Leveraging Generative AI for Job Augmentation and Workforce Productivity 2024

Building trust through training “The only thing you can counter fear and uncertainty with, is ‘trust’,” said one of the interviewees. The technology itself is quite simple and user-friendly, though some of the interviewees mentioned that handholding was required to get people started and alleviate their anxiety. People don’t need to have technical knowledge to use it. Therefore, training should focus on how it works, what impact it has, where the limitations are and what value it brings to daily work. Additionally, a part of the training should address the responsible use of GenAI, including the ethical aspects such as bias, data leakage and the organization’s norms. Providing reskilling and upskilling opportunities, including trainings that enable workers to grow into new roles, may give people confidence that they won’t become obsolete, but that they can grow with the changes and that they can augment their roles. The question of whether such training was mandatory varied from organization to organization. Aligning employee and organizational interest Early adopter organizations interviewed for this report put a lot of effort into demonstrating that using GenAI is attractive, improves work and makes it more enjoyable. One interviewee stated: “We position GenAI as an intern. It’s not the perfect colleague yet, but it can help you.” Another interviewee emphasized that it was key to make employees aware that they also benefitted themselves from learning to deal with GenAI: “You need to align the interest of the individual who wants to develop with the interest of the company that wants to change.” Low-barrier, peer-to-peer learning appears to be effective. Many organizations organize informal gatherings (“town halls”), where employees may share their experiences, learn from each other and celebrate successes. These regular meetings are also crucial for fostering continuous learning. To prevent people from dropping out, these types of gatherings, along with interactions between colleagues and the support of champions/ ambassadors, whom employees can turn to when facing difficulties, help maintain engagement. Importance of change management The implementation of GenAI cannot be done without change management. This requires an innovative culture, which may not naturally exist in every organization. Some organizations mentioned they see the effect already on the culture of the organization and expect this to be bigger once GenAI is scaled across the organization. Delegating initiatives to the workforce for example, has an impact on the management of teams and the existing hierarchy. Ambitions in the field of GenAI also imply agility from both management and the workforce as the exact outcomes of GenAI remain uncertain. While iterating and starting new initiatives, it is important to also understand the effect on the culture of the organization and the mindset shift it requires of employees. Interviewees mentioned that effective leadership therefore is very important, and that this mindset shift must come from the top of the organization. There is also a crucial role for middle management. They understand the workflows of the workforce where leadership can be too distant to understand which processes drive the highest impact. Within some of the interviewed organizations middle managers drive part of the innovation and adoption and as a result, they get a more strategic role. They need to implement GenAI in their teams while being caught between the dual pressure from higher-level management and the concerns from the employees. In that sense, the expectations of middle management regarding the pace of changes may be the most realistic, and it is expected by respondents that they will play a crucial role in the (further) adoption of AI. 19