How to Find and Train Internal AI Talent

As the need for AI talent grows, enterprises in virtually all fields are struggling to find individuals who can help them take full advantage of this powerful new technology. With competition for qualified AI experts tight, and likely to grow even tighter over the next few years, many organizations are now looking internally to find and train qualified candidates. Every organization needs to make a serious commitment to AI, one of the biggest technology shifts in our lifetime, says David Menninger, executive director, software research, with technology research and advisory firm ISG in an email interview. “AI is not just an IT initiative; everyone needs to jump on board.” Here’s a look at how four major enterprises are getting ahead of competitors by encouraging and cultivating internal AI talent.

Cummins

Renowned for producing powerful engines, Cummins Inc. also designs, manufactures, and distributes filtration, fuel system, power generation, and numerous other heavy-duty products and services. Like a growing number of forward-looking enterprises, Cummins management understands that AI is destined to play a critical role in virtually every aspect of its operations. “At Cummins, we conduct a 360-degree evaluation of our talent,” says Prateek Shrivastava, the firm’s principal data scientist via email. Individuals with strong analytical skills and a preference for coding are identified as potential candidates for in-house AI roles. “However, it’s crucial to also gauge their interest in working with cutting-edge technology.” Shrivastava states that targeted training programs, mentorship under experienced AI professionals, and providing opportunities to work on real-world AI projects within the organization have all proven essential. “A great example is one of our interns from last year,” he notes. The individual demonstrated innate AI talent, so he was paired with one of the firm’s AI experts. “By the end of his internship, he had successfully delivered a highly customized AI chatbot for HR.” Since AI is a relatively new technology, formal training options are limited, Shrivastava observes. “For us, pairing talent with experts, supplemented by YouTube tutorials, has been highly effective.”

Saatchi & Saatchi

One of the world’s largest advertising agencies, Saatchi & Saatchi understands that AI adoption is critical to its future success. The firm also realizes that AI is destined to play an essential role in virtually every aspect of its business. Jeremiah Knight, Saatchi & Saatchi’s chief operating officer, says that the major barriers to integrating AI into daily operations are apprehension and trepidation. “People can be hesitant with AI in the same way technophobe family members are hesitant around a complicated new appliance,” he observes in an online interview. “Perhaps there’s some fearfulness about how to use AI, some fearfulness about breaking something, or even fearfulness about long-term implications.” The antidote, Knight believes, is finding zealous first adopters scattered throughout the agency who are willing to lead workshops that help colleagues acquire AI skills in a safe, hands-on environment. “And to have fun with it, because enjoying the silliness of some of the generative AI platforms goes a long way to reducing fear about them,” he adds. Knight also likes to find “champions” within each department — individuals who are eager to learn and unafraid to be curious about specific tools that advance departmental efforts. “Such individuals often have a positive infectious effect on their peers by demystifying AI and showcasing what’s possible on a departmental/personal basis.”

Dell Technologies

Two years ago, just about the only people working with generative AI were researchers, observes John Roese, global CTO and chief AI officer at Dell Technologies. “At Dell, we asked our team member population ‘who’s interested in AI as part of their future job?’ — 5,000 individuals raised their hands.” Off-the-shelf AI training is sufficient to a certain point, Roese notes, but he believes that the best way to transfer knowledge is with pairing an AI newbie with a seasoned expert. “A lot of what people need to know isn’t documented well,” Roese explains in an online interview. “To get to advanced levels, you need to have people doing advanced AI work and sharing their knowledge.” He warns that one of the biggest mistakes organizations make is getting one central team to do all the AI work instead of helping AI experts propagate their ability to other teams. Mine for the pockets of individuals who exhibit enthusiasm and promise, Roese advises. “Get started today and begin training immediately.”

Microsoft

Naga Santhosh Reddy Vootukuri, senior software engineering manager at Microsoft, recommends training employees and keeping them AI-competitive so that when the need arises to utilize these their skills, they won’t find themselves lagging behind competitors. “It’s important … to view AI talent as an ongoing process rather than a one-time initiative,” he observes in an online interview. Team hackathons and knowledge-sharing presentations make it easy to identify individuals who possess the foundational skills necessary to build upon their AI talent, Vootukuri says. “AI experts in the team should do active mentoring to guide junior engineers who have the passion to make strides, but don’t know how to proceed and are limited due to their nine-to-five job.”