UNLEASH World 2023: Navigating AI, Skills, and Collaboration
Explore the evolving workplace with AI, skills, and collaboration reshaping professional landscapes.
John Freshwater, VP of Degreed, uncovers key insights from Unleash World 2023, exploring the impact of AI, evolving skills, and the significance of collaboration in the modern workplace.
Across two days in Paris, the HR and L&D sectors’ best and brightest thinkers descended on the Paris Convention Centre. There was a definite feeling of excitement in the air, thanks to the many changes coming to the workplace, and two words seemed to be on everyone’s lips — artificial intelligence (AI) and skills.
The Rise of Skills-based Organizations
During his keynote, industry analyst Josh Bersin introduced the concept of the dynamic organization. As he explained, this new operating structure is characterized by a culture of inclusion, with skills as the way work gets allocated and opportunities shared. Through the innovative use of technology, he shared that companies can be up to 31 times more effective at retaining talent thanks to this skills-based approach. Yet, only 7% currently fit the criteria, with many organizations needing help to get started.
Similar insights were shared by entrepreneur and investor Salim Ismail, who named this shift the exponential organization thanks to the high growth he’s seen skills-based organizations achieve so far. In particular, looking at people’s skills allows HR leaders to manage abundancies better and maximize everyone’s skills mix. The HR and L&D world is awakening to the importance of skills as the lever to connect talent and learning.
This is making HR and L&D a strategic partner in many boardrooms. Indeed, during her session, Barbara Lavernos, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at L’Oréal, shared that she saw the CHRO as the most critical partner to the CEO. It was interesting to see several CEOs speak at Unleash, highlighting the importance the C-Suite is now paying to HR and L&D. For good reason: investing in your people directly impacts consistent earnings, greater resilience during crisis, and employee retention.
See More: Bridging the Skills Gap with Skills-Based Hiring
AI Integration in Workforce Processes
Of course, you must consider the role of AI in the workplace before you can mention HR or L&D today. Connected to the shift towards skills-based organizations, AI is being explored to collect and consolidate data from across the HR, L&D, and recruiting ecosystem to inform strategic workforce planning, upskilling and reskilling, talent acquisition, and more. AI isn’t just changing our jobs and the skills needed for them, but it’s a critical tool for futureproofing workforces.
One theme that stuck out was how leveraging AI can help organizations build capabilities at scale. HR and L&D are being tasked with doing more with less, so using AI can make learning more personal and aligned with business needs while ensuring the workforce has the right skills at the right level for future strategic initiatives and transformations.
Overall, attendees were excited about the potential of AI, but they were experimenting with a close eye on data privacy, ethics, and the responsible use of AI. This is an important point because the long-term adoption of AI in the workplace will rely on employee consent and data — you cannot get this unless individuals trust that AI will be used to benefit their careers and not replace them or exploit their data. Much like how consumers woke up to the benefits and cautions of using their marketing and sales data for better recommendations and tailored messages, we’re going to see more employees asking their employers, “What’s in it for me?” when it comes to handing over their skills data to train and inform AI models.
A final takeaway that ties all of the above together is the importance of close partnerships and seamless, open ecosystems. The HRtech and learning tech landscape is complex and difficult to navigate. For everything to work together and share skills data (a fundamental part of skills-based organizations and AI), you need different technologies to integrate across HR, learning, recruitment, and operations. Much like a Lego set, different technologies plugging in together can create a greater, more impactful whole than working separately — or worse, in a silo. Likewise, investing in technologies that integrate well with others in the space can futureproof your HR and learning tech stack for future needs and emerging solutions while giving you the flexibility to invest in the best solutions for your organization.
See More: How To Integrate AI With HR for Better Decision-making
Embracing Change: HR and L&D in the Modern Workforce
There is no better time to be a people professional. The world is undergoing tremendous change, with the rapid pace of technological advancement outstripping the ability of humans to keep up. This is creating some tough questions in boardrooms across the globe, and CEOs are turning to HR and L&D for the answers. As Unleash World proved, there is ample room for innovation and knowledge sharing to figure out what the future of work looks like. One thing is for sure: to remain relevant in the modern workforce, organizations need to double down on developing their people through continuous learning and using skills as the catalyst for adaptation.
How can AI reshape your workplace? Why is collaboration essential in the future of work? Let us know on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
Image Source: Shutterstock
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