The Future Workforce will be Powered by AI

Many of the jobs that will be essential in 2030 don’t exist yet – as many as 85%, according to The Institute for the Future and Dell Technologies. That’s why companies need to adapt to build the future workforce. Businesses need to embrace a skills-based mindset, powered by AI. Such an approach will see organizations factor in the entire breadth of a person’s skills and abilities. In practice, this will mean focusing on technical skills, soft skills, functional skills and skills adjacent to the role, with less focus on education and work history. Here’s how:

Adopt a Skills-Based Mindset

An approach based on skills helps organizations find and retain quality talent. It’s also a foundation for employee retention and upskilling. In fact, according to Workday research carried out with the Financial Times, 40% of HR leaders believe AI will bring new opportunities to leverage skills across an organization.

Organizations need to abandon the traditional view of work – the view that jobs are rigid and immobile, bound by responsibilities and titles. They should replace that view with one that considers work a fluid collection of skills and tasks that evolve with the world. Organizations that take a skills-based approach are more flexible and agile – key characteristics of any organization that wants to stay competitive.

Related:Conquering the Fear of Embracing AI

Embrace Innovation and Integrate AI

A skills-based approach is only possible with AI. AI can help organizations manage their skills data and enable organizations to build good teams. It enables leaders to match the right individuals to the right tasks, or train them to complete new ones. This is arduous and borderline impossible to do at scale without AI. The use of AI makes the use of employee data more of a strategic advantage which lets companies boost productivity and adapt to change. When supported by AI, employees can get skills development suggestions, bolstering their own growth.

Organizations prioritize skills like creative thinking and solving problems, as well as the ability to identify, anticipate and manage risks. With AI, this focus will only grow. Skills like these will become more important but the same goes for the ability to work with new technologies and data literacy. This combination will become a new workforce standard.

By embedding AI in an organization’s people processes, leaders can offer employees the most optimized experience.

Build Policies That Factor in all Stakeholders

A skills-based workforce only works with policies that embrace responsible AI approaches. This means factoring in all stakeholders, including AI vendors. If leaders don’t, they risk damaging worker trust in AI.

Related:Unlocking AI’s Potential for Nonprofits Requires Data Transformation First

AI will change work, ensuring greater equality of opportunity and development. But, when faced with such unprecedented change, it’s crucial businesses commit to sound ethical principles.

The public and private sectors have an opportunity here: to come together to establish policies and standards that ensure technologies like AI elevate human ability, create future jobs and boost the economy.