As organisations implement AI skill development initiatives, it’s essential to establish measurement plans that align with business objectives. Learning programs should be designed to drive tangible outcomes, contributing directly to organisational success by linking objectives to broader business strategies.
This was the focus of our latest episode, “Strategic Alignment and Measurement in AI Skill Development”, from the podcast series Building Mission Critical Skills to Navigate the Gen AI Transformation: Learn- Grow-Thrive. Hosted by Raghav Gupta, Managing Director – India & Asia Pacific at Coursera and joined by Harjeet Khanduja, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Reliance Jio, the conversation takes a deep dive into the strategic significance of leveraging AI and GenAI, building relevant skills and successfully measuring its impact.
As organisations embrace AI as the future of work, our speakers highlight equipping the workforce with the required skills to navigate this transformation. When asked about the responsible use of AI in HR, Harjeet Khanduja underscores the human tendency to constantly focus on the potential harms of the emerging tech rather than its benefits. Using the analogy of computers transforming teller jobs, he emphasises the efficiency GenAI can enhance the workforce with.
Discussing AI’s growing significance, our speaker highlights that AI is not a mere option but a requisite to thrive in a competitive environment. While talking about its ability to conduct sentiment analysis in interviews and psychometric assessments, he emphasises AI to be adopted widely by organisations.
On fostering engagement, Harjeet Khanduja highlights the role of chatbots in understanding the trends in the organisation’s health. “Chatbots can conduct surveys on a daily basis. You can get a daily trend on how your organisation is performing and that is the power of AI tools coming in. You can also receive a comprehensive summary of the actions you’ve taken, how they impacted your employees—positively or negatively—how you created a narrative, and how your employees responded to that narrative.”
Here are some key takeaways from the episode:
The transformative power of AI: Describing it as a major force of change in reshaping existing jobs, Harjeet Khanduja discusses the impact AI can have on creating new jobs and the demand for more relevant skills in the future. To leverage its complete potential, GenAI must be perceived as a driver of cultural change rather than just limiting it to a technical endeavour.
Strategic Alignment of AI Skill Development: AI training initiatives must align with broader business goals like enhancing customer loyalty, improving productivity, or increasing sales. Collaboration between tech teams and business units is key to seamless integration. AI tools, from chatbots for employee engagement to predictive algorithms for attrition, are already transforming workplace processes and decision-making.
Redefining scalability: Assessing knowledge and skills goes beyond merely detecting AI usage. Raghav Gupta mentions Coursera’s ‘AI Viva exam’ which requires students to engage in an AI-driven conversation about their responses after writing an online exam. This initiative highlights the marvel of AI-enabled scalability.
Cultural Shift in Learning Models: AI adoption drives a cultural shift, moving from traditional training to self-directed career development. Platforms like Coursera empower employees to build skills for emerging roles, fostering a more dynamic and proactive workforce.
Metrics and engagement: Chatbots can enable daily engagement surveys, providing useful insights in real-time. Measuring AI’s success requires defining precise goals – such as customer retention or sales generation, and assessing whether these goals are met.
AI and pitfalls: Using the acronym “TECH”, Harjeet Khanduja illustrates the pitfalls of AI. The ‘Training manager’ syndrome involves training only the AI team while the rest remain uninformed. Addressing ‘Ethical concerns’ is critical while using AI as gaps can be easily overlooked and in turn, jeopardise the organisation’s health. Failure to practise ‘Continuous learning’ reflects a decline in tech capabilities. Altering ‘Habits’ is crucial to harness the potential of AI tools – change management is the key to its successful adoption.
Tune in to the full episode to learn how organisations can leverage AI to boost efficiency and drive growth through strategic alignment, continuous learning, and thoughtful success measurement.
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