Invest in people to unlock AI's full potential
Artificial intelligence offers the promise of better results, but many organizations have yet to unlock its full potential. Our research shows that making the most of innovative technology requires an investment in people—here's who, and how to do it.
Digital modernization and artificial intelligence (AI) offer the promise of better results, but many organizations have yet to unlock their full potential. As counterintuitive as it may seem, our recent research demonstrates that making the most of innovative technology requires an investment in people—particularly the builders, consumers, and those most affected by organizational culture changes.
Attract and retain the builders
“Builders” are the people who design, develop, and/or support the implementation and maintenance of technology solutions. Whether your organization has chosen to build or buy, having a sufficient supply of qualified technical talent is critical to the successful deployment of production-ready solutions at scale.
Yet, according to our research, only 33% of federal IT leaders say they have a sufficient supply of workers with the right skills for AI implementation. Attracting and retaining these qualified professionals requires innovative human capital strategies to remain competitive in a tight labor market.
To best support this talent, leaders should include three things in their retention and upskilling strategy:
- Create solutions that meet workers at their technology expertise level.
- Accommodate time constraints and preferred learning methods.
- Ensure that the organization’s learning strategy aligns with its overall mission and goals.
Equip the consumers
“Consumers” are the users of digital and AI solutions—the employees and customers that need to access, analyze, and act on the data generated by these emerging technologies.
We’ve found, however, that consumers may lack the skills to translate data into insights and action. In fact, 56% of data and analytics professionals see limited knowledge about the use of digital solutions as among the leading talent management challenges for agencies to solve.
Improving digital literacy, then, is imperative to ensure technology investments deliver on expectations, particularly as users increasingly expect the same level of convenience from enterprise and public sector solutions that they receive from everyday digital interactions in the private sector. That includes focusing on human-centered design and upskilling initiatives so consumers can navigate these systems with ease.
Invest in your culture
Investing in individuals—both builders and consumers—is necessary, but not a sufficient strategy on its own. Translating insights into action typically necessitates the alignment of multiple stakeholders.
But 54% of mission leaders report that efficiently using data in decision-making is even harder than collecting quality data. Organizations can benefit from a thoughtful approach to updating their business rhythms and decision-making processes to incorporate the relevant data and digital solutions most likely to drive improved results.
Making the transition to a digital-first culture requires a clear vision, reinforced by words, actions, and rewards. Modernization changes need to be handled correctly to ensure their adoption and success—especially since organizational resistance to change is the leading cause of digital transformation failure. By keeping people in mind at every step, the full potential of digital modernization—from cloud migration to the most innovative of emerging technologies—can be actualized.
