HR and Organizational Leaders Must Collaborate to Build an AI Strategy That Enables Success and Mitigates Risk, Says Global HR Advisory Firm McLean & Company

New research from global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company suggests that as artificial intelligence (AI) solutions become increasingly commercially feasible and available for organizations, HR and organizational leaders must work together to determine the potential benefits, risks, and applications for their unique needs or risk a low return on investment.

TORONTO, June 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - The surge of artificial intelligence (AI) advancement has left many organizations scrambling to adopt the technology to take advantage of the opportunities it promises before considering the necessary safeguards, skills, and capacities required for AI implementation. According to new research from global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company, the HR division of Info-Tech Research Group, the success of leveraging AI hinges on the organization's ability to develop a comprehensive strategy aligned with their AI maturity level, organizational value drivers, and strategic objectives to maximize value while mitigating risk. To support HR and organizational leaders in their efforts to take a holistic approach to crafting an AI strategy that prepares the organization for the future, McLean & Company has published its new blueprint Build a Strategic AI Roadmap.

"The AI strategy is the central point from which both technical and people-related AI activities originate," says Lisa Highfield, Principal Director, Human Resources Technology and Artificial Intelligence at McLean & Company. "It provides the direction, guideposts, and priorities that inform the organization's activities and enables a smooth execution to transform AI from an idea into reality. However, introducing AI technologies can create tension within an organization, considering there are often differing views, competing priorities, and large volumes of change. When HR and organizational leaders come together to build an aligned AI strategy, it significantly aids in the implementation and management of AI technology by ensuring that it aligns with broader organizational goals."

The firm's resource includes a breakdown of the risks an organization may face when adopting AI without a strategy, such as inviting unintentional bias, creating technological dependence, and increasing risk to data security, privacy, and confidentiality. When leadership collaborates to develop an AI strategy, several benefits to the organization are unlocked. These benefits include an aligned vision and mission to support initiatives, proper governance, higher digital transformation success rates, better value realization, and a path forward to mature the organization for digital enablement.

As many organizations struggle to know where to start when building an AI strategy, McLean & Company has created a four-step process HR and organizational leaders can follow to build a strategic AI roadmap and navigate AI adoption. The firm's comprehensive process is available in the full resource, with a high-level breakdown included below:

1. Establish AI strategy scope. Establish a cross-functional AI strategy steering committee, understand the organizational value drivers, develop the AI vision, mission, and values statements, determine responsible AI guiding principles, and explore broader AI governance considerations.
2. Assess AI maturity and identify maturity initiatives. Assess current and target AI maturity, explore AI dimensions and their relation to AI maturity, and identify maturity initiative opportunities for the organization.
3. Identify AI use cases. Brainstorm ideas for AI use cases, record use cases related to each value driver with identified challenges and opportunities, and map the use cases by connecting them to organizational value drivers and initiatives.
4. Prioritize initiatives and create an AI strategy roadmap. Build the AI strategy roadmap to visualize the prioritized maturity and AI initiatives and communicate across employee groups. Then, determine next steps and prepare to evaluate, maintain, and update the AI strategy as required.

Whether an organization buys AI-enabled applications, partners with an integrator, or builds a model from scratch, McLean & Company advises HR and organizational leaders that they cannot outsource accountability. Effective AI governance is necessary to use the technology responsibly, ethically, and within the organization's best interests, which requires organizational leadership to work collaboratively.

To access the full resource, please visit Build a Strategic AI Roadmap.

To attend upcoming free webinars on a variety of topics or explore the publicly available archive of recorded sessions, please visit McLean & Company's webinars page. 

To register for McLean Signature, the premier industry conference for future-focused HR leaders hosted by McLean & Company from October 27 to 29 at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada, please visit the official Signature event page.

Media interested in connecting with McLean & Company analysts for exclusive, research-backed insights and commentary on generative AI in HR, HR trends in 2024, the future of work, and more can contact [email protected].

McLean & Company pairs evidence-based research and immediately applicable tools with deep HR expertise to position organizations to meet today's needs and prepare for the future. The global HR research and advisory firm's member organizations enjoy comprehensive resources, full-service diagnostics, workshops, action plans, and advisory services for all levels of HR professionals, from executive leadership to HR leaders to HR team members, that help shape workplaces where everyone thrives.

McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and hundreds of industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact [email protected].

SOURCE McLean & Company