes their learning and development (L&D), the case for upskilling becomes quite clear.
No. 3 Develop a culture of continuous learning.
AI tools and technologies are constantly changing, as are the environments in which they’re most useful. Continual training and education for your employees will help them maintain proficiency in cutting-edge technologies, stay well-informed about present and future trends, and stay competitive in the job market.
Foster a culture of continuous learning by encouraging ongoing learning, providing diverse education opportunities and offering programs in a variety of formats and structures, including:
- Formal education, development and upskilling programs: While many people acquire soft skills through interpersonal interactions and life experiences, formal upskilling and reskilling courses can help employees quickly enhance their interpersonal skills. This can include: promoting relevant online courses or certifications, online learning platforms, in-person seminars hosted by an industry group or professional organization, and providing tuition reimbursement for classes or continued learning at a higher education institution.
- Mentorship and coaching programs: Colleagues play a crucial role in helping one another build soft skills and experiences. Create opportunities for mentorship and peer-to-peer learning by pairing employees with experienced leaders and peers who can provide guidance, support and active feedback.
- On-the-job training and feedback: You should build learning opportunities into your organization’s daily work, via on-the-job training, constructive feedback and performance reviews. Work with managers at your company to identify opportunities for ongoing soft skills development, such as assigning challenging projects that encourage teamwork, problem-solving and the acquisition of new skills. Managers should also help their direct reports remain accountable to these goals (which can too easily get lost in the shuffle of other work) by checking in on progress made during one on ones and demonstrating genuine curiosity about lessons learned.
Staying Ahead of the AI Curve
Change is often a scary process. It’s understandable why many workers express concern that AI will replace their jobs, but that’s just the first emotion to move through. When we look at history, technology advancements — from the internet to cloud computing to generative AI — have always transformed the way we work. In response, employees must prioritize the acquisition of new soft skills, and organizations need to match with the necessary support and resources. As one economist put it, “AI won’t take your job. It’s somebody using AI that will take your job.”
The future of work belongs to those who can best balance technological prowess with creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and other essential soft skills. If you or others at your organization don’t yet have the necessary skills sets, remember that learning is an ongoing process — and there’s still plenty of time to get started.
