Part 5 in a series of 5
In this five-part series, Firehead takes a look at the impacts that AI transformation is having on technical communication teams – what the trends are, and how they effect technical communicators’ jobs
Use AI to augment your existing processes
Of course AI can augment your already familiar processes in place. It’s a question of how the human-machine interaction is implemented on how employees will view the change.
Use AI to Find the Perfect Skills-Based Match
Research by Lloyds Bank and The Times found that 15% of SMEs and 34% of medium-sized businesses have adopted at least one technology reliant upon AI in their bid to work smarter and increase automation. Now, bosses are using AI to recruit, with 26% of companies relying upon AI to source staff. Many remain reticent due to its potential for bias, the inherent costs of installing new technology or the lack of staff to effectively roll it out. All agree, however, that in the future, AI will improve candidate selection and speed up recruitment.
It follows that job seekers will need to reorientate their CVs to ‘hook’ AI-driven recruiters and seed their portfolio descriptions with keywords and phrases likely to appeal to the algorithms shaped by employers. With a rising skillset shortage in the digital and technical communications sectors, you can expect to see these tech-savvy job seekers, in turn, using AI to help share their CVs.
Adjust the Corporate Mindset to Engage with AI
Corporate CEOs are likely to be several ‘layers’ removed from the technology behind AI and are often even further removed from the staff responsible for rolling out AI. As a result, they will need to adopt organisational restructuring that prepares the workplace for the deployment of AI. This means identifying where the new digital technology will slot in and setting up legal and ethical safeguards when it’s finally in motion. Pilot schemes will play a crucial role in the ‘test and trace’ of outcomes and employee preparedness.
Most businesses that aren’t born digital, traditional mindsets and ways of working run counter to those needed for AI.
If we consider this transformation to be an ‘AI arms race’, then an ‘army’ of tech teams will need to be trained. So CEOs will need to work closely with heads of HR to determine the capital and human investment needed to support the company’s ambitions, with potentially a whole new team of project leaders needing training for the adjustment and to oversee the scalability.
A Harvard Business Review titled ‘Building the AI-Powered Organisation’ cautioned that business leaders often think too narrowly about AI requirements. To retain tech teams and scale up, companies will need to:
- Shift from siloed work to interdisciplinary collaboration
- Move from experience-based leadership to data-driven decision making
- Evolve rigid, risk-averse mindsets to agile, experimental, adaptable thinking
A key recommendation from the Harvard Business Review report is to launch internal ‘AI academies’ or offer staff workshops and training from external resources that will build in-house capabilities. Read the full Harvard Business Review report article here
‘To ensure the adoption of AI, companies need to educate everyone, from the top leaders down.’
Keeping tech teams on board through the AI transformation clearly requires a major overhaul of the corporate mentality of all tiers of staff, from CEOs to support teams. A key takeaway from all the surveys and research was the essential role training will play in staff retention for office-based employees through to the increased reliance upon hybrid workers and freelancers. As tech teams will be at the centre of the digital transformation, they will to be fostered and nurtured with upskilling opportunities as the digital revolution progresses.
The takewaway: While rapid technological change is proving a challenge, thankfully, technology is also making learning and accessing upskilling courses more accessible. It’s democratising a process that was previously confined to high-level executives and spotlighted staff, at the expense of support teams, contractors and freelancers.
Today, training is digital, so everyone can access top-quality trainers and courses on demand from anywhere.
