AI is dominating conversations about business and technology. Everyday consumers use it to create and generate images. Hamburgers can also be fully cooked in less than a minute. The conversation among companies that was once about “if we use AI” has quickly shifted to “when to use AI.”
Top tips to help businesses get the most out of AI
- AI runs on data, so your company needs to ensure that:data is accurate and properly connected.
- Employees value their work, so be transparent with them about how you use AI in your business.
- Debunk any misconceptions your employees may have about AI.
- There’s no need to jump right in with AI. Take small steps and achieve big results.
As with any new technology, integrating AI into your business won't happen overnight. Employees will be reskilled and upskilled to properly use AI-enabled tools, as well as onboarding of the tools themselves. Perhaps most important is the education that needs to take place across the organization regarding AI. Even though AI has become mainstream, people still panic when they hear about it or learn that it will become a part of their organization.
The AI-powered future is already here. To participate in it, companies must first ensure that their employees and operations as a whole are ready. Here are three ways businesses can prepare their organizations for AI.
Centrally manage company data
Without data, there is no AI. and bData is the foundation of any AI-enabled technology, and to continuously learn and make decisions, it must be well-connected and fully accurate.
In many organizations, data is spread across multiple channels and tools. Data is often held by gatekeepers or is completely inaccessible to most team members because they don't know where it resides. Therefore, even if data is available to employees, it is subject to a variety of interpretations. There is no single source of truth for AI to draw data from.
Companies connect these disparate data sources and Bring together metrics that track performance, processes, people, and profitability across departments, platforms, and channels, all in one place. When data is centralized in this way, employees across the organization can access data that supports all types of AI in one space.
Plus, having all your organization's data in one place increases productivity. According to his company, 72% of employees say that to maximize productivity, all the data and resources needed to get the job done need to be readily available. Slingshot’s 2023 Digital Workplace Trends report.
Debunking myths about AI in the workplace
Many people still have concerns about AI, especially when it comes to work. Given how AI is portrayed in media and entertainment, the general public can easily assume that any kind of AI can be easily attacked. steal their work. The truth is quite the opposite, and AI could prove extremely useful in that role.
For example, AI can help reduce the mundane manual tasks that employees perform every day, giving them back time to focus on creative or strategic tasks that only they can do. Sharing concrete examples like this with your employees can help them focus on how AI can elevate their roles, rather than eliminate them entirely.
And just as organizations need to share business goals across the organization to keep everyone aligned and motivated, transparently considering how AI will be used , can give employees context about where technology fits in their organization and their roles. This transparency shifts the narrative from AI as a “job-killing machine” to AI as an “everyday workplace tool.”
take small steps to win big
lots of new technology and new innovation, it's tempting to go all-in on AI. But going from zero to 100 overnight is not sustainable.
Instead, start with small integrations within your business, such as using AI to summarize internal meetings or translate content into another language.
Slowly introducing these small but important use cases for AI will help employees recognize the specific role of technology in the workplace. This also gives your employees room to learn the skills to use these technologies, allowing them to start onboarding faster.
AI is here to stay and is already transforming the way we work and do business.
In addition to getting your employees on board, start small with the technology itself. AI is very new and continues to evolve, so be sure to test different tools and use cases within your organization. Start small in a specific department to ensure AI drives the success it’s meant to. Once that's done, you can deploy it across your organization.
AI is here to stay and is already transforming the way we work and do business. It is up to organizations to prepare their employees and operations for the impact of AI on the workplace.