A range of skills are in demand to effectively leverage Generative AI technologies in the workplace, usually of the technical nature.
Of course, those skills are essential, but organisations are overlooking the softer skills needed to properly equip their existing workforce to get the full value from GenAI.
Our recent survey investigating the adoption of AI in the workplace reveals a distinct lack of centralised education around AI tools. A majority of workers in the UK are in fact educating themselves by reading articles about AI (40%) and experimenting with AI tools on their own (41%), all while only 28% are undergoing work-sponsored AI training.
As with any new emerging technology or solution, AI’s success is only as strong as the training and understanding of those using it. It’s essential that employees’ collaboration skills are underpinned with the necessary training and guidance to work effectively with AI models. And this shouldn’t be treated as a siloed operation – organisations should bring employees along on the journey as they figure out which AI models can unlock the best productivity benefits.
Encouraging learning around AI
The validity of results of GenAI models relies on the quality of prompts fed in by employees, which is different from discussing a task with a colleague in-person. While our survey found 56% of UK knowledge workers believe human input should always be used to prompt a generative AI model, vague prompts or industry jargon from a human can still result in unhelpful outcomes being generated. Overcoming this challenge requires workers to understand the importance of including any limitations, parameters, or context in their prompts that could guide the output of a model. While GenAI deployment in organisations is still relatively nascent, that kind of information is not likely to be intuitive for employees. This is especially the case when using niche generative models that use different formats from natural language.
With a lot to learn initially, employees may not see the value in what GenAI can do for them and decide to simply not use it. Concerns about reliability and security can also deter people from exploring how the technology could enhance their work. The most effective way to overcome these barriers is to provide clear guidelines and training on responsible AI use, while providing opportunities for employees to experiment and integrate the technology into their everyday work.
Enhancing the collaboration process
Generative AI presents an opportunity to collaborate and communicate with colleagues by supplementing typical co-working processes. Brainstorm sessions often follow a standard format of bouncing ideas off one another, whereas AI can introduce fresh ideas which can be iterated on, potentially saving time if a topic or team chemistry is a bit stale. This allows teams to focus on higher-value creative tasks.
Further, leveraging AI within a team can improve consistency between projects and ensure that learnings from prior work aren’t forgotten. This provides models with access to contextual business data, turning them into tailored encyclopaedias. With over a quarter (27%) of workers spending more than 10 hours a week searching for information, this can help those working in different locations or time zones–or who weren’t able to attend a meeting–get up to speed.
The time saving benefits of generative AI extend to its ability to analyse work to create documentation and act as a source of truth for teams. This helps to address both team-level alignment and broader hybrid organisational challenges, as teams can break down siloed information and boost productivity.
Replacing inefficient hybrid working processes
Much has been reported on suggesting AI’s transformative potential in enhancing productivity for hybrid companies. Lucid’s recent Hybrid Whiplash survey found 54% of organisations report difficulties in balancing employee productivity in hybrid and remote working settings, despite workplaces now having so many years’ experience with hybrid work. As is often the case, this is because many firms have not given their staff the skills they need to succeed, with just 29% of workplaces providing collaboration training to employees.
There’s a role for generative AI in easing some of the pain points teammates experience when working remotely, when certain processes are replaced and not added. With uses for real-time language translation and acting as a reliable source of company information for employees, the technology supports teams in hybrid work settings to complete tasks in a much more efficient manner. The benefits from training your employees to use AI can even extend to work where the technology isn’t used. Generative AI depends on clear, comprehensive prompts that effectively communicate relevant information – the skills needed to draft prompts are those also used to communicate coherently with colleagues.
Generative AI supercharges collaboration
There are clear advantages to using generative AI to improve the speed at which teams work together, not to mention for inspiring creativity. But, employees require the skills and nurturing to understand what can be achieved using AI and why it’s of benefit to them, otherwise those benefits can’t be realised.Training your employees on how to use the technology for their individual work, and how they can level-up their collaborative efforts with colleagues, is imperative for ensuring generative AI investments are worthwhile.
Dan is the Chief Product Officer at Lucid, the visual collaboration suite that helps teams see and build the future from idea to reality. Its products—Lucidchart, Lucidspark and Lucidscale—provide users with an end-to-end experience that empowers teams to collaborate and communicate clearly about the most complex topics, no matter where teams are located. Dan is passionate about creating value by solving problems in delightful ways.
Prior to Lucid, he led product and design organizations at Adobe, Ancestry, and Vivint. During his 20 years in product leadership, Dan has developed a deep understanding of the art and science of experience design and loves helping others realise their leadership potential.
