As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to advance, the coming years are poised to be a turning point where AI revolutionises the traditional business landscape. It will transform everyday operations and development and play a pivotal role in other business tasks and processes.
Additionally, the AI in HR stats suggests that companies using AI have seen a 15-20 per cent increase in employee satisfaction while also reducing turnover rates.
With tech-based companies already repeating AI’s benefits, many other sectors have joined the trend to redefine employee engagement, productivity, and learning.
So, let’s look at the role of AI in revolutionising business and what this means for its development, and a more engaging work environment.
AI Is Not A Human Replacement
It’s important to understand that AI is not a replacement for human abilities when used for employee engagement and learning. Instead, it is a robust tool that enhances HR teams’ capabilities, allowing them to dedicate more time to building genuine human connections with employees and reassuring us about the future of work.
Simultaneously, AI tools work behind the scenes to gather and analyse copious amounts of data from employee feedback, productivity, engagement levels, etc. This empowers HR to take meaningful steps based on potential trends, challenges, and areas of improvement.
One of the leading players leveraging AI in HR activities is Google. Their use of AI to identify high-potential employees and create customised L&D paths has revolutionised their talent management capabilities. These success stories inspire hope and show AI’s potential to transform our organisations.
Exploring AI Solutions That Improve Employee Engagement and Learning
HR is one of the crucial departments of a company that is directly linked to employee productivity, engagement, and growth. According to Gartner, 76% of HR professionals believe that the absence of AI solutions can hold the business back, especially when considering its uses to improve employee productivity and enhance their capabilities, which is crucial for a company’s success.
So, let’s explore how companies have adopted AI solutions for employee engagement and learning.
Chatbots and Virtual Assistants
Chatbots and virtual assistants are used in various employee processes, including recruitment, onboarding, training, goal setting, feedback collection, performance reviews, skill development, and more.
While such AI solutions are gradually increasing, some companies have already seen astonishing results after implementation. For example, aircraft manufacturer Airbus introduced the chatbot Bessie. Since its launch, the chatbot has handled 60% of candidate queries and images of around 12,000 job seekers each month, freed up time for complex tasks and helped locate talent internationally.
Using chatbots and IVR also improves team engagement by enabling better self-service and reducing call volumes by providing employees with AI-driven guidance and quicker solutions. Similarly, it handles mundane, repetitive tasks like post-call summaries and issue logging, freeing teams from tedious administrative tasks.
Gamification
According to recent gamification stats, 70% of companies across the globe use gamification elements in their workspace, especially to improve employee engagement, productivity, and overall profitability for the business. In fact, 90% of employees state that gamification does make them more productive at work.
Gamification works hand-in-hand with AI for a more adaptive, personalised, and engaging employee experience because it can cater to individual user learning styles, behaviours, and preferences. Centrical is one example of a platform that has leveraged advanced gamification and AI to engage, motivate, and retain employees.
Renowned businesses such as Microsoft, Swiss Life, Teleperformance, Ovo, etc., use Centrical’s software to keep employees interested in work by offering real-time feedback and support, hosting team competitions, progressing game narratives, and personal challenges. They also cultivate strong bonds within teams while rewarding employees for their excellence.
These AI-powered platforms use employee interactions with gamified processes to analyse and provide adaptive adjustments. It also generates actionable insights into employee engagement levels and behaviour; this valuable data allows HR teams to constantly refine gamification strategies, optimise learning and engagement initiatives, and positively impact employee engagement and productivity.
Personalised Training
Studies suggest that using AI algorithms within employee training programmes or behavioural and IQ scanning tools helps assess what inspires employees and tailors their learning based on personal capabilities, motivations, needs, and preferences.
Integrating AI for employee training isn’t just about enhancing learning because the focus is more on bridging the existing gaps within the global workforce. According to research analyst Josh Bersin, AI has the potential to revolutionise learning paths by tailoring them to individual needs based on job roles. AI can personalise the learning experience, offering a far more effective alternative to cluttered learning experience platforms (LXPs) that struggle to comprehend content intricacies.
Similarly, employers can use AI-driven tech and automated learning to empower current employees and help them work faster, indirectly reducing labour shortage. Another example is when Schneider Electrics integrated AI into its Open Talent Management (OTM) platform; this allowed the company to upskill its employees, with one of the teams witnessing two times more productivity enhancement.
Learning and Development
Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised learning and development (L&D) by enabling professionals to sift through large amounts of data to find patterns and insights. AI tools can quickly identify areas where teams need improvement and pinpoint emerging essential skills in an industry.
Moreover, AI can analyse employee performance data and training outcomes to identify knowledge gaps, allowing L&D professionals to create more targeted corporate learning programmes. It also assists in course design and development by generating ideas, suggesting titles and activities, and expediting the process of creating learning objectives and quizzes.
One of the key benefits of AI in L&D is its ability to personalise learning, tailor content to individual needs and boost learner engagement. Additionally, AI streamlines repetitive tasks, allowing L&D experts to focus on more strategic activities.
Lastly, AI simplifies the measurement and evaluation of training programmes by tracking usage metrics and providing insights into their effectiveness. For instance, a company wants to find the best person for the position of project manager and one of the candidates has a clinical psychology online degree; AI will discover that the skills of this degree allow this individual to understand people, making them an appropriate candidate for leading teams and clients.
Employee Performance Recognition
Everyone appreciates when they’re given credit for their hard work and achievements; it improves employee engagement, instils workplace morale, and drives productivity. It’s more common now than ever for companies to leverage AI to improve employee recognition programmes’ efficiency, effectiveness, and personalisation.
After integrating AI, this system tracks real-time employee achievements like completing a project, achieving a milestone, or meeting a sales target. It offers real-time recognition to encourage them to maintain their performance. It can also analyse past performance patterns and data to identify and predict when an employee will likely achieve a goal, making anticipating recognition opportunities and rewarding them easier.
As a result, the recognition also gets personalised based on work styles and accomplishments, which translates into a stronger bond between the organisation and its employees. After all, when employees receive these AI-driven incentives that resonate with them, it develops a sense of belonging and motivates them to continue excelling in their roles.
Conclusion
AI-powered tools and techniques have transformed employee engagement and promote employee well-being as well as continuous learning. It creates judgement-free zones for personalised learning and expands engagement activities with virtual reality and innovative rewards.
This transformation requires an ethical approach and maintaining trust while embracing AI’s potential. AI empowers us to create a happier, more productive workforce while keeping the human touch at the heart of engagement strategies.
Author: Steven Briggs – Content Executive, Research.com
Photo credit: StockCake
