Misalignment found between company investment and employee excitement on AI
Despite widespread enthusiasm from employees about the potential of artificial intelligence, some organisations are failing to back up their plans with meaningful investment, a new report has found.
More than a third (38%) of Australian respondents in a new Miro global survey said their company often abandons AI efforts.
Another 42% said there are a lot of conversations about AI at their company, but no action.
The findings come in the wake of reports last year that interest in AI among executives appears to be waning, following challenges in defining and measuring the impact of AI initiatives.
Jeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Miro, pointed out that many AI solutions are not user-friendly enough for all workers, and can be difficult to deploy at scale and in a consistent way.
"AI will drive a renaissance of creative problem-solving in organisations and promote unprecedented levels of innovation," Chow said in a statement.
"The misalignment between company investment and employee excitement points to a huge missed opportunity for true organisational change and innovation acceleration."
Employees' AI excitement
Some employers' decision to leave behind AI efforts comes despite 57% of employees saying AI makes them feel excited or energised, according to the report.
More than half (59%) also said that AI can improve worker wellbeing and job satisfaction.
Chow said the findings show that employees who understand the importance of incorporating AI into their roles also have an appetite to leverage the technology.
"But there is a clear divide on the steps necessary to drive AI transformation," he said.
According to the report, 76% of employees believe AI could benefit their role, but 54% struggle to know when to use it.
More than half of employees (52%) also consider their current AI knowledge and skill level as "weak" or "inconsistent."
"Leaders should therefore stay focused on moving from platform rollout to process adoption, and ensuring their teams are equipped for the shift this will require," Chow said.
"This means upskilling people, prioritising process value and deployment, and implementing product integrations for maximum ease of access and repeatability. AI transformation should feel like a full team effort."
