Addressing the need for better AI training in the workplace

A common challenge in using artificial intelligence in the workplace is that many employees lack the proper training to use AI effectively.

Microsoft and LinkedIn’s 2024 Work Trend Index on the State of AI at Work, released in May, found that only 39% of AI users receive on-the-job training. The report identifies four categories of users: skeptics, reluctant users, weak or untrained users, and power users.

Power users, who comprise 78% of this last category, may be the biggest challenge for IT departments. They often come up with their own AI tools to improve job performance. In small companies, 80% of these power users use AI connectivity discreetly without IT awareness.

As AI reshapes the work environment, its most significant potential lies in enhancing the human skills that define employee performance — creativity, collaboration and problem solving, noted Juan Betancourt, CEO. Human intelligence. His company develops individualized training strategies to better train leaders and their employees to integrate AI safely and efficiently.

With so few workers actually receiving on-the-job training to hire AI, he urged companies to close this critical training gap. Human intelligence software integrates with the organization’s workflow. The training and plug-in platform combine to create a learning environment that accelerates career growth and business innovation, he explains.

Betancourt says the training concept has been well-received when pitched to business leaders but has seen a slow adoption rate so far. He describes HumanIntelligence’s approach as AI-based and unique compared to other solutions.

“Only one in five companies we present it to buy the product, which is shocking. Once they buy it, they love it,” Betancourt told TechNewsWorld.

How AI is Reshaping the Workplace

A Microsoft-LinkedIn AI usage report revealed that many employees quietly use AI tools without proper guidance or approval from leadership.

The research is based on a survey of 31,000 people in 31 countries, labor and hiring trends on LinkedIn, trillion Microsoft 365 productivity signals and research with Fortune 500 customers. The results show how, in one year, AI is influencing how people work, lead and hire worldwide

For example, 52% of employees who use AI at work are reluctant to admit that they rely on it for important tasks. Additionally, 53% are concerned that using AI for important tasks may make them seem replaceable.

The report suggests that companies that do not strategically embrace AI miss out on its full benefits. This lack of oversight increases the risk of company data being compromised, as leadership focuses on cybersecurity and privacy concerns.

“AI is redefining work, and it’s clear we need a new playbook,” LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said in an announcement about the survey results.

He adds that leaders who prioritize agility over stability and invest in internal skill-building will give their organizations a competitive advantage and create more efficient, engaged and equitable teams.

Tailoring AI training to diverse learning styles

Learning style is different. Some people learn conceptually, not with examples and data-driven results. Others may prefer to learn independently, figuring things out on their own. Betancourt explained that some people like to tinker with the answers and others prefer a classroom environment with groups so they can ask questions.

With so many different learning styles, HumanIntelligence’s tools identify each individual’s learning style. The company’s AI-based training platform and maintenance procedures are unique as they allow training through individually prescribed procedures.

“We do it on a personal level,” he offered. “It involves much more than how to handle incoming calls and chat boxes working with live agents. It’s much more compliant.”

It provides variety for training groups of people. For example, he points out, the way you train all call center agents who have a particular profile in terms of psychometrics, behavior and motivation is very different from how you deliver their work style, training structure and content. Accounting, Finance and Sales Departments.

“Our tool works for AI training in all industries. It is made less vertical by industry and more vertical by each individual. Our tool, although distributed by the company, allows people to train all employees,” he said, no matter the existing skill level of workers.

Continuous AI training

HumanIntelligence’s new training product is about teaching employees how to use AI in their jobs. The product focuses only on teaching employees to use AI in their jobs, not on other training objectives. However, AI-powered features that identify employees’ innate learning styles support different training objectives.

Rather than offering a workshop-based solution, software development firms provide a tool for ongoing optimization. It ensures that 90% of the company’s workforce receives continuous training on any platform or delivery method every day, every week.

“We implement insights with Al. So it’s a huge difference that AI allows the training to happen at the right time for the right person when they need it at that moment,” added Betancourt.

Since HumanIntelligence started in 2016, its focus has evolved as business needs have changed. The path follows workplace solutions that have transitioned through the pre-to-post-Covid scenario, leading to the AI ​​explosion that began nearly two years ago.

“Our company has had four phases, so we’ve pivoted three times from the original idea of ​​what we were doing. AI has been the latest version of what we do,” Betancourt shared.

Adapting AI to evolving business needs

The start-up’s initial goal was to use employee psychological insights to learn why people act based on their psychology. The psychometric tool provides information on the behavior of high performers versus low performers and provides a glimpse into the different motivations driving their work styles.

In the company’s first four years, that insight ranking product became a recruiting tool based on algorithmic matching. Then like light AI, the results allow companies to select from the top five matches among thousands of applicants for positions at any company.

Then Covid hit, and HumanIntelligence lost all revenue. No one was using recruiting software. Nobody was hiring, Betancourt lamented.

Changes in business needs led to the first pivot — building a platform for culture management. The platform used psychometric analysis to assess existing employees, helping leaders and colleagues see the summation of their team’s culture or dynamics. These insights lead to tips on how to better manage or collaborate within a team.

“After two years, we have merged, as Grammarly is consolidating its workflow. We’ve integrated this culture management, all of that email insight into teams, into Slack, so you can create a profile from communication or collaboration to whatever platform you’re on,” Betancourt said of the transition to the next important platform.

Advances in AI over the past 18 months have resulted in the ultimate pivot. AI provides a tool to provide accurate insights for each person in any environment. Hence, HumanIntelligence has created a better process for companies to train their employees to use AI.

Barriers to AI adoption in the workplace

According to Betancourt, there are specific reasons why potential customers don’t move forward after they express positive feedback on presentations about software.

“It’s expensive. It’s over budget. They don’t know the ROI,” he argued. “You can’t put a number on the return on investment on whether people will learn faster or learn better.”

Ironically, despite all the training insights being loved, some companies don’t want them to be delivered through AI. They ask for a version with all the insights but delivered manually, he added.

“They want it to be more hand-fed,” he quipped.

Another challenge is the lack of a leadership structure to manage AI. Funding for training often falls between the CIO and CTO, which creates budgetary issues.

“We are plugging into communication and collaboration platforms All of that is under CTO, but training sits under HR. So, one of the problems is that there is no major in AI training. There is no chief AI officer,” he noted.