What is the role of AI in a digital workplace?

(Photo credit @austindistel)

It’s been a busy past few weeks, with the launch of my new Coaching offerings and getting to participate in my first tweetathon! I maaaay have also spent some time watching the recent Pres and VP debates, and maaaay have scared my dog when I was yelling at the TV. (I’m just as passionate about public service & politics as I am about tech!) For those in the US, please make sure you are registered to vote and have a plan for when and how you will vote! It’s really important that you participate in the voting process.  

#techtopic

Earlier this week, I was invited to participate in The Digital Workplace Tweetathon, where around 100 panelists interacted with thousands of attendees on Twitter over a 24-hour period. We discussed a wide variety of topics related to the Digital Workplace. My panel’s focus was on “The role of AI in a digital workplace” and I was joined by Paul Datta, Head of Digital Workplace for ASEAN/Japan for Tata Consultancy Services, and Mitch Zenger, CEO of Synctrics. 

We were each asked to record a video or written response in advance to 4 questions, and I’ve linked here to the Twitter thread for each question. I hope you take a look - I’m especially interested to hear if you know of companies working on my prediction for Q2. 

• Panelist intros

• Q1: Where is AI currently being used in digital workplaces? 

  • My focus: Resume screening - but it's not mature enough for un-assisted candidate selection

• Q2: Where will AI be used that you haven’t seen yet? 

  • My focus: Combining contextual analysis of digital assets + social network analysis = identifying hiring needs before you even know you need someone!

• Q3: How can AI make the employee experience more human?

  • My focus: Automate basic interactions to give humans more time to do human things, like conversations about career planning & navigating people dynamics

• Q4: What do digital leaders need to do now to be prepared to take advantage of AI in the future? 

  • My focus: Train all your people in digital dexterity and AI literacy so they know the power of what AI can and cannot do

Pro tip: Tweetdeck made it so much easier to participate in this tweetathon as you could have multiple threads for notifications, hashtags, etc, open in just one window (check it out if you want an easier Twitter experience). 

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#random

You might have missed this important news tidbit last week. Maybe we’ll be able to go back and erase some of 2020 someday?? Physicists prove time travel is 'mathematically possible' 🤯

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Managing Remote Work Effectively

(Photo credit @dtopkin1)

I suggest becoming ‘fluent’ in how to effectively manage remote teams as well as how to manage your own work when working remotely. 

1. Ensure that you are keeping some type of structure to your days, especially when working remotely. 

• 4 ways to help you break up the monotony of the week (in fact, there is an Ivy League Step Challenge going on right now)

2. Managing asynchronously is a skill that will serve you well in any tech company!

• There are studies that show that remote workers are happier and stay at jobs longer.

• And 47% of US workers work remotely for at least some part of their job, while 3% of US workers are completely remote (up from 1% in 2000).

3. Create new daily rituals

• For those of you who normally work outside of the home, you have morning & evening rituals (whether you recognize them as such, or not). Those routines are what signal your mind & body that it's time to go to work, take a break, head home, etc. You *need* to replicate & modify those rituals when working at home.

• This article does a great job explaining this (look at Item #3). I also love their idea of 'workstation popcorn'!

4. Find an accountability buddy

• I made this suggestion to a student last week, and she told me today that it worked really well for her & a friend!

• The idea is simple: find a friend you trust. Book an hour on each other's calendars. Join the virtual platform of your choice at the start of the hour. Share with each other what you both want to accomplish in the hour. Leave the virtual session open to mimic sitting next to them in 'real-life' which will help you stay focused (as long as you don't chit-chat). At the end, review what you got done & celebrate your progress.

• Don't have a friend you trust? I suggest checking out FocusMate.com to sign-up for a time slot with a stranger (and maybe it'll help you find new friends too??).

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Want personalized career guidance? Take a look at my Career Strategy Session options.