Will AI replace your employees tomorrow? Or just strengthen their talents?
This is how you ensure that AI does not replace your people but enhances their value.
Smart algorithms are getting better at writing, calculating and advising. As an employer, ask yourself the question: will AI soon replace our people? Or will it actually provide opportunities to enhance their talents? And how? Because figures show by 2030, almost 40% of the skills we need today will have changed or disappeared. In this blog you can read how you, as an employer, can anticipate this transformation and come out stronger – spoiler: crucial is to fully utilize the potential of your current employees.
Rethinking AI: from threat to ally
Artificial intelligence is no longer a pipe dream. Today we already see algorithms co-writing, designing, analyzing and even advising. As a result, employers are at a crossroads. On the one hand, the benefits of automation beckon: work more efficiently, save costs, develop new services. On the other hand, concerns are growing: how will you keep your current employees employable if their existing skills become obsolete or taken over by AI?
According to the World Economic Forum, nearly 40% of the skills we use today will be changed or obsolete by 2030. At the same time, 60% of employers believe digitalization will fundamentally reshape their business models.
Such figures make it clear in advance: the question is not whether work will change, but that it already has. And that raises the question: how can you anticipate it? Because as an employer you have to embrace new technologies, but above all you have to bring your current employees along with you in that change.
If you strengthen the talent and resilience of your people, you will also increase the clout and innovation of your organization.
If you strengthen the talent and resilience of your people, you will also increase the power and innovation of your organization.
Replace or strengthen: which path do you choose?
Employers face the strategic choice of replacing their current talent, or just strengthening it. Here are the two choices:
- Replace: eliminate obsolete positions and hire new profiles.
➔ Fast results, but expensive, risky and a source of uncertainty.
- Strengthen: develop existing employees and allow them to grow with you.
➔ Takes time and effort, but builds loyalty, agility and sustainable growth.
A choice is only truly future-proof when, as an organization, you invest not only in technology but also in the potential of your people.
Five ways to future-proof your employees
The impact of AI on work need not be a threat. Where technology takes over tasks, it also creates new opportunities to make work more meaningful, creative and valuable – and those are precisely the conditions needed to prevent high turnover. Here are 5 techniques to tackle the switch to the new way of working:
Reskilling and upskilling programs
Invest in hands-on learning programs around digital skills, problem-solving and AI collaboration. Short, flexible training programs can produce quick results.Create hybrid job profiles
Combine human skills with technology. For example: an administrative assistant who uses AI tools for repetitive tasks, making customer advice more personal, valuable and faster.Encourage talent mobility
Encourage internal mobility through project teams, temporary role changes or the option to job shadow. This way, employees develop new competencies faster and discover new growth opportunities.Curiosity as a core competency
Select and develop employees not only on the basis of current skills, but above all on their ability and eagerness to learn new things, adapt and see new opportunities.Teach them to use AI as a co-pilot
Teach teams not to fear AI tools, but to use them smartly. For example, to automate boring repetitive tasks so that people have more time for creativity, innovation and excellent (and above all: human) customer service – something that is increasingly making a difference.
Ready for tomorrow: here’s how you start today
Waiting for the ideal time to change is not an option. Taking small steps today has a big impact and is the best way to gently transform your teams.
- Map out the most important future skills.
- Start with pilot projects in one or a few teams.
- Make learning a regular part of the work, rather than bundling learning moments in formal training.
- Keep communicating.
By starting small, you build an organization step by step that not only moves with change — but actively anticipates it.
You don’t build the future with AI, but with people
AI will reshape the workplace, but so that need not be a threat. The real value is in how you engage, develop and value people within that changing context. You build the real advantage together with your people, by making sure they are able and comfortable to move with you.
What step are you taking today to strengthen the talents in your organization?
Text: Linde Jacobs
