Driving change adoption in the age of AI

Part of our Insights series: How to Tackle Business Transformation in the Age of AI

AI is an unstoppable force and is seeping into every aspect of our lives. For organizations, this age of AI is creating both opportunities and challenges. Clients I talk to are seeking ways a) to innovate while sustaining profitable growth, b) balance legacy and modern technology in fragmented environments, and c) most importantly are exploring ways to drive human adoption of change. And AI is not specifically a technology or data challenge alone, it’s a human opportunity. Driving AI adoption in the workplace will be among the most critical steps for organizations to be successful in the coming years.

No longer the domain of software engineers or programmers, GenAI has created a significant shift in how knowledge is acquired, shared and applied across industries and functions. Because of this, organizations will have to rethink how employees use AI in the workplace. Two things are making this technology advancement different. The first is that these technologies are fully democratized – meaning they are available to anyone with access to the internet. The second is that the use is starting outside the workplace and then moving to the workplace. Two very different paths from previous tech disruptions.

Legendary chess player Gary Kasparov put it succinctly when he said "A good human being plus a machine is the best combination." While this sounds simple, the reality is quite challenging. As with many truly disruptive advancements, humans are often nervous about using these new tools. That concern may come from a lack of skill or even a distrust of technology they simply don’t understand. According to our global GenAI  report, two in three organizations say their employees don’t have the skills to work with GenAI and only 50% were planning employee education and training to increase GenAI adoption.

Developing AI-related skills and driving adoption of AI and AI-enabled technology will be critical for organizations to remain competitive. So, how can enterprises move swiftly to drive change adoption?

It starts with a shift in mindset, overcoming the fear of AI and creating intentional and purposeful training.

AI as a colleague

Leaders should stop positioning AI as a tool. Rather, they should position AI as a colleague that, or rather who, can help humans do their jobs better. For example, in the clinical world an AI colleague can review and interpret charts and reports faster, thus enabling the physician to have more face time with their patients. For a floor manager in a factory, an AI colleague could take on the mundane task of scheduling so that the manager can spend more quality time, engaging with and lifting employees. For a business leader, an AI colleague could tackle extremely complex analyses enabling the leader to finally take that moonshot for the business. At the end of the day, it means more pajama time—precious time spent with family or relaxing with a favorite hobby.

AI as a colleague can help humans amplify what we do best - reasoning, problem solving, creating empathy, and innovating. But an AI colleague could also be seen as a threat. How can leaders deal with the fear of AI taking over jobs?

The fear is real

Fear is a powerful emotion, especially when AI is indeed taking over jobs. Recently, I worked with a client whose employees refused to share data that was needed to train the AI program because it meant that the AI would take away their jobs. It’s ironic. But that’s the reality. The fear is real.

While organizations can help mitigate fear, it cannot be eliminated. AI will continue to affect jobs just like all disruptive technologies that preceded it. And like the introduction of the horseless carriage or the internet it’s going to affect jobs in both directions—eliminating some, while creating new ones. Similar to the car mechanic who displaced the coachman during the industrial revolution, or the desktop publishing software engineers who displaced the typesetter; we are now seeing the rise of jobs like prompt engineers or AI ethicists and a host of others that are driving 40%+ growth in AI-related roles.

Getting over the fear

Fear is a difficult concept to understand and address, especially in the workplace. It’s simply not something we spend much time on. Nevertheless, it’s critical that leaders face it head on. Accepting that fear exists—not only in the lower levels, but also in senior positions — will make it easier to effectively implement and drive AI use. That’s step number one. Next, leaders can help their employees understand the basics of AI --- that it is a technology that we humans can use to do our jobs better, just like Excel or Outlook, or frankly the internet itself!

This can pave the way for organizations to address the why, where, how and when AI can help because AI is not a one-stop solution. Rather it’s a mechanism to enhance human capabilities when used alongside critical thinking and expertise. Just as a telescope provides information and clarity, it’s the astronomer who determines how to use that knowledge, or a team of financial analysts who produce detailed reports and forecasts, but it’s the executive team that decides the company’s strategy.

So, clearly, AI training is the need of the hour to help quell the fears of employees. In fact, employee training was among the top four factors negatively affecting employee adoption of GenAI solutions according to our GenAI report. This means that leaders will have to act purposefully and plan their training effectively. But where do leaders start?

Make training intentional

Often, when there is new technology, people teach themselves how to use it either by watching their friends and family use it or experimenting with it in personal use cases. And that is certainly true with widely available tools such as ChatGPT. But technology use in our personal lives is far different from tech use at the workplace. In the latter the stakes are higher, and individual experimentation is both riskier and less common. So, organizations need to create intentional and purposeful training, rather than waiting for people to figure it out themselves.

However, there’s a catch and leaders will have to think beyond traditional module-based or theoretical training. Because using AI tools is more like working with a colleague, training is less like systems training and more about behavioral change. Just as employees learn how to work with a new human colleague, first by learning what that human can do and how they like to communicate, employees will need to be coached and trained to work with their new AI colleague.

Another best practice in this area is community-based learning. In my team, for example, we have an online group where we share use cases we have used AI to address. Once I see how one of my trusted human colleagues has used AI for conditional formatting in Excel or to create a full-fledged executive presentation, or what types of prompts were used to jump start the creation of a communication strategy, I am more confident about testing it out myself. This community-based learning also helps break fear barriers and is aligned with how humans learn best in the workplace.

Steps leaders can take

The rapid expansion of AI technologies means early adopters will win the talent war and enjoy a competitive advantage. Leaders should set their eyes on the real prize --- the value that AI adoption will bring and communicate that vision to their teams. They should also have a plan or a bridge for what people are doing today vs. what they’ll do tomorrow with an AI colleague.

Here’s a quick recap along with best practices for driving human adoption of change.

• Get real: Position AI appropriately in your organization --- AI as a colleague is a great place to start.
• Get transparent: Address AI fears and be clear about where, when, and how you want to use AI, and communicate it clearly across your organization.
• Get planful: Educate purposefully; adopt community-oriented approaches or shadowing approaches, akin to enterprise mentorship programs.

Find out how we’re helping organizations transform with change management and learning solutions.