Business leaders are no longer content just talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI).
As the hype starts to settle, they’re actively seeking practical ways to turn AI advancements into business value.
But there’s a problem: a significant skills gap sits between the promise and the reality of AI. According to a recent survey by Multiverse, 65% of business leaders expect AI skills gaps to persist into 2030.
Amid a growing list of opportunities and risks, success with AI requires thoughtful and consistent training across multiple teams and departments. With the right approach, closing the AI skills gap is possible.
In our new AI strategy guide, we investigate the key barriers to large-scale AI adoption and share practical strategies to help employees deliver real business value from emerging technologies.
Download the guide now to learn the four steps to start building AI-enabled teams, or read on for the key highlights.
Create an AI policy for safe and ethical use
To ensure success in an AI-driven world, businesses are actively embracing new employee training opportunities — 83% of leaders say they’re moving quickly to implement workforce skills development on AI.
When they’re given the right AI upskilling opportunities, employees can understand how to apply AI in their day-to-day work and discover how to generate real value from new tools.
But it’s important they’re able to learn without exposing your business to risks. Issues related to bias, intellectual property (IP), and data security are just some of the potential pitfalls to be prepared for.
One wrong step by an untrained employee could lead to legal or financial consequences.
That’s where implementing an AI policy can make the difference.
By setting clear standards for the safe and effective use of AI in your workplace, you can create a shared understanding of AI’s limits and prevent employees from intentionally or unintentionally misusing it.
Nurture a culture of active experimentation
While leaders are keen to drive AI adoption from the top down, the fact is that much of the innovation comes from the bottom up. But without the opportunity to use and apply their AI skills, employees can’t unlock its full potential.
With clear guardrails in place, it immediately becomes easier to encourage experimentation with AI. Leaders and line managers can face uncertainties head-on by making it clear that failure is ok, as long as it’s within certain boundaries.
Start by providing dedicated AI training and identifying internal champions to seek out potential use cases — then as employees begin to identify more value from AI, enable them to share their learnings with other teams and departments, through a centralised knowledge sharing process.
Make AI business as usual
The truth is that there’s still no single recipe for success with AI adoption. The best and only way to prepare is to embrace a test-and-learn approach.
To overcome the barriers to adoption and successfully move from talk to action with AI, continuous learning must become part of the fabric of your business.
AI upskilling can help you create a culture where employees across multiple functions know how to prioritise the right opportunities, select the best AI tools for their use case, and communicate the value of AI to the rest of the organisation.
Start generating real value from AI
The time to “wait-and-see” with AI over. To keep your business ahead of the curve, employees must be empowered to identify new opportunities, while staying aware of AI’s potential pitfalls.
Get started today with our free guide to building AI-enabled teams.
