How can employers solve AI skills shortages

Authored Justin Tauber, General Manager, Innovation and AI Culture at Salesforce, ANZ.

The rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) – and how it powers data, cloud and CRM innovations – presents one of history’s most profound technological shifts. 

Just as emails and SMS transformed the way we communicate, generative AI alone has the potential to revolutionise all aspects of our professional and personal lives.

The World Economic Forum found that AI and machine learning specialist jobs top the list as the fastest-growing roles in 2023, offering businesses significant opportunities to help them better serve their customers, drive growth, and boost productivity. Yet many businesses aren’t currently prepared for successful implementation.

Our research found that nearly 25% of global workers rank AI skills as among the top three most important digital skills right now, yet only one in 10 workers say they have AI skills they need to succeed in a digital-first world. More recently, more than two-thirds (67%) of Australian office workers reported that more skill-building and training opportunities would build their trust in AI use at work.

It’s important that business leaders take steps to prepare their workforce for the jobs of the future, providing the necessary skills and confidence to train and incorporate them in their day-to-day work.

Embedding AI skills into your business strategy

AI is a business challenge. Amid rising costs and complexity of doing business, today’s leaders see an opportunity to leverage AI to simultaneously address both commercial expectations of efficiency and customer expectations of personalisation, just as R.M.Williams is doing.

Generative AI is evolving, and so will the demands of customers. But companies will continue to be judged on the quality of their customer experiences, and teams that can transform hard-earned data into AI-enabled interactions that are personal, proactive and coherent over time will be the most competitive.

Because of this, an AI mindset is no longer the exclusive province of the IT department, and it is increasingly needed within customer-facing teams. Rental management company MadeComfy is a recent example of this. Outside of IT, the skills required are less about building models, and more about identifying scalable ways to incorporate AI into the flow of work – in ways that empower employees, deepen relationships, and deliver value for the business in a sustainable way.

So instead of talking about upskilling on AI models, let’s talk about upskilling on how AI-enabled systems can make teams more effective – automating manual tasks and augmenting complex tasks, to empower employees to focus on and accelerate the most meaningful work they can do. A craftsperson doesn’t need to know how the hammer is made, but they need to understand how to use it, how to handle it safely, and ultimately when it is – and is not – the right tool for the job. This is the craft and culture of AI at work.

A path toward inclusive AI

As AI becomes democratised, it’s projected to alter tasks within at least 80% of all jobs. In healthcare, for example, automation will help professionals sort through medical images to better advise patients and diagnose conditions faster. In manufacturing, tasks of quality control and inspection will free up workers’ time so that they can focus on more strategic jobs.

As businesses race to bring this technology to market, it’s also critical that they do so inclusively and intentionally. The best way to ensure the AI systems you implement are inclusive is by “shifting left” – including employees in determining the problems that are worth solving. Allowing employees, especially under-represented minorities, to define the problem isn’t just about building employee trust. It can spark genuine innovation, and ensure viral adoption of solutions.

Priming your tech infrastructure, creating your data strategy, security and compliance guidelines, and matching your workforce development strategy are all key to unlocking the massive opportunities ahead. 

But one of the best ways of ensuring your employees have the skills they need to succeed, is to invest in the kind of AI systems that reduce the demands on those employees to be magical unicorns.

When we encourage our customers to demand more of AI, we mean deploying AI systems to reinforce the values and culture of the organisation at its best, not overwhelm that culture with risk and unpredictability. 

Lowering the barrier to trustworthy use of AI is a core part of our role as a responsible technology company. Salesforce is committed to empowering users to be responsible humans at the helm of AI: whether through bias and toxicity safeguards operating silently in the background, or by labelling AI-generated content and other features to raise awareness of risks and create mindful friction. 

In a digital-first world, it is essential that business leaders keep a skills-based approach to recruiting and training top of mind. According to our digital skills research, people leaders believe creative imaginative skills, customer relationship skills, and leadership skills will be more important as a result of the increased deployment of AI. To ensure everyone reaps the benefits, companies must cultivate a culture that encourages innovation and continuous learning, empowering employees to be curious, experiment with new technologies, and develop their skills as AI becomes integrated in all aspects of our working lives.