The AI Literacy Movement | In Conversation with Jeanne Meister

Many companies aren’t taking AI literacy seriously enough, and I believe the reason boils down to fear and uncertainty.
Jeanne Meister

As 2024 unfolds as the year of AI adoption, where do we stand in terms of employee reskilling? Are we making meaningful progress? And more importantly, are employees embracing AI in their daily work?

To explore these questions, I spoke with Jeanne Meister, a global HR Consultant who recently authored a compelling article on a similar topic. Her research highlights some critical findings:

By 2030, the McKinsey Global Institute projects that 12 million U.S. workers will need to transition to new occupations, impacting 7.5% of the current workforce.
Up to 1.4 million workers will require reskilling by 2026.
For many, if their jobs aren’t automated, they will likely be entirely re-designed due to the influence of generative AI.
According to BCG, 68% of workers are aware of these looming disruptions and are willing to upskill to remain employable.

Yet, this raises a crucial question: Are companies doing enough to equip their employees with the skills and confidence they need to use AI comfortably and effectively?

Table of Contents

Q: Why do you think companies today are not currently investing in AI literacy for their employees?

Jeanne: I love discussing how companies are using generative AI in the HR function. The media is causing quite a stir, with 1.4 million workers needing reskilling by 2026 and even more by 2030. Despite this, many companies aren’t taking AI literacy seriously enough. I believe the reason boils down to fear and uncertainty.

From the articles I’ve read, the research I’ve done, and conversations I’ve had with business leaders, it’s clear they agree companies need an AI strategy to stay competitive. However, they’re concerned about the productivity gains of choosing the wrong solution and the uncertainty that comes with implementing AI.

Q: With that prediction in mind, what immediate steps can companies and HR leaders take to prepare their workforce?

Jeanne: For companies on the fence about developing AI literacy training, I recommend considering three things.

First, it’s more than just creating a training course—it’s about building awareness and creating a movement around AI literacy. This training needs to be ongoing, not just a one-time course or certification.

In a recent Forbes column, I mentioned Kraft Heinz as an example. They held a 24-hour, follow-the-sun learning day focused on using AI in the organization and for personal use. The Chief Learning Officer stayed up almost the entire 24 hours to ensure accessibility for all global employees, regardless of time zone. This global AI day covered the basics:

What is artificial intelligence?
How is generative AI different?
What are the superpowers, challenges, and risks?
What projects is the company working on for using AI with their customers?
And finally, what does this mean personally and professionally for each role?

After this 24-hour event, employees were enrolled in a basic AI course on using ChatGPT, which built awareness and excitement. It became a movement, not just a course.

Second, organizations need to start with a clear vision of the problem they’re trying to solve in HR. Are they aiming for more personalized offerings? Are they looking to eliminate as many manual, high volume, repetitive tasks as possible? Or are they trying to streamline and simplify HR practices, such as during the performance review process?

Once companies take a holistic approach to this, they should involve their employees in the process. HR leaders aren’t the only ones with ideas on how to streamline HR processes—employees have valuable insights too. In fact, I’ve seen companies organize hackathons where employees from different geographies come together to brainstorm how AI can improve HR.

Third, leaders need to make it clear that adopting AI within the organization is a necessary competitive advantage for the future. This needs to be emphasized as critical for thriving and competing in their industry. It should be built into performance reviews as a clearly identified skill that employees must have—a basic level of knowledge on what is Generative AI, how to use it, how to apply it in their specific roles, whether in marketing, finance, HR, or engineering. Leaders must set the expectation that AI proficiency will be a part of the performance review process.

Q: What part do employees play in this holistic approach?

Jeanne: Employees are often fearful themselves. An interesting study I mentioned in a LinkedIn post revealed, 75% of workers who use AI in their roles aren’t telling their immediate managers. Why? Because they fear that if their managers knew, it might put their jobs at risk, making their roles seem replaceable. However, those who successfully use AI to increase productivity and creativity should be recognized. Effective prompting not only boosts efficiency but also enhances creativity if used correctly.

Employees who are excelling in their use of generative AI should be profiled and recognized as champions within their departments. Their achievements in acquiring new AI skills and increasing their overall performance and value to the organization should be highlighted. This partnership between the manager and the employee should showcase how leveraging generative AI have led to greater business value in the organization.

Jeanne: I’d like to start with an example that has intrigued me. This was reported about a year ago involving IKEA and their customer service reps. This is a role ripe for AI, in terms of how AI can automate various parts of the job and redesign it. Leaders need to think of AI as a tool that can automate some jobs, augment others, and totally redesign others, with most of the impact being on redesigning roles.

In IKEA’s case, they were able to significantly automate many of the processes of a customer service rep. Then, they invited reps who wanted to learn new skills to become virtual interior design advisors. Instead of just answering routine questions like “When will my furniture arrive?”—which can be handled by a chatbot—the reps could now have value-added conversations with clients, acting as virtual interior design advisors.

IKEA successfully reskilled 8,500 customer service reps into these new roles, turning them into a source of revenue for the organization. This example shows the importance of reskilling and redesigning roles to add more value to both the organization and the customer, ultimately creating new revenue streams.

Q: What specific skills (both technical and non-technical) do you believe will be most critical for workers to learn in the era of generative AI?

Jeanne: As for the skills needed in this new AI-driven environment. I categorize them into three buckets:

Technical skills
Human power skills (often referred to as soft skills)
Higher-order cognitive skills.

Technical skills

First, there’s AI literacy—the basics and the foundation. What is AI? What does it mean for me and my role? And what are the basics of prompt engineering? How can I use AI to be more productive in my current role? This is crucial, and everyone should have this foundational knowledge. LinkedIn reported a 142% increase in people completing certified online courses on AI basics.

Second, there’s the concept of using AI as a virtual coach, which I find particularly intriguing. It’s not a replacement for a personal coach. But if you understand how to use prompting effectively, you can create scenarios that lead to better outcomes. For example, you might ask, “I’m about to request a raise—how should I position it given my last review?” You could even upload that review to practice the conversation with AI before having it with your manager.

The third area revolves around ethical AI. What does it mean for AI to be ethical and fair? There are currently over 600 bills at the state and federal levels regarding AI use in the workplace. It’s important to be aware of these regulations in your geographic region and work closely with legal counsel in your organization to stay informed as these laws evolve

Human power skills

Human skills are incredibly important, especially as more manual and routine tasks become automated. This shift allows workers to focus more on creativity, interpersonal skills, and collaboration with peers. What used to be called “soft skills,” but I prefer the term “human power skills” because they truly add value in the workplace. These skills help us work with our coworkers in a more meaningful way.

Higher-order cognitive skills

Cognitive skills, particularly in complex problem-solving, are essential. The problems we’re facing are increasingly multifaceted, with high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity. We need to be able to operate in this complex environment. Additionally, not enough attention is given to how AI can help us be more innovative and creative. This is where AI can serve as a thought partner, helping us explore different scenarios and solutions.

In summary, the key skills are technical skills, human power skills, and cognitive skills—all of which are crucial in today’s AI-driven workplace.

Q: How effective are cohort-based online learning programs compared to immersive learning experiences?

Jeanne: I don’t think it’s an either-or situation. It’s always about combining approaches. As I mentioned earlier, Kraft Heinz started with a 24-hour global AI day to build excitement and awareness. But the second part of their strategy involved cohort-based learning on different aspects of foundational AI. The approach you take really depends on the problem you’re trying to solve.

The power of using AI platforms for learning is evident in several ways. For example, an AI coach can nudge you to complete a course or participate in a cohort learning session. We’re seeing this scale significantly in Khan Academy, which has been around for 10 – 12 years. Now, with AI, they’ve introduced an AI coach called Khanmigo that advises both learners and teachers.

The real power of AI isn’t just in choosing between cohort-based or immersive learning but in engaging the learner to complete their tasks—whether it’s a course or peer group interaction—and measuring the impact of the learning experience. An example of this is Databricks, which created a Customer Academy using AI to help generate customer education courses. They transitioned from face-to-face to online learning by creating a blended program where learners read articles, watched videos, and then came together in synchronous online sessions supplemented with an AI coach.

What we’re seeing here is the redesign of the learning experience to scale, ,and to personalize the learning journey. This approach increases the impact to the learner as well as enhancing the efficiency and productivity of the HR team.

Q: How can companies measure the effectiveness of generative AI in their employee development programs?

Jeanne: The Databricks example used a platform called Uplimit, which is an AI powered cohort based learning experience. Using Uplimit, Databricks was able to report a 75% increase in course completions and was able to scale learning from just a few dozen customers to thousands without incurring additional costs.

Another important metric reported by Databricks is the ability to build efficiencies into the process of designing and delivering courses at scale, improving the impact of the learning experience while reducing the time spent on course administration, which is often a significant part of HR administrative responsibilities. Finally, using an AI powered learning platform also enables the ability to use data analytics to improve the quality of the learning experience and measure learner sentiment in real time. Using AI powered learning platforms, it’s important to remember, AI augments human intelligence, never replaces it.

Q: Do you have any closing thoughts on why we need to invest in AI Literacy sooner rather than later?

Jeanne: Leaders are increasingly demanding knowledge of artificial intelligence in the hiring process. This is a significant trend for anyone looking for a new position, whether they are early in their career, a new college graduate, or someone changing jobs.

A Microsoft study, which surveyed a large number of workers and leaders globally, found that 66% of leaders would not hire someone who didn’t mention their AI skills, how they are using AI, or how they plan to use it in their role. Even more striking, about 70% said they would hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills over a more experienced one who lacked them.

This is a clear call to action for anyone in the workforce or those entering the job market. As we move into the fourth quarter, some companies are announcing layoffs, and people may find themselves in the job market. The number one thing they should focus on is building a foundational knowledge of generative AI, understanding its impact on their role, and being able to articulate that in job interviews.

To that point, it’s not that AI will replace your role, but rather that you may become less employable if you don’t have the AI skills that others possess. That’s the main takeaway and the call to action for anyone in or about to enter the job market.

On the flip side, for employers seeking talent, companies that communicate their investment in AI training will have an edge in attracting top talent. Workers are reading the same articles and seeing the same disruptions caused by AI, as highlighted by the McKinsey study, which predicts a significant number of occupational dislocations by 2030. Job candidates will be looking for employers who are clear about their AI strategy and who invest in their employees’ AI education. This is to ensure they have a foundational knowledge of AI and understand how to use it as a thought partner in the machine-human collaboration. This is going to be especially important for early-career employees who will be screening potential employers based on their commitment to AI literacy in the workplace.

You can connect with Jeanne Meister on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannemeister/