The four-dimensional workforce in the era of AI

As AI infiltrates the enterprise, organizations will need to develop what I call the “four-dimensional workforce”—one that reaches far beyond the single dimension of names and titles, one that encompasses the dimensions of business strategy and the ability to view and respond in real time to the ever-changing skills makeup of an organization. 

Getting there won’t be easy. It will take time, people, and money—as well as planning and a solid commitment from the board and C-suite. But as AI radically and rapidly alters the way businesses operate, the four-dimensional workforce will become an absolute necessity. 

In broad strokes, here’s what that journey entails. 

What it looks like: You begin using AI to tap into billions of externally available workforce data points. With this, you can understand the relationship of skills and titles and the specific 12 to 15 core skills required to excel at every role in the enterprise, instead of the three or four skills that are typically assigned to them, or in many cases, none. 

How you achieve it: Most large organizations have a human capital management (HCM) system that can serve as a starting point to build out the job architecture to roles (e.g., a generic software engineer job family to a more specific ML engineer role) using an AI-driven skills intelligence platform. By allowing your employees to, for example, upload their resumes or LinkedIn profiles to their skills profile, you get visibility into their additional or unexpected talents and aspirations. Now, you’re beginning to see the whole person and the rich history they bring to the organization. 

How it helps your enterprise: Understanding the relationships between different skills and roles allows companies to optimize talent deployment and give employees opportunities to explore different career paths. This visibility in talent management is crucial for responding to changing business needs and supporting employee productivity and satisfaction. 

This is where we activate the C-suite, because achieving a three-dimensional workforce is a high-level initiative and requires incorporating a long-term, strategic vision of where the enterprise needs to go. 

What it looks like: You begin to overlay your core business strategy onto that deeper understanding of the human talent you have in your organization. Where you want your organization to go equates to “What people do I need?” And that leads to “What supply of skills do I have today, and is it enough to get us to where we need to go?” 

How you achieve it: You plan for and subsequently adopt an AI-enabled technology platform that allows you to identify the skills you need in the future and pinpoint talent gaps or shortfalls. This is a complex mapping function that dynamically updates and gives you insight into how you’ll need to upskill, reskill, or redeploy your current talent, as well as when to acquire new talent. 

How it helps your enterprise: By mapping skills across roles and aligning them with business strategies, companies can deploy the right talent at the right time, maximizing efficiency and productivity. AI tools help identify specific skills gaps and provide tailored training programs. This targeted approach not only enhances employee growth, but also ensures that the organization remains agile and competitive.