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Sort Through the AI – HR Tech Hype

You’re managing an increasingly complex talent tech stack. The field is innovating faster than ever.

The latest Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for HR Technology 2023 helps make sense of it all with HR tech innovation highlights, AI-driven skills management advice, AI impacts on Talent Acquisition, and Labor Market Intelligence recommendations. Read it now!

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Reskilling in the Age of AI | Harvard Business Review

This new article, authored by members of Harvard’s Digital Reskilling Lab and the Boston Consulting Group’s Henderson Institute, outlines how organizations are embracing five pivotal shifts in workforce reskilling: 1) Reskilling is a strategic imperative. 2) It is the responsibility of every leader and manager. 3) It is a change-management initiative. 4) Employees want to reskill - when it makes sense. 5) It takes a village. Regarding # 1, reskilling is a strategic imperative, several organizations have reskilling efforts underway to develop talent not readily available in the market—providing a strategic way of balancing workforce supply and demand. For example, Infosys has reskilled over 2,000 cybersecurity experts with various adjacent competencies and capability levels. Amazon, through its Machine Learning University, has enabled thousands of employees who initially had little experience in machine learning to become experts in the field. ICICI Bank runs an intense, academy-like reskilling program that prepares graduates, often from diverse backgrounds, for frontline managerial jobs. Other ideas are discussed, including #3 (it takes a village)—which outlines how organizations can accelerate their reskilling efforts by forming external partnerships (e.g., industry, non-profit, local colleges and universities).

Future of Work Report: AI at Work | LinkedIn Economic Graph

The newly released 30-page report by LinkedIn provides the latest real-time trends on how AI is impacting various aspects of work. Notable trends include: 1) The share of English-language job postings referencing new AI technologies (e.g., GPT or ChatGPT) has increased by 21x since November 2022. This trend raises the question: how will organizations evaluate workers' proficiency using these technologies? 2) Eighty-four percent of US LinkedIn members are in jobs that could leverage generative AI (GAI) to automate at least 25% of repetitive tasks and increase productivity. One implication is: how must organizational talent strategies, encompassing hiring and workforce planning, adapt to accommodate evolving work requirements? 3) LinkedIn researchers identified a list of over 500 skills likely to be affected by GAI technologies, including business skills such as financial reporting, email marketing and data analysis. One question this trend raises is: how should organizations integrate these changes into their skills framework or taxonomy? As a bonus, I am resharing a recently published 76-page report by McKinsey Global Institute that comprehensively reviews the impact of generative AI on work, the workplace, and workforce.

Why Are So Many Organizations Banning ChatGPT? | Blackberry Blog

Much has been discussed about how ChatGPT, and AI in general, are reshaping work—helping to expedite tasks and contributing to enhanced performance, efficiency, and productivity. However, new research by Blackberry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) based on a survey of 2,000 global IT decision-makers (e.g., Chief Information Officers and Chief Information Security Officers), reveals that 75% of global organizations are currently implementing or considering restrictions on ChatGPT and other Generative AI applications due to data security, privacy, cybersecurity, and reputation concerns. Similar worries were expressed in a Gartner survey, where 249 senior enterprise risk executives ranked Generative AI as the second-highest cited organizational risk out of 20. Despite these reservations, 62% of surveyed leaders from the Blackberry survey recognize the benefits of ChatGPT. Consequently, many are adopting a “unified endpoint management platform (UEM),” which provides controls over which AI-based applications can connect to the corporate environment. As HR leaders assist their IT counterparts in navigating these decisions, I'm resharing two resources: 1) A cheat sheet by Foley & Lardner LLP that shows 10 ChatGPT risks and proposed guidelines for each. 2) Maergo’s Generative AI Acceptable Use Policy. This policy was contributed by Francesca Molinari, Chief People Officer at Maergo and a subscriber to Talent Edge Weekly, for the benefit of Talent Edge Weekly readers seeking to leverage it for their purposes.

The Reimagined Workplace 2023: Striking a Delicate Balance | The Conference Board

As the remote work debate persists, organizations are redefining their expectations for on-site work. For instance, BlackRock has mandated employees to return to the office four days a week starting in September; Zoom is requiring those within 50 miles of a Zoom office to come in twice weekly; and AT&T has mandated 60,000 managers to work in person at one of nine locations. One catalyst for this shift is a growing concern regarding remote work’s impact on productivity. And with a recent Stanford study (still needs to be peer-reviewed) showing a 10% lower productivity in fully remote setups compared to in-person work, the concern about remote work could grow further. But as pointed out in this new report by The Conference Board, there are multiple competing objectives HR leaders must help their organizations consider in remote work decisions—weighing factors like retention, talent attraction, and employee wellbeing. Based on survey responses from 185 HR leaders, the report reveals that 71% of organizations mandating their on-site work policy reported difficulty retaining workers than those giving employees a choice about where to work. In response, 68% of organizations are considering or implementing strategies to increase on-site work, such as team-building events (62%), flexible hours (59%), relaxed dress codes (56%), and commuter benefits (35%). As organizations make remote work decisions, I am resharing my playlist of 5 resources on remote work to help leaders evaluate their decisions.

How Opinions About Hybrid Work Differ Around the Globe | Harvard Business Review

The article explores varying perspectives on hybrid work across global regions and their implications for leaders in global organizations. Drawing from a survey conducted by the INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute and Universum involving 651 managers from 50 countries spanning EMEA, APAC, and the Americas, the authors uncover differences in perceptions of hybrid work. While some similarities emerged, such as positive impacts on work-life balance and carbon footprint, a few differences are evident: 1) Desire to Return to a Physical Office: APAC displays a stronger desire compared to EMEA and the Americas. The Americas region was more positive about remote productivity. 2) Social Connections. EMEA and APAC respondents are more concerned about missing out on in-person coworker interactions, corresponding to lower engagement scores than the Americas. 3) Ideal Mix of Remote and Office Work: APAC favors fewer home days on average, EMEA favors more, and the Americas favored the most. The article underscores the need for leaders to recognize and address geographical differences in perceptions and preferences regarding hybrid work. To that end, the authors propose five steps to craft hybrid work policies that accommodate geographical and cultural dissimilarities.