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ARTICLE | August 05, 2024 | VOICES

Empowering employees with AI sidekicks 

AI will pair up with human workers, functioning as mentors and teachers to maximize job satisfaction and performance

By Manisha Arora, Workflow contributor

Learning in the enterprise happens in one of two ways. In one way, employees are assigned online training modules that they must complete throughout the year. Motivated employees can seek additional training if it’s available, but this often requires jumping through administrative or bureaucratic hoops to access the resources they want. The other way is when employees need answers to common on-the-job questions and turn to their co-workers for answers or dig through the company’s knowledge base.

Both types of learning have one thing in common: They require employees to act on their own. Watch a training video. Sign up for a class. Meet with a co-worker.

But putting the onus on employees in these ways is an unnecessary barrier to learning. Many times, employees might not know what they don’t know, let alone where to go for answers. With AI and generative AI (GenAI), the employee doesn’t need to be the one to take action. The technology can do it for them.

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From an employee’s first day on the job, an AI-powered sidekick could help them complete their onboarding journey. Instead of pestering their new co-workers with questions, the employee would automatically receive tips on how to do their job more efficiently and could direct questions to the AI as they arise.
 

As the worker progresses in their role, the AI sidekick would continue to supply them with additional training to speed up the learning curve. It would analyze the employee’s performance against benchmarks within the company and the broader industry. For example, a customer service agent might receive real-time input on their interactions, including suggestions for how best to phrase responses to a customer who is impatient. The sidekick could even create workflows on the fly to solve common issues the agent was experiencing.

From the manager's perspective, GenAI will help them lead happier and more productive teams. AI can supply them with updates about how their team is doing and feeling on a given day, enabling them to support the teammates who need it most. The AI coach could help the human coach become more effective.

Because AI sidekicks would offer real-time support, even from a wearable device, GenAI will prove especially useful to workers in the field. Imagine an oil rig worker asking their smartwatch a question rather than pausing work to search for a knowledge base article on their laptop. Or picture an employee in a data center working through a technical solution with an AI sidekick instead of taking the time to pull up and read a troubleshooting guide.

Employees might not know what they don’t know, let alone where to go for answers. With AI and generative AI, the employee doesn’t need to be the one to take action. The technology can do it for them.

Crucially, enterprises can feed the AI algorithms new and updated data to increase their effectiveness over time. And employees can tell their AI sidekicks when they are being most helpful or limit their feedback to certain times of day or specific activities, customizing the AI to maximize utility for the human user.

For enterprises, this use of AI as personal sidekicks will require an initial investment that may be larger than what’s typical for learning and development budgets. But the investment will pay off, saving time and money as learning happens organically and effectively, and requiring fewer training hours.

ServiceNow’s 2024 Global Skills Research emphasizes that AI will touch every aspect of the way employees do their jobs. It’s up to executives to guide their employees through this critical transition, support their training, and enable them to thrive as the workplace and the nature of work evolve.

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Author

Manisha Arora

Manisha Arora is Senior Director, Chief Innovation Office, ServiceNow.

Articles by Manisha Arora