Survey: Organizational training is falling short where AI is concerned

Pretty much everybody who doesn’t live under a rock knows that artificial intelligence is reshaping the workplace, and people will need to learn how to use it in their specific settings.

But are organizations training their employees to do this?

Not so much, according to a recent survey carried out by online learning provider edX and market research firm Workplace Intelligence.

Not getting AI help at work

The survey contacted 800 C-Suite executives and 800 knowledge workers — both managers and line employees — to find out what attitudes and practices about AI look like.

One key finding: While 72% of employees believe they’ll have to improve their AI skills over the next couple of years, only 24% of them say they’re currently using their organization’s learning and development programs to bolster those skills. Furthermore, 21% say they’re brushing up on AI on their own specifically because their organization isn’t helping them do so.

This feels like a pretty clear indictment of organizational learning — either a failure to offer AI training to people, or a failure to communicate what the organization is offering.

It’s everywhere

The survey results made clear that both employers and employees are aware of how much AI is changing and will continue to change the way they work.

According to responses from the executives who were surveyed, 60% of employees in the average organization will need to be proficient with AI and/or AI-powered tools in the very near future. But 87% of executives say that finding talent with AI skills is a struggle. Conclusion: If you can’t find enough people who can work with AI, you’re going to need to train folks to do it.

On the employee side, 59% of respondents said they were already using AI at work and an additional 26% said they’d be using it within five years. So if all these people are to use AI optimally, they’ll need training.

Overwhelmed, threatened

It’s also clear that organizations need to communicate their AI strategies and plans to their people, because in an information vacuum, rumors and uncertainty thrive. Fully 57% of the employees surveyed said they felt overwhelmed about having to integrate AI into their work, and 51% said they felt threatened by AI.

The survey’s overriding message for employers? Figure out how you’re going to incorporate AI into your work processes, tell people, and train them for success in this new AI-driven world.

This blog post is based on the following white paper: “Navigating the workplace in the age of AI.”