Article: The future of work: Empowering your teams with AI Thursday 09 October 2025 Share Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email Quick wins to empower your workforce and maximise the potential of your talent in the age of AI. The rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace can feel like a risk to business stability and employee morale. Yet, forward-thinking organisations recognise that a skills-based development approach, from new talent to experienced employees, is the way to harness the full potential of AI. Use the steps below to create a culture where every employee has the opportunity to lead without limits. 1. Reframe AI to retain and attract early-career talent The concern that AI adoption will replace jobs is real for many, but the solution lies in using AI to automate routine tasks. Rather than removing or replacing, AI can empower your teams to focus on strategic, creative and human-centred work that maximises productivity and fulfils a sense of purpose. Build a culture of collaboration: Encourage experimentation within teams to demonstrate that AI is a powerful tool to be harnessed, not feared. This can also provide your early-career talent with the safe space they need to test, learn and share their AI insights. Identify and enable your AI champions: Give employees who are passionate about AI the chance to lead adoption within their teams, applying a bottom-up approach to innovation. 2. Establish a framework for safety and security While encouraging experimentation is vital, it must be guided by clear policies to mitigate risk and build trust. Creating a safe environment for your teams to explore AI in the workplace is a critical step in effective implementation. Set a usage policy: Before widespread adoption, establish a company-wide policy on what AI tools can be used, for what purposes and what data can be shared. This protects sensitive company and customer information and ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR. Provide AI employee training: Don't assume your workforce understands the ethical implications of AI. Provide your employees with internal best-practice guidance that gives directions on how to use AI tools responsibly. Create supervised spaces: Implement a controlled space where experimentation can take place under the supervision of your AI tech owners. This can be achieved by creating internal walled-garden environments and dedicated group chats for employees, enabling open exploration while all activity is monitored. 3. Develop a skills-based career pathway Organisations are increasingly moving towards a skills-based development model focused on bringing out the strongest capabilities from their workforce during AI adoption. Create future-ready managers and leaders: Prioritise the importance of both soft and technical skills for your emerging leaders to successfully implement projects. This allows them to apply growing technical aptitude and creativity to real-world business problems. Develop internal reverse-mentoring: Pair your early-career talent, as mentors, with experienced leaders. Senior management can help junior colleagues build strategic skills, while younger generations can share new ways of working with evolving technologies. 4. Bridge the gaps with professional development By investing in your junior talent, you can give them the formal management and leadership skills they need to channel their ambition into real business benefits and strategic impact. Equip your aspiring managers: Provide your teams with the tools and support to lead in an AI-driven world, including training resources and technologies. Show your commitment: Clear action on professional development demonstrates that you value your employees’ long-term growth. By offering targeted training, you can help managers understand how to lead change with AI in the workplace and build resilient teams. Prepare for an AI-powered future Want to learn more about how AI will shape management? The University of Huddersfield recently launched the first CMI Dual Accredited MSc in Applied AI. We caught up with them to learn how they are integrating technical and soft skills into training and development. Read the full case study Image: CMI Like this article? Why not share it. 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