Want Employees to Make an Impact with AI? Try This!

— Everyone thinks AI is going to make us faster and smarter at work. But really, does it happen like that? Well, in this episode of The 3 Point, we talked with an HR pro who had a team that took a calculated approach to adding AI to their workflow. — It made an impact because they started with a very specific plan that would entice employees to try AI. You do it by relieving a burden from them. You create time and space to think and be creative by automating something that takes a huge amount of their time. In this case, it was a sales team and they were spending a lot of time on quotes for customers. Certainly a good use of time, but not the best. — We said, "If we gave you a tool that went through your email and pulled out every request to quote, would you use it? " "Are you going to make me? " "Yep, we're going to make you use it. " "Are you going to pay me? " "Absolutely. Still your quote, you still have to check it for accuracy, you have to make sure Well, if you're going to pay me, then heck yeah. Give me something that makes my life easier, that would be great. " "Okay, the trade-off is for every hour that you don't spend quoting, we need you training on this new product or — spending time over in this ERP project. " There you have it. Tit for tat in more than one way. From there, word traveled fast. They liked it. They learned and they developed and more people wanted in on this crafty AI time-saving tool. So, we've done a few small pilots that way. Those seem to work for our culture, meaning you expose a small group, if the small group says, "Okay, this is good, give us a little more, more. " Then they start to talk about how great it is. And what we've learned is employees like to hear from each other before they hear from us. So, to implement AI with an impact, relieve a burden. Don't just tell employees to use AI. Explain what it'll take off their backs and what they can better spend their time doing. Reward them, whether it's time to do the things they find valuable or time to make more money. Start small. Pilot AI programs to ensure they have the impact you want. For more on the latest in AI in the workplace, team building, or any pressing HR topic, check out the webinar page on hrmorning. com. You'll be delighted to know that just about every one of them is free, often on demand, and always relevant to you. Thanks for joining me in this episode.