There’s a worrying disconnect happening in many organizations today. We talk to 40,000 employers globally each quarter and 74% of them do not believe they have the right resources with the right skills to take them into the future. As a result, we expect about 92 million workers may be displaced over the next five years.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
As companies accelerate AI adoption, we’re seeing a gap—there is a lack of partnership and collaboration between the business and technology leaders who are investing in AI and their Talent Acquisition partners. There is an opportunity for Talent Acquisition leaders to be highly engaged with the areas of the organization implementing AI to ensure that the people connection remains strong—that is, offering workers who may be displaced an opportunity to join other areas of the organization where their skills are still needed.
Here’s an example: a software development group implements AI, which streamlines the coding process, and the need for 10 developers on the team moves to seven. Instead of laying off those three workers, it would be much more efficient in the long run to place them in another developer role within the organization. This allows for an organization to retain institutional knowledge and proven talent, and makes for a positive employee experience, which will yield more referrals and brand recognition.
AI in Action: How it’s Reshaping Industries
We’ve all heard many discussions regarding how AI is changing the way we work and live. Here are just a couple of examples of the many ways AI is being used across industries, and the implications for job redesign.
- Customer Service
AI is a real game changer in customer service. Chatbots have been around for years and are now standard tools in the customer service arsenal. Research reveals that customers like interacting with them because they save time. Virtual assistants are next-level tools that use natural language processing to understand callers. Not only can they understand slang and alternate pronunciations of many words, they’re trained to answer more complex questions, using information from the internet or files from the company’s computers.
One of the newer customer service tools is sentiment analysis. While humans may be skilled at judging customer sentiment, this AI tool can categorize customer emotion—communicated either through text or voice—and score it on a scale from positive to very negative. Repeated negative interactions help managers pinpoint trouble spots and make the necessary corrections.
We are seeing these tools better equip and prepare customer service representatives for each customer they assist, ultimately causing customer service ratings to increase as customers receive a more personalized interaction.
- Human Resources
There are many ways HR managers are using AI. Most talent acquisition teams use it for resume screening, which sorts and filters applications according to pre-set parameters. This slashes the amount of time managers used to spend scrolling through hundreds of resumes by hand.
Sentiment analysis comes into play in HR too. Through a combination of natural language processing and machine learning, AI can monitor internal communications and surveys to gauge employee morale and engagement.
AI-powered tools can help with workforce planning by monitoring workflows, identifying bottlenecks, and suggesting optimization strategies. Ironically, AI can help companies identify the skills that will be needed in the workforce as a result of AI adoption.
Where the Disconnect Begins
There are many different reasons for leaders to green light an investment in AI technology, but they generally fall into one of these buckets.
- Strategic Alignment – AI investments directly support strategic goals or become a necessity in order to compete within the industry.
- Use Case Prioritization – Projects offer measurable ROI (e.g., automation, predictive analytics, personalization).
- Cost-Benefit Analysis – Investments generate expected cost savings through revenue generation or productivity gains against upfront and ongoing investment costs.
How Business-First AI Adoption Leaves Talent Behind
Once the decision is made to invest in a new technology, a talent inventory is likely to follow. However, this talent inventory tends to focus on “what we have” and “what we’ll have to outsource or hire” – not “who we have” and “how we can fit them into the new paradigm.”
Some companies are being more proactive. A McKinsey report has found that larger organizations are more likely than their smaller counterparts to create a clearly defined roadmap for AI adoption that includes a skilling or reskilling plan. This study found that 31% of those surveyed report establishing role-based capability training courses to ensure that all employees know how to use the AI solution.
Devising Your People-Focused Strategy
To fuel the AI revolution, both technical skills and soft skills (those that can’t be automated) will become increasingly important.
Top 3 In-Demand Technical Skills
- AI/ML Fundamentals: In order to make the most efficient use of AI tools, everyone should have a basic understanding of how these systems work. Part of this skill involves learning how to create effective prompts.
- Data Literacy: Since one of the main benefits of AI is the prompt interpretation of vast amounts of data, the ability to interpret, analyze, and use data effectively will be a valued skill.
- Automation Tools Proficiency: “Hard” tech skills include familiarity with platforms like UiPath, Zapier, or Power Automate.
Top 3 In-Demand Soft Skills
- Critical Thinking & Problem Solving: Humans need the ability to assess AI outputs critically, make informed decisions, and identify gaps where human judgment is needed.
- Adaptability & Learning Agility: Both the willingness and ability to learn new tools and methods is critical.
- Ethical Reasoning & Governance: This relates to the understanding of AI ethics, data privacy, and responsible use and skill in evaluating bias and fairness in AI systems.
Bridging the AI Gap with People-First Planning
Here are some ways to break down the silos between the business and Human Resources/Talent Acquisition functions.
- Align Objectives: Devise ways to integrate Talent Acquisition strategies with business goals, such as aligning metrics with business outcomes. AI can help with this.
- Facilitate Collaboration: Propose methods for fostering better communication and collaboration between business and HR leaders.
- Use Your Talent Resource: Identify the skills, roles, and workforce structures needed to support initiatives (such as digital transformation) and develop workforce plans that map talent acquisition, development, and succession planning to these needs.
How Experis can help
As I noted earlier, 74% of hiring managers express concern that they lack the skilled talent needed to meet future demands. Additionally, according to our quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey—which forecasts hiring trends for the upcoming quarter—Information Technology has led national demand for talent for the 16th consecutive quarter.
Combine a highly active hiring climate with a shortage of talent, and it’s easy to see that an upskilling program is an excellent option. You can create your own custom program with online courses, workshops, and hands-on training or partnerships with educational organizations.
Better yet, partner with us and upskill your workforce with Experis Academy. This program is updated frequently to ensure it covers to day’s most in-demand tech skills. Available at no charge to consultants, Experis Academy encompasses thousands of online courses and instructor-led training—and it’s all customizable to the client’s needs.
Whether you’re building internal programs or looking for a partner to move faster, Experis can help. Our Academy and IT staffing solutions are built to flex with the market and your business.
Find out more about Experis Academy and all the ways we can assist you with IT staffing and project services.
Author Information
Chandelle Fastiggi
Former NA Sales Head of Financial Services, ManpowerGroup
For over 25 years, Chandelle has been at the forefront of talent solutions. As the NA Sales Head of Financial Services for ManpowerGroup, she spearheads the development of strategic talent solutions for Fortune 500 financial organizations throughout the entire talent life cycle. Her expertise in the financial services landscape, coupled with a keen understanding of regulatory requirements and evolving market demands, empowers her to deliver innovative workforce planning and talent strategies that drive measurable organizational success.
