Take a phased approach and keep people at the heart of strategy, advises James Swift
Leyton, like many businesses, prioritises client retention as a crucial driver of sustainable growth. Recognising that their consultants’ skills directly impacted client relationships and retention rates, Leyton’s talent development team sought innovative solutions to improve skill adoption and consistency across their workforce. The business challenge was to boost client retention.
AI provided unprecedented visibility into employee skill usage… replacing subjective observations with objective data
Traditional methods like classroom training and one-on-one coaching proved insufficient to effectively measure and scale skill development across such a large and geographically dispersed workforce.
The human-centric framework: Guiding principles for AI implementation
Leyton adopted a phased approach to AI implementation, guided by a framework that prioritises human capabilities and aligns AI initiatives with organisational goals. This framework can be summarised in four key components:
- Understanding the global AI landscape: The initial step involves researching and understanding the global legal landscape surrounding AI, including data privacy regulations like GDPR. This awareness is crucial to ensure legal compliance and mitigate potential risks associated with data collection and analysis.
- Aligning AI with organisational performance: AI initiatives should be strategically aligned with the organisation’s primary goals and designed to address its most pressing challenges. This alignment is essential for securing investment and gaining leadership buy-in. Leyton’s focus on improving client retention provided a clear business case for implementing AI, allowing them to secure the necessary resources and support from leadership.
- Focusing on human capability development: Once aligned with organisational goals, the focus shifts to assessing existing employee skills and identifying future skill needs. This assessment helps determine which skills to prioritise for development and how AI can be leveraged to support that development effectively. Leyton meticulously mapped its client journey, identifying five key client conversations crucial for retention. They then developed a skills framework for each conversation, outlining six to eight essential skills required for success. This detailed mapping ensured their AI implementation directly targeted skills critical for achieving their organisational goal.
- Adapting organisational infrastructure: The final component involves adapting organisational infrastructure to support and sustain the AI implementation. This adaptation may include revising competency frameworks, updating leadership principles, and refining HR policies to incorporate the evolving role of AI in the workplace. Establishing clear data governance procedures, transparent communication strategies, and comprehensive reporting mechanisms is crucial to ensure responsible data use and build trust with employees.
Putting AI into action: Analysing client conversations
The AI implementation focused on analysing real-time conversations to measure and improve skill adoption. By leveraging readily available AI-powered tools, they could capture and analyse the language, tone, and nuances of conversations – providing valuable insights into employee skill usage. They programmed the tool to identify keywords and phrases associated with specific skills within their defined framework. This allowed them to measure how frequently employees were using the desired skills during client interactions, providing a data-driven view of skill adoption across the organisation.
Key results: Improved coaching and measurable outcomes
The data-driven insights derived from the AI analysis enabled the talent development team to implement targeted coaching programmes and track progress effectively.
- Enhanced visibility and accuracy: The AI tool provided unprecedented visibility into employee skill usage, allowing L&D professionals to identify skill gaps and track improvement over time. This data-driven approach improved the accuracy of coaching and feedback, replacing subjective observations with objective data points.
- Individualised coaching plans: The AI analysis enabled the creation of personalised coaching plans for individual employees, focusing on specific skills needing improvement. This personalised approach ensured that coaching efforts were targeted and relevant, maximising their impact on skill development.
- Measurable skill improvement: Leyton achieved significant improvements in skill adoption. They observed an increase in the frequency of desired skills being used, leading to a more consistent and effective client experience.
Make it work for you
The successful implementation of AI demonstrates the power of technology to enhance human capabilities and drive organisational performance. The human-centric framework provides a valuable roadmap for other organisations seeking to leverage AI to scale skill adoption and address their own unique business challenges.
By focusing on transparency, ethical data use, and prioritising the development of human skills, AI can become a powerful tool for creating a more effective and engaging learning environment that empowers employees to thrive in the evolving workplace.
James Swift is Head of Talent Development at Leyton
