Editorial
Guide
7 Ways to Simplify Employee Communication
"You love to read? Me too."
I was waiting for an office event to start when I got to talk with a colleague for a few minutes and discovered that we're both avid readers.
I already knew she was smart, dedicated and good at her job, but this quick conversation gave me new insights and a deeper appreciation for her as an employee — and a person. Now, I know what types of books she reads. I know she's an award-winning poet. I also learned that she's motivated by quiet emails of praise, rather than a department-wide parade. And now that I know more about what makes her uniquely human, I can spend more time building better solutions that work for her and support our organizational goals.
People Want to Be Seen
As AI continues to drive uncertainty among employees, leaders need to spend more time getting to know their colleagues. Who coaches their kid's soccer team in their spare time? Which of your co-workers is caring for a sick relative? Is anyone passionate about travel?
It's your responsibility to understand not just what people do at work, but who they are in — and out — of the office. Especially as AI continues to take on more responsibilities, don't lose sight of what inspires your people and what type of work they want to do. After all, a sense of belonging is the strongest driver of employee engagement, as Qualtrics noted. The same thinking also applies to recruiting potential employees, since the competition for talent always comes back to making people feel seen.
What Makes People Uniquely Human
With the rise of AI, it's easy to ascribe human qualities to technology. But AI isn't a person, no matter how realistic the avatar is, how authentic the chatbot sounds or even if you add AI to your org chart (which you should). As we deploy more AI tools in the workplace, recognizing these uniquely human traits is more important than ever.
How we define "uniquely human" will continue to change over time, but here are a few of my favorite human qualities:
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Empathy and EQ: While AI can mimic empathy by "recognizing and responding to emotional cues in text, voice or facial expressions," as Lenovo noted, AI doesn't actually experience those feelings. Humans have emotions, which is why they can build deep relationships, while AI can only make connections.
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Creativity: AI can brainstorm solutions and support creative endeavors. But creativity isn't just about mashing together existing concepts. Original ideas come from original experiences.
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Judgement, opinion and nuance: AI excels at handling data and facts, but it helps to have human support when it comes to open-ended, subjective concepts. In an MIT study, the authors noted that many historic events (including civil rights and women's rights movements) "were driven by beliefs that defied the status quo, even when prevailing data seemed to support it." Your people have ethics and morality and (hopefully) a sense of what's right and wrong, to an extent that AI does not.
So, how does understanding people help you with AI adoption and deployments?
Find Common Language
"You love true crime podcasts? So do I!" Common language can help us uncover shared human traits and build a foundation for trust, whether we're having a conversation about someone's favorite playlist or bonding over which snacks should be in the break room. This common language matters when you're talking about AI, too. Does your organization use lots of acronyms and technical jargon? Or do people soften the nomenclature to make it more accessible for everyone?
Use Tailored AI Tools to Support Specific Employee Traits
If someone hates being in the spotlight, the right AI agents can help them prepare for the pressure of a big presentation, track their accomplishments without bragging and avoid embarrassing mistakes in reports. For more extroverted employees, you might want AI solutions that help them build and manage their relationships and networks. Knowing your employees as people helps you deliver the most useful AI platforms and solutions — part of an enhanced digital employee experience that goes a long way toward improving employee satisfaction, retention and recruitment.
Celebrate Human Discernment
In the past, an employee was typically the one to press a button to start a workflow. But now, that proverbial button is being pushed by AI — and it's the human's job to understand if everything is going according to plan. You need to trust employees to have discernment in their new roles and use their judgment to make subjective decisions. And when things go right, make sure you acknowledge it. Use post-mortem examples to walk through what happened and highlight employee judgment.
Know When to Let Your Guard Down
We in HR often operate from a culture of fear, being overly cautious about what we do and say. It's understandable, given that we're trained not to ask about medical information and be cautious about sensitive topics. While we should certainly follow the law and respect people's privacy, leaders shouldn't be intimidated by the uniquely human aspects of their employees. Try to find the sweet spot between being professional and personal.
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Use Shared Goals to Bridge Differences
When I worked at Apple, some of the retail leaders were a bit intimidated by the "Apple Geniuses" in their stores. We explained to the managers that, while the "Geniuses" were certified engineers, they were also focused on customer service. When we demystified the language and showed that we all had the same goal, the store managers were more comfortable leading their teams. To improve communication during AI deployments and other complex processes, ask people to focus on organization-wide goals and similar shared objectives.
Go Beyond Technical Upskilling
You can get better at using AI in a 30-minute class. But AI upskilling is more than just learning how to use a tool. Instead, focus on the uniquely human skills required for assessing, interpreting, and processing what's happening with AI. How should employees use AI to remove common workplace obstacles in your organization? What are the ethical considerations when using AI agents? Make sure your upskilling is centered on the person — not just the software.
The Bottom Line: Human Connections Matter
The fundamental elements of leadership haven't shifted. The purpose of HR hasn't changed. The integration of AI is like any new technology adoption — when disruption occurs, people tend to go back to the power of human-to-human connections. As AI spending continues to skyrocket, one of the best ways to maximize your investment is to recognize what makes your people uniquely human and use these insights to drive growth.
Editor's Note: How else can you uplift people in the midst of AI adoption?
- Digital + Human Capabilities for a Future-Ready Workforce — Beyond technical know-how, the future-ready worker needs a new blend of human and digital skills — anchored in awareness.
- Designing Human and Technical Architectures for AI-Powered Collaboration — When your data can talk, so can your people.
- People-Centric Leadership and AI: Can We Have Both? — AI can support people-first leadership, if we use it with care.
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