The Risks of Falling Behind with AI Transformation

As we cascade into a new era of working, the adoption of AI (or lack thereof) is set to shape the workforce of the future. Employees and employers alike see the value of AI and want to leverage it, but in many cases, organizational lethargy is slowing adoption. In other cases, the question is not when to adopt AI, but rather how. Left uncertain with how best to integrate AI into the workforce, these organizations are also being left behind.

What’s emerged is a two-speed workforce – those in the “fast-lane” have become AI power users, reporting increased productivity rates from 25 to a staggering 90%. Those left behind in the “slow lane” are missing out on the realized benefits of an AI integrated workplace. But that’s not all, in addition to the growing productivity disparity, the long-term consequences of a two-speed workforce also includes loss of competitive edge and talent drain as AI adopters continue to advance both their skills and their output.

With 46% of employees reporting that they believe AI can improve access to relevant information and 51% reporting they want to see AI used to simplify the digital workplace, it is clear that employees see the value in AI at work. But how do leaders bring forth AI transformation in an effective, timely way?

For enterprises, AI transformation is only impactful for employees when it’s done right. That means:

• Quick but meaningful wins to start realizing ROI and value to employees

• Governance and safeguards to ensure secure interactions

• Usable workflows that add value, not friction

So how do workplaces achieve this? With the help of an AI Assistant.

Nearly every SaaS vendor on the market has added an AI-powered arm to their offerings. Whether they’ve adopted the term AI copilot, AI agent, or AI assistant, odds are this new functionality comes at a premium. While it may seem enticing to say yes to these added features, it may also add a layer of complexity to the ultimate rollout of AI across the workplace. In addition to the premium cost, consider whether it adds value to all employees or just a select siloed few with system licenses. Furthermore, consider who owns and manages said system. With numerous AI assistants across departments and applications, organizations can quickly run into challenges with governance and management. 

A system agnostic platform, like Workgrid, makes it easy to roll out AI use cases for a variety of departments and job roles without confining them to another (or unfamiliar) platform. As a result, it is easy to access and leverage for all employees, leading to increased adoption and value for the workplace. Similarly, with just one place to manage AI workflows instead of multiple, owners can ensure governance and security standards through one channel instead of working across multiple product owners and systems. 

Look for an AI Assistant that seamlessly blends into your digital workplace, integrating with your existing technology, and providing value without adding another layer of complexity to your employee’s digital experience.

Ultimately, the end goal for AI transformation is to improve the employee experience. With such a wide range of potential implementations, we’ve narrowed down a few key outcomes workplaces should expect from their AI efforts.

• Improved knowledge management

• Streamlined workflows

• Integrated technology

Let’s explore each of these further.

Improved Knowledge Management

An AI Assistant can support knowledge management by helping employees find information from across the digital workplace. Conversational AI, natural language processing, and retrieval augmented generation are just a few ways an AI Assistant can source information from systems, knowledge bases, and documents, and deliver it back to employees within the flow of work. Instead of spending time reviewing individual search results, or reading through lengthy documents, the AI Assistant quickly finds and digests information and delivers it to employees in a comprehensive manner for faster, more informed decision making.

Streamlined Workflows

One of the easiest ways to maximize the benefits of AI technology for the employee experience is to streamline repetitive workflows. From simple automations like nudging employees to submit their time sheets and complete expense approvals to more complex tasks like ordering a new laptop or summarizing open Jira tickets, an AI Assistant is a centralized way to implement everyday use cases for employees that reduce time spent completing menial tasks so employees can focus on more meaningful work.

Integrated Technology

With an AI Assistant teams can enhance the value of the existing tech stack by integrating with business systems to extract notifications, data, and tasks. Not only that, an AI Assistant provides modern conveniences and reduces digital friction by bringing information and actions to employees within the flow of work. An agnostic AI Assistant like Workgrid can integrate with tools like the company intranet and Microsoft Teams or be delivered to employees as a browser extension across the web, so that instead of wasting time moving around clunky systems employees can access what they need, in whichever channel works best for them.

While the adoption of AI has resulted in a two-speed workforce, it’s not too late to catch up. As early adopters continue to see success in improving productivity, those who are lagging behind need a solution to get the AI engine going. Adding a platform like Workgrid to your tech stack provides an affordable, effective solution for embedding AI into the employee experience for rapid, realistic use cases that provide value for all employees regardless of department or role.

To see more ways an AI Assistant can support your employees, request a product demo today.