So, you’re ready to tackle artificial intelligence (AI). You’re on board, you know it’s not going anywhere and you’ve been convinced there are opportunities to be had and savings to be had. You’re ready to get started.

But is your organization?

Billions of dollars are wasted every year by companies in search of their digital silver bullet: the tech that will give them the competitive edge or increase that bottom line. But there’s a high failure rate (up to 70%) of digital change projects, which points to a clear issue with how these projects are being implemented. In my experience, the same issues arise time and again within those organizations who don’t see the return on investment (ROI) they had hoped for.

AI can significantly transform corporate training environments by personalizing learning experiences, automating administrative tasks and providing analytics for better training outcomes. Technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing can also help customize learning paths for individual employees, enhancing engagement and effectiveness.

The Human Side of Adopting AI

Adopting AI requires strategies to manage resistance, promote innovation and ensure effective communication. To address fears and concerns, you should engage the workforce early, offering clear explanations of AI’s benefits. Providing vital training and upskilling programs can also help boost confidence with new technologies. The role of training in bridging gaps in an organization’s AI readiness is not merely a starting point, but an essential strategy to enhance AI implementation.

You can also foster a culture of innovation by encouraging experimentation and creating a space where employees feel valued and open to new ideas. Effective communication is critical — establish open dialogue, listen to feedback and maintain transparency about AI implementation plans.

Before digging deeper into these areas, it’s essential to address the issue of investment. Ensuring you have sufficient financial resources in place to invest in your AI project is absolutely crucial for success. If that investment isn’t available upfront, make a plan that will enable you to tackle low hanging fruit first so that you can gain momentum and buy-in and free up further resources.

With proper financial resources allocated to the projects, assessing your readiness for AI then requires a thorough assessment of your company culture. The culture of a business can facilitate a smooth implementation process, or it can be the very thing that stands in the way of success.

Lead From the Front

Developing a comprehensive training program can address the technical, cultural and regulatory challenges associated with AI adoption, ensuring the workforce is not only prepared, but also proficient in leveraging AI tools for enhanced productivity and decision-making.

For trainers looking to integrate AI effectively, they should first upskill themselves and their teams. This involves understanding the AI functionalities and potential within their specific contexts and developing the necessary skills to deploy and manage AI tools. Trainers should focus on gaining technical proficiency in AI applications relevant to their field, such as AI-driven analytics tools for assessing learner outcomes or AI platforms for creating interactive and adaptive learning materials.

3 Key Areas to Assess for AI Readiness

You can assess your readiness by identifying your organization’s capacity in the following areas, which serve as a step-by-step guide and checklist to measure your impact:

1. Agility

Agile working can make a huge difference to the success of AI — the ability to fail fast, push through setbacks and view failures as learning opportunities will all contribute to the resilience needed to build and implement AI solutions.

Listen to your teams and find ways to support them when issues or fears arise. Adapt when changes occur — whether through delegation, external support or reprioritization. There needs to be commitment from the top, an investment in skills and process and clear communication of agile principles across your teams.

To foster this kind of behavioral change, follow these steps:

• Start with why.

Agile is a means to an end, not the goal. Communicate the goal and demonstrate the value of agile. The goal should be a clear outcome that agile working can help you reach.

• Adopt the principles and adapt the practices.

Agile is an adaptable methodology. Understand and promote agile principles, but don’t use them as a rod. Adapt these principles to each team and their needs.

• Align to empower.

Empower employees to take ownership of their tasks and encourage creative problem-solving. This autonomy enables agile teams to operate efficiently and swiftly.

• Learn and adapt at speed.

Agile puts a premium on feedback and learning. Willingness to adapt is more important than following a plan. Leaders need to be enthusiastically willing to adapt to business needs, learning new technologies and new ways of working.

• Consider and contain the key risks.

Giving people autonomy within boundaries and allowing them to fail without fear of blame can yield significant benefits, but ensure that if they fail, your organization can cope with the fallout. Identify risks and increase support.

2. Trust

AI transformation can come with fear from the wider workforce, which can act as a barrier to AI adoption.

To help people adjust to potential shifts:

• Be honest. If AI will lead to job losses and redeployments, be upfront about it. Building trust begins with honesty and integrity. Giving people a sense of certainty as early as possible will help reduce anxiety.

• Be creative. Identify required skills across your business and foster an environment of continuous learning. Empower employees to gain key skills for the future of the business.

• Explore applications. Encourage team members to find ways AI will support them to be more efficient and increase their value. Help them see AI as another tool rather than a replacement.

3. Innovation

Encouraging and rewarding innovative thinking will best support success with AI and digital projects. Embedding innovation into an organization often requires a change in mindset — one where experimentation is rewarded, and failed projects are seen as learning opportunities.

Consider these aspects of your business to determine if it is a place where innovation can thrive:

• Are there any incentives to encourage innovative thinking and problem-solving?
• Do employees feel empowered to make decisions or provide feedback to their managers?
• Are team members disincentivized from taking risks due to fear of repercussions?
• Is there a team or forum in place to support innovation across the business?
• Are leaders open to ideas and feedback from team members? Do they support and introduce ideas when they’re given? Are they open to change?

Setting the groundwork for innovation, along with embedding agile methodologies and fostering trust, will create a stable foundation for AI implementation in a way that is helpful, strategic and lasting.