Generational diversity is central to unlocking performance and productivity across teams, but when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, many companies are falling short.
One reason teams are failing to use diverse ideas, insights, and capabilities in their AI workflows is the disparity in training and opportunities between younger and older workers. This is one takeaway from a new research report by the London School of Economics and Protiviti, Bridging the Generational AI Gap: Unlocking Productivity for All Generations.
Time and cost savings continue to incentivise AI integration for organisations. Overall, employees using AI report saving an average of 7.5 hours per week (20% of their time) — or $18,000 per employee per year, the report found.
Productivity gains increased across teams with more generational diversity (77%) compared with homogeneous or less generationally diverse teams (66%), the report said. Similar findings were observed in a 2024 study by Lancaster University on the relationship between productivity and multigenerational teams. The Lancaster study concluded that investing in multigenerational teams can produce more diversity of thought through knowledge sharing and skills transfer.
But training gaps are preventing organisations from building high-performing, multigenerational teams. Gen Z workers are more likely to be upskilled in AI, compared with both Gen X and Baby Boomer demographics, the report said.
Training efforts miss the mark
Of the 70% of employees who use AI in their roles, Gen Z leads with 82% adoption, compared with 52% of Baby Boomers who report using AI at work, the report said. Younger employees are nearly twice as likely as Baby Boomers to have received AI skills training in the past 12 months (45% vs. 25%).
As a result of upskilling disparities, Gen Z is more involved in AI development initiatives (47%), compared with 30% of older generations, encompassing both Gen X and Baby Boomer employees.
Training concerns, however, are not limited to targeted upskilling. About two-thirds of employees (68%) have received no AI skills training in the past 12 months, the report found, leaving potential productivity gains unfulfilled for many organisations.
Generally, without the necessary skills, employees are unable to meet the needs of their organisations. “More than 78% of organisations are investing in generative AI technologies for their employees,” the report said. “Yet it is estimated that up to 42% of these AI initiatives are abandoned before reaching their intended purpose.”
Recommendations for organisations
The report recommends three ways companies can improve AI adoption efforts:
Clearer alignment between organisational goals and training. Employees believe AI adoption could increase with better workflow integration, alignment between AI job use and financial incentives, and visible success amongst peers, according to the report.
Create opportunities for eager employees. About half ofemployees not currently working on AI initiatives “want to be involved and would dedicate around a third of their time if given the opportunity”, the report said.
Invest in more hands-on learning, upskilling. Employees already working on AI initiatives want to increase the proportion of effort dedicated to these initiatives, the report said.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.
