Operationalizing AI Experimentation: Harvard Business Publishing’s Angela Cheng-Cimini
Aug 14, 2024
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Angela Cheng-Cimini, the CHRO at Harvard Business Publishing, focuses on integrating AI into workplace teams and addressing its impact on human resources. She discusses the importance of creating a safe environment for employees to experiment with generative AI, transforming fear into curiosity. Angela emphasizes that AI won't replace humans, but those who embrace AI will thrive. She also shares insights on ethical AI use, enhancing employee experiences, and how HR can play a pivotal role in fostering a culture of innovation.
Creating a safe environment for AI experimentation is crucial for overcoming fear and inspiring innovation among employees.
Personalizing employee experiences through data-driven insights can enhance engagement and support effective AI integration in organizations.
Deep dives
Harnessing AI for Employee Experience
AI's impact on organizations is profound, especially regarding employee experience and operational efficiency. Leaders, like Angela, advocate for creating safe environments for employees to experiment with Generative AI (Gen AI), addressing fears of job loss with the message that it's more about overcoming inertia. By encouraging employees to engage with Gen AI and experiment, organizations can inspire innovation and creativity. For instance, Angela mentioned a simulation where 40 leaders developed a new business concept in under an hour, illustrating how hands-on experience can demystify AI technologies and promote adoption.
Personalizing Employee Experiences
The concept of hyper-personalization in employee experiences is gaining traction, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches similar to those used by consumer platforms like Amazon and Netflix. Organizations are increasingly aware of their employees' diverse needs and preferences, yet many still struggle to leverage existing data effectively. By utilizing data to understand employee journeys, organizations can create more fulfilling and engaging work experiences. This tailored approach is especially relevant in the context of AI, which has the potential to enhance personalization and provide targeted support for employee needs.
Navigating the Risks of AI Implementation
While AI presents exciting opportunities, it also poses various risks, particularly in the publishing and education sectors where quality content creation is challenged by free access to information. Angela highlighted the need for organizations to demonstrate the value of their content against the backdrop of AI capabilities like ChatGPT, which can generate similar results at low or no cost. As AI continues to disrupt traditional business models, organizations must adapt their strategies to maintain their competitive edge while ensuring the integrity of their offerings. This balancing act requires mindful exploration and a strategic approach to integrating AI into existing workflows.
Creating a Culture of Experimentation
A culture that encourages experimentation and innovation is essential for organizations to thrive in an AI-enabled landscape. Angela emphasized the importance of HR leading the charge in fostering such an environment, which involves mitigating risks rather than avoiding them altogether. By instituting structured learning days and engaging employees in hands-on activities, organizations can create shared experiences that facilitate collective learning and experimentation with AI tools. This mindset shift is vital for organizations looking to harness AI's potential while equipping their workforce with the skills necessary for future success.
Generative AI is taking the world by storm, and the realm of HR is no exception. The use of AI will change a business and it will impact teams. That’s why Angela Cheng-Cimini seeks to answer the question, “How do you make sure your teams are positively impacted by AI?”A lot of the conversation starts with mitigating the fear that surrounds AI. Angela believes one of the ways you can get people to run toward generative AI is to create a safe environment where they can play with it and be amazed by its capabilities. Then, they’ll want to integrate it into their work. In this conversation, Angela shares how—as the CHRO—she’s operationalizing AI experimentation at Harvard Business Publishing. Because, ultimately, “AI is not going to replace humans. But humans will be replaced by humans who use AI.”
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...
Learn more about Angela Cheng-Cimini and her role [3:31]
The issues Angela is facing in her organization [5:49]
Using AI to help with the employee experience [9:51]
The Gen AI experiment that Angela ran [13:27]
The impact of Gen AI on recruiting[16:06]
How to take advantage of AI [18:59]
How to justify the expense of AI [22:30]
The ethical use of AI in organizations [24:16]
Influencing broader AI enablement strategy [26:37]
The lightning round [28:19]
HR’s role in integrating AI into the workforce [31:11]
How to operationalize experimentation [34:00]
Angela’s advice to leaders using Gen AI [36:00]
Angela’s biggest takeaway from the AI journey [40:34]