How an AI culture can help unlock organisational innovation

Employee optimism regarding AI could be the springboard your organisation needs to explore new ideas and ways of working while instilling excitement, curiosity and experimentation among your workforce. However, a challenge in leveraging this sentiment could be the disconnect between employers and employees when creating a culture supportive of innovation. Just 27% of workers said their manager encourages dissent or debate, whereas 61% of Irish CEOs believe their managers encourage it. Workers do not feel the presence of leadership behaviours that are needed to promote innovation and experimentation.

With impressive media coverage, AI is truly the zeitgeist of our time and presents an opportunity to bridge the cultural gap around innovation. Encouragingly, our research points to a willingness among employees to develop new skills—over half of those surveyed proactively seek new upskilling opportunities. The message is spreading that AI can automate repetitive and mundane tasks, freeing employees to engage in more creative, innovative and meaningful work. 20% of Irish respondents believe that AI will create opportunities to learn valuable new skills, and 22% report that AI will help increase their productivity at work.

The time to capitalise on this momentum and optimism is now. To achieve this, leaders must understand how their organisations can use AI. How they engage, enable and support their workforce to use, experiment and embed this technology into their day-to-day tasks—and reap the rewards—will be equally important.

Key actions businesses can take today

1. Consider your AI narrative
Senior leaders need to understand what AI will mean for their business. When clarity is found, communication is crucial in instilling enthusiasm, excitement and recognition of more enriching work. The narrative should emphasise that the intended outcome for AI adoption will be time gained for more value-added activities and, ultimately, a more meaningful work experience.

2. Prioritise employee engagement and experience
Engaged, committed and motivated employees will be far more likely to be innovative and seek opportunities to be creative. A good place to start is your employee value proposition. This can be a powerful tool to help new and existing employees understand what’s in it for them.

3. Adopt a ‘learn-it-all’, not a ‘know-it-all’ attitude
AI is evolving rapidly, and there is no silver bullet when it comes to upskilling. Embed processes to facilitate continuous knowledge and skills development. Opportunities for further growth and development will contribute to higher employee engagement and retention levels.

We’re here to help you

Organisations must evolve now to compete in the age of innovation, stay relevant and adequately support employees as AI rapidly advances into our everyday working lives. Leaders must ensure that their workforce strategy is aligned with their digital strategy because the cost of getting this wrong is too high. You can take critical steps now, and we are ready to help you. Contact us today.