AI Integration’s a Top Tech Challenge for HR Right Now

Many of your peers in HR — and their tech teams — are still trying to get a handle on where they should jump on the bandwagon with AI integration and where they should take a “wait and see” approach.

Nearly half of the respondents (49.2%) in the Reveal 2024 Top Software Development Challenges survey said they plan to implement AI tools in 2024, compared to just 27% in 2023.

Why are the other half holding off? While AI-powered tools have enormous potential to maximize efficiency and improve results in your business operations, there are also considerable risks that are hard to see coming.

In addition, there are widespread knowledge and skills gaps, even within tech circles, when it comes to AI integration. For instance, according to the Reveal survey, some software developers are hesitant to incorporate AI into their development process because it can produce code with security vulnerabilities, errors, bugs or inefficiencies.

AI Integration Requires Learning, Training

Casey Ciniello of the company Infragistics is the senior product manager for the business intelligence solution Reveal and the team collaboration solution Slingshot. “The need for AI proficiency is becoming more prevalent, requiring HR departments to redesign their training and talent development programs to make learning more relevant. In addition, they must update employees’ existing skills to adapt to an AI-enabled culture,” she said in an email.

When asked for some ideas to bridge AI knowledge and skills gaps, she mentioned “full-fledged” AI degree programs, as well as online courses available through Coursera, Google and LinkedIn.

With AI integration becoming more widespread among consumers, businesses and global markets, should HR departments be recruiting talent with specific AI skills or focusing on reskilling current employees?

Ciniello noted that last year, only one in 10 workers reported they have the education qualifications or career background to fill an AI job, according to a report from Salesforce. “HR departments need to assess their [skills] requirements, realizing a balance between reskilling current technical staff and recruiting developers with AI skills,” she said.

“We must learn more about AI, explore its potential and prepare for its impact on the future of software development and the talent pipeline. Offering reskilling opportunities can help to alleviate job security anxiety within development teams.”

Retaining High Performing Tech Talent Key to AI Integration

The Reveal survey predicted a bumpy ride for the tech industry when it comes to retaining talent and recruiting developers with AI integration skills. The hardest tech roles to fill will be:

• Software developer
• Data analyst
• Web designer, and
• Web developer.

So what can HR leaders do to hold on to their valuable tech talent?

Ciniello acknowledged that while talent retention is difficult for many organizations today, “at Infragistics, we found that there’s tremendous value in a strong company culture. It motivates our employees, drives our innovation, attracts talented and caring people, and contributes to our profitability.”

She quoted a passage from the book, “When Grit is Not Enough: An Entrepreneur’s Playbook for Taking Your Business to the Next Level,” written by Infragistics CEO Dean Guida: “To keep top talent and maintain productivity, businesses should focus on measuring and improving job satisfaction, engagement and loyalty.”

Tech Recruiting Top Skills Needs

Looking to recruit developer talent? The Reveal survey said that in addition to AI integration, these are the most sought-after skills:

1. Working with web layouts (41.7%)
2. User experience/user interface design (39.2%)
3. Data analysis (37.2%), and
4. Data visualization (31.7%).

Ciniello commented: “As more and more organizations embrace analytics tools to improve their productivity, increase sales/revenue, understand business problems and make better business decisions, we will continue to see a need for talent with data analysis and data visualization skills. There are many programs and training courses for those who want to improve their analytics and visualization skills from providers such as [Google/Coursera], IBM and Microsoft.”