Artificial intelligence is changing how we work, and employers are investing significant time and resources into helping their employees keep up. But as organizations introduce new AI tools and training programs, they must also ensure they are developing the skills employees need to work effectively alongside AI.
A recent Harvard Business Review article, “The 6 Essential Skills Your Workforce Needs to Keep Pace with AI,” highlights research from Gartner suggesting that organizations may be approaching AI training the wrong way by focusing only on technical skills. Instead, employers should focus on developing core human capabilities that will remain valuable as AI evolves.
I think this is an important distinction for employers, particularly HR leaders who are being asked to prepare their workforces for a future that is still taking shape.
AI proficiency is about more than knowing how to use the technology. It's about knowing how to think, evaluate, and make decisions when using it.
Gartner identifies six essential capabilities that will shape an AI-ready workforce. The are divided into two categories: work-orchestration skills – which focus on how employees use AI to accomplish meaningful work, and oversight and governance skills – which focus on ensuring AI is used responsibly and effectively.
Work-Orchestration Skills
Problem Formulation: Before employees can use AI effectively, they need to clearly define the problem they're trying to solve. Asking the right questions, establishing objectives, and providing context are often more important than mastering a particular AI tool.
Systems Thinking: Employees must understand how their work connects to other departments, processes, and business objectives. AI may improve one task, but the greatest value often comes from understanding how it can improve an entire workflow.
Strategic Foresight: As AI continues to evolve, employees and leaders need to anticipate how it could change their roles, their organizations, and even their industries. This requires adaptability, curiosity, and the ability to consider different future scenarios.
Oversight and Governance Skills
AI Judgment and Risk Mitigation: AI-generated information isn't always accurate, unbiased, or appropriate. Employees need the critical thinking skills to question results, verify information, and recognize potential risks.
Human-AI Mediation: As AI takes on more responsibilities, employees will increasingly need to know when human judgment should override an automated recommendation. Technology can analyze information, but it doesn't always understand the circumstances behind a decision.
Ethical Leadership: Organizations need people who can evaluate the broader implications of AI, including fairness, privacy, accountability, and trust. Responsible AI use cannot be left entirely to the IT department. It must become part of an organization's culture.
What stands out to me about these six skills is that none of them are tied to a specific AI platform. They are fundamentally human capabilities. AI just makes them more important.
For HR professionals and business leaders, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
We often talk about AI training in terms of learning new tools, writing better prompts, or improving productivity. Those are certainly worthwhile goals. But if our training efforts stop there, we may be missing the bigger picture.
Consider an HR professional using AI to help develop an employee engagement strategy. AI might quickly generate survey questions, analyze feedback, or recommend action steps. But it takes human judgment to determine whether those recommendations fit the organization's culture, whether the information is accurate, and how employees might respond.
The same applies to recruiting, compensation, performance management, and countless other HR functions. AI can provide valuable support, but the responsibility for making sound, fair, and informed decisions remains with people.
HR and business leaders should be thinking about how to build these capabilities throughout their organizations. That might mean incorporating critical thinking and problem-solving into leadership development programs, creating opportunities for employees to collaborate across departments, or giving teams real business challenges to solve using AI.
It also means establishing clear expectations for responsible AI use and making sure employees feel comfortable questioning AI-generated results rather than automatically accepting them.
Technology will continue to change. The AI tools employees are learning today may look very different a year or two from now. But employees who can solve problems, understand complex systems, exercise sound judgment, and adapt to change will be better prepared regardless of which technologies emerge.
Are you looking to strengthen these skills within your workforce? ASE offers a variety of training courses focused on change management, adaptability, decision-making, and other essential workplace skills. Our 2027 Training Catalog will be available in November. In the meantime, contact Roseatta Stoops to explore training options that best fit your organization's needs. She can be reached at rstoops@aseonline.org or 248-223-8041.