Featuring:
J. P. Gownder, VP and Principal Analyst
Show Notes:
AI technology is revolutionizing the way businesses operate, but is there an important piece being overlooked? In this episode, Vice President and Principal Analyst J. P. Gownder provides research-driven insights and best practices for ensuring your workforce is able to get the most out of the AI tools they’re provided with.
What’s the biggest misconception when it comes to using AI in the enterprise? Many business leaders mistakenly view AI as a shortcut to replacing human workers. But, as Gownder points out, “Business gets done by people in organizations.” The idea of immediately replacing workers with AI tools is not only difficult to implement, but it can result in negative performance and morale across the workforce.
Instead, Gownder says enterprise leaders should think of AI as an opportunity builder for employees and convey the technology to their workforce that way. Certainly, today’s powerful and accessible AI tools like generative AI have opened new possibilities, but they still require qualified human workers who are properly trained to produce results. Human oversight remains critical for setting goals, ensuring quality, and making judgment calls, so it has to be built into your AI strategy.
For example, Gownder warns that organizations that fail to build effective training programs for their AI strategies reduce AI’s potential in their organization significantly. And according to a recent Forrester survey, only 25% of information workers know what prompt engineering is and how to use it, and only 22% of global information workers have received formal training on how to use AI at work. “So, there’s a gap here,” he says, adding that non-IT workers need the skills to get better at using AI to enhance their roles.
And what happens when workers don’t get the right AI training? Gownder estimates as many as 60% of employees who receive a license for an AI assistant stop using it when they don’t get the results they want. And while some leaders simply shift that license to another employee, it’s much more efficient to ensure that first employee is set up for success.
The episode closes with Gownder providing several best practices for organizations to improve their AI rollouts across their workforce, so be sure to stick around for those great tips.
One quick programming note from the producers of What It Means: Beginning April 17, we’ll be changing to a new format and frequency. You’ll still be getting valuable insights from Forrester analysts, but in a new way. Be sure to check your podcast feed in the weeks ahead to find out more.
