Training managers play a critical role in identifying training needs and developing offerings to strengthen a skilled and versatile workforce better equipped to succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool to help build workers’ skills. While using AI to coach employees is a relatively new concept, it has already shown promising results. By incorporating AI coaching into professional development strategies, training managers can provide employees with tailored learning experiences and foster a culture of continuous learning and growth company wide.

Leaders Don’t Have to do It All Alone

From determining internal training needs to monitoring the success of current programs, training managers have a lot on their plate, and AI-assisted coaching can help cut down their heap of responsibilities. By implementing an AI-assisted coach that’s available 24/7 and capable of pinpointing employees’ area of opportunity, training managers can free up valuable time and resources so they can focus on higher-priority tasks, such as working with employees with performance improvement plans or helping new hires acclimate more quickly.

Allowing leaders to focus on these higher-value tasks can boost employee engagement at work — and improved engagement can positively impact business performance. On the other hand, according to O.C. Tanner’s research, the increase in responsibilities negatively impacts leader well-being and engagement. That spike in anxiety has far-reaching effects, increasing the odds of burnout by 520% among leadership. To resolve this issue, organizations must prioritize their people by harnessing the power of AI to lighten leadership’s loads.

Benefits of AI-Assisted Coaching

Learning and development (L&D) opportunities are crucial for any business looking to retain or attract top talent. In fact, according to LinkedIn research, upskilling is one of the top four focus areas of L&D. Coaching has been proven to support the development of a wide range of skills, including in-demand soft skills like resilience, emotional intelligence (EI) and conflict management.

This support is critical to employee retention because employees who feel unsupported at work are three times as likely to explore their options and potentially seek opportunities elsewhere. Coaching can elevate L&D initiatives beyond just one-size-fits-all programming. Burgeoning technologies within the coaching industry — like AI-assisted coaching — can further augment L&D programs to deliver an engaging, compelling and customized experience in real-time.

Here are some of the benefits of incorporating AI coaching in L&D:

• Personalized learning. Traditionally, training programs do not take an individualized approach to learning, but instead take a one-size-fits-all approach. Managers and other leaders can use AI assessment tools to analyze employees’ skills sets can be analyzed to determine where they have skill gaps. These tools can then proactively promote learning modules to help fill those gaps.
• Real-time feedback. An AI-powered coach can immediately understand and respond to challenges that learners face directly in the flow of work. Real-time feedback’s speed and accuracy can ensure that L&D progress remains dynamic and responsive, leading to more efficient skill acquisition through on-the-job learning.
• Accessibility. Employees can access an AI-powered coach anywhere at any time without needing to schedule a specific session, enabling ongoing L&D on the learner’s time.
• Scalability. Employee groups that don’t traditionally receive targeted, personalized L&D plans can now receive essential guidance through AI-powered coaches, coach-bots and personalized learning content. As the business grows, it can scale usage of its AI coach, allowing more employees to access the training simultaneously, which can streamline onboarding processes and democratize coaching.
• Data-driven insights. An AI-powered coach leverages its sophisticated analytics to track progress and identify areas of improvement to inform learners, organizations and coaches.

Despite the many benefits AI brings to the L&D table, high-quality coaching is fundamentally human, requiring years of training and a significant degree of empathy and responsibility. AI is not intended to replace the human element — which is essential for building trust, rapport and empathy — but rather to complement and enhance the coaching experience by providing additional support and resources.

AI coaching gives personalized feedback and insights for informing and improving the process for everyone. Coachees can identify their weaknesses and make a plan to improve, leaders can determine skill gap trends across the entire workforce and the organization benefits from more engaged and productive employees.

While it remains a developing technology, AI coaching’s advantages are clear. Its deployment in training has the potential to revolutionize how organizations upskill their employees and position themselves for growth and success.