The Skills Shortage

The skills shortage is a major problem facing businesses of all sizes. According to a recent study by the ManpowerGroup, 77% of employers are having difficulty filling open positions¹. This is due to a number of factors, including the changing nature of work, the aging workforce, and the increasing demand for skilled workers.

The skills needed are changing, compounded by the changing demographics of the workforce. Employees expect experiences that are comparable to the technology in their personal lives. According to 451 research, better work technologies is one of the top reasons an employee would consider leaving². The reality is there is a cost to every employee leaving, time to open a new position, training, etc. With many skills in high demand, employees have a choice of where to go, so to stay competitive to attract and retain talent, employers need to provide best in class employee experiences.

Better employee experiences mean better customer experiences

Stating the obvious, a better employee experience will lead to a better customer experience. Unfortunately, digital transformation is no light task, so where to start? The good news is technology has come a long way and with the latest technological advances, new experiences that were previously thought impossible are now a reality….you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT…People are using the technology to automate parts of their lives, using it to streamline an aspect of a process or simply beat writer’s block.

Fundamentally, this begins with changing how we work, what tasks actually fill the day to day for employees. It’s essential, tedious tasks and processes are reduced and ideally removed from the employees’ workload, allowing them to focus on being a true SME of their role and solving for complex tasks.

To accomplish this, employees to offload tasks to digital workers and digital assistants in easy-to-use natural language interface that can work across existing applications. Employees simply ask and the assistant is able to break down the request, orchestrate the capabilities it has to complete the work. Employees then have the time to collaborate, learn new skills and tackle complex work.

AI is changing the way we work

The development and use of AI is raising a number of ethical concerns. These concerns include the potential for AI to be used to discriminate against people, to invade people's privacy, etc. New legislation is emerging to regulate the use and development of AI and ML.

It is important to address these concerns and to develop ethical guidelines for the development and use of AI. These guidelines should ensure that AI is used in a way that is beneficial to society and that respects the rights of individuals. IBM has a dedicated board to evaluating AI Ethics its products measuring across 5 key pillars. These pillars are fundamental to looking at new technology.

• Explainability: Good design does not sacrifice transparency in creating a seamless experience.
  
  
• Fairness: Properly calibrated, AI can assist humans in making fairer choices.
  
  
• Robustness: As systems are employed to make crucial decisions, AI must be secure and robust.
  
  
• Transparency: Transparency reinforces trust, and the best way to promote transparency is through disclosure.
  
  
• Privacy: AI systems must prioritize and safeguard consumers’ privacy and data rights.

Human Resources as an Area to Start

Human resources (HR) is an area where ethical AI, digital workers and digital assistants can be used to great effect-directly impacting how the skills shortage is managed. HR can use AI to automate the tedious tasks associated in areas such as recruiting, onboarding, and performance management. This can free up HR professionals from being process and tool experts to focus on more strategic tasks such as employee development, skilling up for the future, and engagement.

HR can also use AI to create more personalized and engaging experiences for employees. For example, AI can be used to recommend next steps in a process or work in tools seldomly used by employees on their behalf. It can also consume mass amounts of data to empower employees to make real-time decisions.

Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize HR. By automating tasks, creating personalized experiences, and making better decisions, AI can help HR to become more efficient and effective.

Conclusion

The skills shortage, digital employees and digital assistants and ethical AI are all important issues that are facing businesses today. By addressing these issues, businesses can ensure that they are not only prepared for the future of work but are driving their competitive edge with a people first approach.

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Sources:

1.    The Talent Shortage, The ManPower Grop

2.    To Mitigate Employee Engagement Challenges, Leaders Must Look to Collaboration, Management Strategy and Upskilling, 451 Research