Emerging Intelligence Trends 

THE LATEST WORKPLACE RESEARCH

Insight and action to help you stay up to date on the latest trends and technology that impact engagement, performance, and culture.  

 

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WORKPLACE TREND

Organizations Still Aren't Ready for AI

Almost overnight, AI has drastically changed the workplace. But organizations are sitting and waiting for impact instead of facing the challenge (or opportunity, rather) head-on. 

 

In This Section

Most Employees Aren't Using AI at Work

Many Employees are Unconcerned About AI Risk

Leadership is Using AI

Most Employees Are Not Confident About Their Organization's AI Strategy

Employees Want More Training on AI, But Aren't Supported by Their Managers

How to Turn This Insight Into Action 

 

 

Check Out the Data

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Most Employees Aren’t Using AI at Work 

Only about 1 in 5 employees are frequently using AI to help them with their jobs. Almost half of employees have never used AI to help them at work. 

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Many Employees are Unconcerned About AI Risk 

1 in 3 employees say that AI will change their jobs and half are confident their jobs will not be replaced by AI in the next five years. 

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Leadership is using AI 

Leadership (executive and director-level) is using AI in their jobs more than managers or individual contributors. 

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Most Employees are Not Confident About Their Organization’s AI Strategy 

1 in 4 employees say that they are confident in their organizations’ strategy for AI. Executive level confidence in their AI strategy is not much better. 

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Employees Want More Training on AI, But Aren’t Supported by Their Managers 

A little less than half of employees want more training and learning opportunities about AI. Only 16% of employees agreed that their manager encourages them to use AI in their role. 

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How to Turn This Insight Into Action 

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Shane McFeely

Lead Researcher
Quantum Workplace

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Nothing has the potential to impact the future of work more than AI.  
Though adoption is not yet widespread, it is predicted that AI will replace some jobs and make others more productive. AI has the potential to automate tedious tasks and free employees for critical thinking and creativity. However, AI can also reinforce biases and conceal decision making with complex algorithms.  

Most employees, including executives, are not confident in their organization’s strategy for implementing new technologies like AI. This is not surprising. Organizations must leverage the competitive benefits of AI while mitigating current and future risks. Leaders should foster an open culture of learning and innovation while providing guidelines on strategic AI use. 
 
Because of this, HR needs to be at the forefront of your organization’s AI strategy. 

Here are some questions leaders should consider:  

  • Who are you as an organization? What can’t change?  
  • What is your organizational stance on AI?  
  • How will you use AI in an ethical way?  
  • How does AI impact your products and services?  
  • Does your workforce need AI training?  
  • How does AI impact your culture?  
     

In this video, I talk about the use of AI by industry.   

 

 

 

 

 

Check out our list of resources on the right that’ll help you better integrate AI into your organization. 

Actionable Resources

6 Ways to Harness AI - EBN Article_actionable-resource_emerging-intelligence_trends-report

External Article

How HR Should Lead AI Efforts

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AI Training Video_actionable-resource_emerging-intelligence_trends-report

Video

Employees Want AI Training 

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Top 10 AI Errors - HR Grapevine_actionable-resource_emerging-intelligence_trends-report

External Article

Top 10 Common Errors C-Suite Leaders Make When Using AI in HR

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Analyze Open Ended Comments_actionable-resource_emerging-intelligence_trends-report

Blog

How to Analyze Open-Ended Responses from Employee Survey Comments with Text Analytics

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Generative AI Engagement SHRM Article_actionable-resource_emerging-intelligence_trends-report

External Article

How Generative AI is Transforming Engagement Surveys

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Change Increases Flight Risk 

 

Employees say they’ve seen organizational change motivate their coworkers to leave, and some say change made them consider leaving the organization. 

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More Tenure Means Higher Turnover Risk 

 

Change is more likely to impact the retention risk of more tenured employees. Roughly half of employees with three or more years of tenure considered leaving during organizational change, compared to only 25% of employees who had less than one year tenure.

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Communication, Staffing, and Job Uncertainty Are Top Challenges Amid Change 

Employees want the organization to have transparent communication when change happens. They also want to understand how this change impacts their job and their work. 

 

 

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Employees Prefer to Learn About Change Before It Happens 

36% of employees say they receive information about organizational changes either while the change is happening or after it has happened, but that’s not ideal. 55% of employees say they’d prefer to receive communication before change happens, and 39% say they’d prefer communication throughout a change. 

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Communication Timing Impacts Effectiveness, Turnover, and Engagement 

Employees who receive communication before changes occur are 3.2X less likely to consider leaving due to change and 30% more highly engaged, compared with those who don’t receive communication until after the changes occur. 

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Good Change Management Sustains and Builds Engagement 

Not all change is bad. In fact, employees are more likely to be engaged through periods of change when the change is consistent with their organization’s mission and vision, guided effectively by leadership, and provides the necessary employee support to navigate it. 

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Amount of Organizational Change is Unrelated to Engagement 

Frequency of change has no impact on the level of employee engagement. Instead, the frequency with which organizations communicate about change is more likely to impact engagement. Employees in organizations that communicate about change more frequently are 79% highly engaged, compared to only 41% high engagement at organizations that communicate about change infrequently.  

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How to Turn This Insight Into Action 

shane-mcfeely-circle-headshot

 

Shane McFeely
Lead Researcher
Quantum Workplace
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Change is inevitable. But it doesn’t need to be an obstacle. In fact, change can be an opportunity to engage, connect with, and motivate employees. 

The change itself doesn’t impact employee engagement. It’s the organization’s approach to change management that can result in a positive or negative impact. 

Without a good change management strategy, employees can feel: 

  • Uninformed 
  • Overlooked 
  • Unprepared 
  • Undervalued 
  • Insecure 

Employees want to know what's happening – and why it’s happening, before it happens.  They want to be part of the plan. And they want to feel like a valued team member, even during times of change 

So, here’s your takeaway: a good change management strategy comes down to proactive and frequent communication strategy. 

Check out our list of resources on the right that’ll help you be proactive about change management. 

Actionable Resources

Change Management and Communication Video_actionable-resource_emerging-intelligence_trends-report

Video

Communication & Change Management

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Change Management High Impact Items_actionable-resource_emerging-intelligence_trends-report-1

Video

High Impact Items for Effective Change Management

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More Employee Engagement Trends

Click on another section to learn more about what's happening in the workplace — and what you can do about it. 

Magnetic Culture

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● The ‘Big Stay’ is Here

● You Can’t Get by With Mediocre Culture

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Employee Experience

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● Employees Expect Post-Survey Action

● Engagement is the Key to Strong Retention and Performance

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Performance & Impact

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● Employees Want to Drive Organizational Success

● Managers Matter - But They Don’t Feel Supported

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