Featured on FORBES: Workforce Management In The Age Of AI
The way we work is transforming. That means the way we manage our workers should evolve accordingly. But how, exactly? And what does this mean for the immediate future of workforce management?
To answer that, let’s take a look at how a rapidly shifting labor landscape is changing the nature of workforce management today.
Addressing AI Anxiety
First, it’s worth recognizing that anxiety over AI-driven job displacement is real and valid. There have been a number of layoffs in highly exposed professions like data analysis, information research and financial forecasting. These are jobs whose functions have almost certainly been displaced by AI.
But a deeper look at the numbers suggests that the workforce isn’t exactly shedding workers. A recent study from MIT’s Sloan School of Management found that this displacement is being at least partly offset by job creation in other parts of the market. And the study credits some of these gains to AI adoption, saying that AI use among firms is linked to a 6% higher employment growth over a five-year duration.
An article from Youngstown State University adds that, according to the BLS, we can anticipate 900,000 new jobs in “AI-adaptive computer roles” by 2033. The article also notes that about two in five U.S. workers were already using AI in their jobs in 2025.
Four Ways To Adapt Your Management Style
In the best-case scenario, your team is learning how to leverage AI without depending on it, using it to improve efficiency while they focus on core business activities. They feel empowered rather than threatened by the assistance of smart, speedy and data-rich technology.
So how, as a manager, can you position your team to achieve this best-case outcome? Here are four strategies I’ve found to be effective:
1. Respect the AI learning curve.
AI adoption requires AI adaptation. Your employees are learning new ways of working. How you manage this process may actually determine whether your AI initiatives succeed or fail. In my own experience, success in this area requires patience, persistence and clarity about your team’s goals.
2. Adopt an AI management mindset.
Another practice I recommend for pilot initiatives is to approach AI with an open mind, with a curiosity about its iterative capabilities and with the patience to learn what it can really do. This should extend to the training you provide and the commitment you show to your team.
One leader advises handling the AI learning curve through concentrated six-week sprints. During each of these sprints, they recommend identifying a single pain point and exploring the value of using AI as a solution. This can help you determine as a team what’s working and what isn’t. Measure your outcomes, operate within a set timeline, and commit to using the technology every day during that time.
3. Measure AI outcomes rather than just human activity.
As we adapt to these rapidly evolving technologies, we also need to shift our mindset on performance evaluation. Again, keep in mind that there is a latent anxiety about what AI might mean for your human workers. If your goal is to enhance the output of those workers rather than replace them—and I believe it should be—then it’s important to reconsider the metrics you use to measure performance. The goal should be to determine what your AI initiatives are producing or improving. Remember that the technology is on trial, not your team.
With that in mind, be sure to share outcomes with your team. Be transparent about gains in productivity as well as areas in which AI is not producing measurable gains.
4. Take a human-centered approach to AI-enabled management.
A recent survey by Resume Builder revealed some eye-opening findings. In a survey of 1,342 U.S. managers, about 65% said they use AI tools at work. Of those, “Nearly all (94%) use them to make decisions about the people who report to them.” The survey notes that 20% of managers say they’ve even used AI for personnel decisions without consulting another human being.
That’s one way to do it. But in my experience, AI tools work better when they’re used to enhance human work rather than replace human judgement. Going forward, I believe AI will have the greatest value for those businesses that use AI-powered tools to cultivate and refine human output.
Fortunately, the Resume Builder survey also includes some encouraging figures. For instance, respondents say they are using AI to:
• Create training materials (97%)
• Build employee development plans (94%)
• Assess performance (91%)
• Draft performance improvement plans (99%)
These are positive examples of how managers can leverage AI to improve workforce management without replacing human judgment.
Other Ways AI Can Enhance Management
You can also use AI-powered management tools to automate shift scheduling based on enhanced demand forecasting, enable targeted recruitment and automated onboarding, identify internal skills gaps and hire or train accordingly, and upskill workers with targeted training modules. Each of these is an example where AI can help you make your workforce more efficient and productive while remaining centered on enhancing human capabilities.
And that is really the key to effective management in an era of AI adoption. Every business will have access to the same rapidly advancing tools. The human talent behind these tools will remain the great differentiator.