Personalizing the AI journey: HR strategies for engaging employees

In PwC’s most recent Pulse Survey, 59% of business executives indicated their intention to invest in new technologies like cloud or AI in the next 12 to 18 months. Notably, nearly half (46%) are specifically inclined toward investing in generative AI (GenAI). Across industries, AI – and especially GenAI – is fundamentally reshaping how organizations operate and innovate.

In my role as Chief People Officer, I’m especially interested in what this investment means for our people: how it will create new opportunities and help them continue delivering exceptional solutions to our clients. As technology and GenAI continue to evolve, HR and people leaders have a responsibility to set employees up for success and bring them along on their AI upskilling journey. 

Here are three ways that HR leaders can help make sure their organization's investment in AI resonates with their people:

1. Embrace the possibilities, and acknowledge the uncertainties. 

With any new product or technology, both excitement and hesitation are to be expected. As HR leaders, it’s crucial that our employees are well-informed and engaged throughout the journey to bring GenAI into the workplace.

By involving employees in the process of adopting new tools and technology, leaders can proactively address their concerns and build trust. At PwC, we strongly believe that GenAI can empower our people to engage in more innovative, judgment-driven work while leveraging other essential skills. Our approach to solving business problems has always been human-led and tech-powered, not the other way around. This mentality can inspire organizations to clearly communicate the possibilities of what AI can do for us – not instead of us – including: 

• Data analysis and problem-solving: GenAI can process and analyze vast amounts of data. The result: Employees can gain valuable insights and make data-driven decisions more efficiently, enabling them to focus on higher-level strategic thinking and problem-solving.

• Enhanced and collaborative decision-making: It can aggregate and analyze data from multiple sources, provide predictive analytics and model various scenarios. The result: Team members consider different solutions proposed by GenAI by bringing their knowledge of the client, project and pain points to the conversation and assessing the potential outcomes.

• Skill development and learning: GenAI can personalize learning experiences by analyzing individual learning patterns, identifying knowledge gaps and recommending tailored learning materials. The result: Employees acquire new skills and knowledge more effectively. This helps enable employees’ upskilling and developing skills that can help set them up for success and be agile in adapting to changes specific to their organization or industry. 

2. Personalize what AI means to your people.

The success of any AI upskilling journey is dependent on employee willingness (and excitement) to come along for the ride. HR leaders supporting an AI upskilling journey are likely talking about how embracing the technology can help the organization better deliver its services or products to its clients. It’s also important to consider what’s important to your employees and highlight the benefits of engaging with GenAI, while showing empathy and understanding as they experience this new technology shift. 

• Career advancement opportunities: As employees gain experience in working with GenAI technology, they can become valuable assets in their organizations. HR leaders are increasingly seeking talent with knowledge and skills in AI and related technologies – as well as talent who are eager to learn and ready to embrace change. Upskilling your people benefits both your organization and your employees.

• Improved sense of fulfillment: With GenAI handling repetitive tasks, employees can focus on more meaningful and strategic work that requires their knowledge and creativity. When people are able to pursue projects of greater interest, they may experience a greater sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in their career. As a people leader, I’m especially excited by this opportunity to transform how our people feel about their jobs and how they deliver work.

3. Make the learning fun!

The challenge of any HR professional is determining how to engage your people and create genuine excitement about new initiatives, programs or learnings. At PwC, our AI upskilling initiative consists of everything from short articles and bite-sized and engaging video content to live trivia games – with the chance to win great prizes! 

My advice to other HR leaders looking to increase employee engagement is to consider additional ways to make the learning engaging and motivate employees at your organization. This includes gamification to add an element of excitement and friendly competition, rewards and incentives to provide recognition in the learning process, and collaborative challenges or activities to foster teamwork, communication and connection among employees.

As generative AI ushers in a revolution in knowledge work across all industries, HR leaders are tasked to make sure their investment in GenAI upskilling–whatever that journey looks like–resonates with people. It’s important to emphasize that for some processes, decisions and situations, there is simply no substitute for human judgment. Instead, similar to other productivity tools we use today, organizations can focus on GenAI’s potential to help us work faster and streamline mundane tasks while improving the employee experience. By equipping our people with the knowledge and skills necessary to harness its power today, HR leaders and employees alike can be prepared for what comes next with this revolutionary technology.