How to Accelerate Your Success in the Age of AI

In the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI, its true potential lies in how people use it. To succeed, organizations must adopt a human-centered strategy that thoughtfully integrates AI in the workforce. This approach connects people with new AI technology to address customer needs, reducing challenges and unlocking value quickly. Organizations can achieve higher customer and employee satisfaction by incorporating AI-enhanced features, improving performance and growth, and increasing adoption.

The reality is that a significant number of transformation efforts fall short. Surveys reveal that a staggering 70% of such initiatives fail, leading to sluggish implementation and adoption of new tools, obstacles to technology usage, and resistance to new ways of working. Often, this failure stems from a lack of focus on the critical intersection between technology and people. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

As we navigate this new era, we must shift our mindset and embrace emerging trends, data, market insights, and the abundant opportunities that AI presents. Explore key considerations to guide you on the path to success. Empower yourself to navigate the transformative power of AI and create a future where innovation and human potential converge seamlessly.

What does taking a human-centered approach to AI adoption look like? It depends on your organization and your progression, as every culture differs. However, there are certain aspects of change that you can anticipate:

• Place people and their understanding at the forefront of the transformation.
• Align outcomes based on the specific needs and goals of those individuals.
• Promote inclusivity and adaptability to address the diverse factors that shape the ever-changing landscape.

Implementing AI in the workforce and organizational culture is a complex undertaking, encompassing various challenges. However, navigating this change can unlock substantial benefits. AI offers a new way to look at work, and its impact will extend beyond what we expect today. Approach your digital transformation with the five elements of Salesforce’s customer success framework to be nimble in the face of this new standard.

Embrace flexibility to build AI in the workforce faster

AI is developing in fast and hard-to-predict ways, so planning around a certain endpoint isn’t an effective strategy. Instead, we can build foundations for AI-ready workforces that embrace as many opportunities as possible.

In short: To be a change-ready workforce is to be an AI-ready workforce.

By adopting an outcome-based mindset, organizations unlock their potential to connect with customers and achieve their core business goals. These changes offer big benefits, like saving money through new ways of working.

These changes are most successful when human-centricity is a main focus, considering how people experience the change. Continuous innovation is key for the evolution of technology, ensuring it aligns with the ever-evolving needs and expectations of individuals and organizations.

What we recommend:

• Cultivate your team’s AI skills.
• Foster an adaptive culture within your workplace by encouraging experimentation.
• Create a structured learning framework by providing resources and a clear roadmap for effective utilization.
• Use storytelling to envision the future of work.
• Start assessing change readiness.

Foster stability for a resilient workforce

Leaders have an important role in shaping the organizational mindset and cultivating a safe environment that allows individuals to pursue growth. Open the door to learning new technology and ways of working as a foundational skill for innovation and change.

By understanding and empathizing with the emotional and human response to this groundbreaking technology, we can find a clear path to unlock its potential more quickly.

Take this approach:

• Promote psychological safety to help teams develop a beginner’s mindset.
• Cast a future-state vision that includes everyone.
• Encourage an environment that emphasizes continuous learning and reframes new AI-enabled tools.
• Ask employees to identify parts of their job that could be automated or augmented with AI.
• Recognize early efforts to adopt new technology.

Build trust for successful technology adoption

If your employees have reservations about new technology, it is essential to address their concerns to foster acceptance and enthusiasm. Building trust becomes a key factor in this process, as the topic of conversations surrounding AI can be met with uncertainty. Aim to alleviate these fears by developing a strategy to introduce new technology to your workforce and empower them with the necessary skills.

Achieving alignment, where everyone is united around a common objective, is crucial. By placing emphasis on aligning communication about change and fostering a clear understanding of its benefits, we influence how people react to and embrace transformation initiatives.

What you can do:

• Approach new technologies as productivity enhancements rather than a replacement for the workforce.
• Listen to and address specific fears by providing feedback mechanisms tailored to the concerns of your customers or team.
• Implement up-skilling opportunities right away.
• Include your teams in decision-making so they can adapt to the changing landscape.
• Provide a transparent and credible alternative for the future within your team.

Increase collaboration with a platform mindset

Organizations, like people, have a platform mindset that influences their response to change. Some teams embrace change and prioritize growth, while others are more comfortable maintaining the status quo.

When organizations adopt a platform mindset, they move beyond viewing AI as a standalone tool and instead create an environment that fosters user connections, knowledge sharing, and collaborative progress. By understanding what sets their platform apart and how users can derive maximum benefit from it, organizations can best use the true power of AI in the workforce.

Try doing this:

• Highlight benefits, collaboration, simplified processes, and innovation to emphasize the value of AI.
• Encourage sharing, networking, learning, and exchanging ideas among users.
• Provide comprehensive resources to help users to navigate and use the platform effectively.
• Seek feedback, iterate based on user needs, and stay cutting-edge to continuously improve your platform.

Embrace the opportunities that await

Change happens at the speed of people, and in the age of AI, the pace of transformation has accelerated exponentially. The opportunity to leverage AI and drive innovation arises faster than ever, giving organizations a unique chance to stay ahead of the curve and gain a competitive edge.

Discover the potential ahead and prepare for the future. Connect with Salesforce Professional Services today to discuss your unique transformation goals and explore how our expertise can help you successfully embrace AI in the workforce.