Using AI to Drive Employee Development

AI can create individualized learning paths based on each employee’s inferred skills, needs, and learning styles. 

While AI elicits a number of strong reactions – from fear to relief --  this article explores how it can assist employees in their desire to develop their careers.

The following is an excerpt of some of those ways:

1.  Skills gap analysis

Many companies suffer from a gap between their workforce’s current and desired position. The first step in closing a skills gap is understanding how wide it is and where your vulnerabilities lie. AI-driven tools can: 

• Survey employees to assess their current skills
• Identify developmental areas in which to invest resources
• Analyze data from job postings and market trends to predict future skill demands. 

2.  Personalized learning paths

Once you know where your employees need to improve, AI can personalize learning journeys and help employees chart their own career destinies. Traditional training methods often take a one-size-fits-all approach, but AI can create individualized learning paths based on each employee’s inferred skills, needs, and learning styles.      

Another dynamic aspect of personalization offered by AI is the ability to assemble content based on user activities such as completed courses or other interests.

3.  Upskilling and reskilling

Stale, annual training courses have been replaced by “learning in the flow of work,” a practical alternative introduced by Josh Bersin in 2018. 

This short-form learning concept enables employees to consume daily bite-sized content such as videos, podcasts, and email content to regularly upskill, reskill, and stay relevant. AI's content authoring features can generate engaging learning materials in minutes, for example, by: 

• Turning a new research paper into a gamified microlearning experience
• Creating infographic content from a news article 
• Converting a webinar into short, engaging snippets

4.  AI tutors and chatbots 

Like every other area of our consumer-led society, employees need fast responses to their queries. If they’re engaging in some on-the-go training during their commute or over the weekend, and have a question, they don’t want to wait for their tutor to sign in and respond to them. 

Chatbots and AI tutors are available 24/7 to provide thoughtful answers to specific queries. For example, you can ask an AI platform, like Microsoft Copilot, “I have an employee whose performance has been consistently below expectations. Can you give me a narrative on how to address this issue?”

Copilot responds with a comprehensive answer to the question, suggesting how to initiate the conversation, listen and respond to the employee, provide feedback, and more. This approach to corporate learning is both immediate and significantly more user-friendly than simply signposting training resources for employees to work their way through.

5.  AI coaching 

Conversation forms an integral part of any professional coaching relationship, as a back-and-forth exchange between coach and client, which is essential to achieving progress. While conversation is an inherently human interaction, some AI platforms enable people to hold rich conversations with data, using natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to:

• Interpret and respond to employee questions
• Provide feedback on their performance
• Guide them towards improving their skills

Speaking on the Learning and Development podcast, award-winning learning innovator and strategist Egle Vinauskaite provides an interesting use case for this AI-backed interaction: 

“I am very excited by the potential for real skill development of what we call 'deliberate practice.' I'm talking about conversation simulations where I can converse using my voice, my very own way of speaking, and get completely customized and personalized feedback. If done well, that could be transformational because, so far, we have only had proxies for that kind of skills practice, such as branching scenarios, senior learning, or one-on-one role plays that are only accessible to a few people and for only limited periods of time.” 

What are the benefits of AI in workforce development and employee education? 

Incorporating AI in workforce development has several benefits for both employees and organizations, such as: 

Increasing efficiency and productivity

At its core, AI-driven workforce development is a convenient time-saver. The technology has replaced activities like creating courses from scratch or blocking hours out of the calendar for employees to attend in-center training sessions. Generative AI can whip up a strong first draft of a course in minutes, requiring minimal input from humans. And, on the output end, learners can consume courses asynchronously, ensuring their workload productivity remains undisturbed. 

Reducing training costs 

These efficiencies naturally reduce a company’s overall training spend. Deloitte reports that 54% of organizations using AI have reported cost savings and resource efficiencies. As an example, AI knocks eight days off the average training video production time—that’s a 62% reduction. 

Improving employee engagement and retention

AI can add strength and depth to your company’s growth and development culture, providing rich and engaging training materials that make learning enjoyable for employees. In return, LinkedIn reports that companies with a strong learning culture enjoy a 57% higher retention rate and a 23% higher internal mobility rate as employees rewarded with training want to grow within the company. 

3 considerations when using AI to enhance L&D 

It would be remiss to discuss AI without addressing some of the challenges associated with its skyrocketing popularity. Here are some considerations to be aware of as you introduce AI into your L&D strategies: 

Data privacy and security

AI involves an abundance of data collection, storage, and analysis which is essential for its learning capabilities but raises concerns around data privacy and security. Organizations must ensure they have proper protocols in place to protect sensitive employee data from any potential breaches or misuse. Be aware of specific state legislation such as in California (AB 302, 2023), Connecticut (SB 1103, 2023), and Vermont (HB 410, 2022) that protect individuals from the impact of unsafe or ineffective AI systems. 

Quality content 

Content generated at speed doesn’t always hit the mark. AI output is simply a prediction of what the user wants to receive based on a prompt—and this can be problematic. Sometimes, AI isn’t trustworthy, having a tendency to hallucinate and make up facts. At other times, the algorithm may contain biases that impact the quality of content, such as gender or racial biases. Careful testing, regular auditing, and some attention to prompt engineering are all essential to ensure AI-generated training materials align with your organization’s values and goals, and always remain compliant. 

Employee resistance to change

While LinkedIn reports that 4 in 5 people want to learn more about how to use AI in their profession, some employees are fearful of the technology. Those resistant to change may shy away from new learning programs or the expectation to slide regular microlearning activities into their daily routines. 

Communication is key here; management can play a vital role in leading by example to encourage the workforce to embrace and make the most of AI in their development. Additionally, providing thorough training and support for employees as they adapt to new learning methods can ease any concerns. 

What will the future of an AI-powered workforce look like? 

It’s only eighteen months since Chat-GPT launched, and since then, software platforms have incorporated AI features into their products at breakneck speed. While AI in L&D is still in its infancy, there’s no doubt it’s already having a profound impact on corporate training. According to Crystal Lim-Lange, CEO and Co-Founder at Forest Wolf, here’s what we can expect in the future: 

“Everyone will have an AI-powered learning and development strategist to keep track of their career metrics and offer an at-a-glance dashboard reviewing how they’re doing at work, including engagement levels, mood, feedback, strengths and weaknesses, and contributions to the team’s strategic priorities. AI strategists will advise on skills and experiences employees need to succeed by analyzing data from the most successful people in a company and formulate a customized menu of options for employees to enhance their learning and growth.” 

Written by:  Rebecca Noori, Contributing Writer, for UKG.