As the AI revolution rolls along, employers are looking at what skills their future workforces will need, and how to get from here to there.

And it’s not just a few companies here and there: it’s just about the entire working world. According to a recent report from PeopleScout and Spotted Zebra, about 90% of HR leaders believe that up to half their workforce will need to be reskilled in the next five years.

But what does that actually mean? It depends on the company and the work that needs to be done, but whatever the process, it’s important for employers to keep the employee in mind. That means communicating to them what this future holds, addressing any fears and making sure they’re getting the skills they need as AI adoption continues, experts said.

“When we introduced machinery into agriculture a couple of centuries ago, it changed the work within the farm from one day to the next,” said Helen Poitevin, distinguished VP analyst in Gartner’s human resources practice. “Look at how AI gets introduced in just about every industry, in every workflow. It’s very incremental.”

Teaching employees how to work with AI

Part of that reskilling is helping employees work alongside AI, especially now as it starts to enter more parts of daily life. According to a 2023 Gartner survey, 79% of functional leaders will begin or continue to implement generative AI across the next 12 months.

“When you introduce AI into the way people are working, there’s an immediate need for learning the new ways of working,” said Poitevin.

With that comes addressing fear surrounding the technology, whether concerns about the technology itself, working with it, or that it will be taking their jobs — a fear that’s not unfounded as, in the same Gartner report, leaders said they expect generative AI to reduce head counts between about six and 10 percent.

Just making workers are aware of AI, and the opportunities it offers, “is very low impact, but it’s very easy to do,” Poitevin said.

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