Rashim is a well-known CEO of eWOW and is recognized as an influencer, technology and business thought leader, strategist, best-selling author, and speaker. She emphasizes the importance of addressing skills gaps and leveraging AI technologies in an innovative and equitable manner as it becomes more prevalent in products and services. As a tech and business executive, Rashim has developed strategies to address skills gaps with new technologies for customers, partners, and employees at various companies.
To help leaders build a team that can deliver on AI initiatives, Rashim provides a step-by-step guide. The first step is to determine how AI will be leveraged in products and services, followed by evaluating the skills gap within the organization. This involves creating a list of required skills and mapping them with the current team’s skill set to identify the skills that need to be developed. Questions to consider during this assessment include the availability of tech domain expertise, power skills like negotiation and communication, and the timeframe to bridge the skills gap.
Once the skills gap has been identified, the next step is to create an upskilling and reskilling plan for employees. Upskilling involves enhancing existing skills, while reskilling involves learning new skills for a new role. It is essential to consider ramp-up and job readiness metrics and ensure they align with the resource plan when creating the plan. Additionally, budgeting for time and effort is crucial, as organizations often overlook the costs associated with training, such as the time invested by employees and program managers.
Getting buy-in from key stakeholders is also vital to the success of upskilling initiatives. Communicating how the initiatives align with the company’s overall strategy, the impact measurement and reporting, and the importance of their support are crucial aspects to address. Launching a training plan that focuses on knowledge and applicability, with a blend of on-demand, live courses, and coaching, is the next step. Equitable learning options should be provided to address the diverse workforce’s needs, and a reporting mechanism should be in place to track progress.
In implementing the upskilling strategy, Rashim suggests being open to hiring new talent if the current team’s ramp-up time is longer than needed, or leveraging skill sets from other parts of the company to build a team with the right skills. Ultimately, addressing skills gaps in AI should be a top priority for leaders to ensure that the workforce is trained and confident in leveraging AI effectively. With an adequately trained team, the potential for creating powerful solutions with AI is immense, contributing to the overall growth and success of the organization.
