In this guest blog post, Henrik Eriksen, Senior VP of Global Partner Alliances at Zensai, discusses the significance of AI in enhancing employee development and how to leverage Zensai’s AI capabilities with Microsoft tools.

Across the globe, organizations are leveraging the transformative power of AI to streamline operations, gain deeper customer insights, and turn their innovative ideas into dollar signs. In fact, a recent PwC study revealed AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

However, as companies increasingly adopt AI, two areas stand out as critical for sustained success: training and performance management. Rapid technological changes can make once-cutting-edge skills obsolete, meaning effective and flexible training programs are even more vital. Organizations need the necessary tools to ensure their workforce stays engaged and productive. After all, a Gallup poll found companies with highly engaged workforces outperform their peers by 147 percent in earnings per share.

Hurdles to high performance

Organizations across industries face significant challenges that hinder productivity and innovation, including skill gaps and ineffective training programs. A recent Gartner survey found 70 percent of employees report not having the mastery of the skills needed for their job today, let alone the ones they’ll need for tomorrow.

The consequences of these shortcomings are far-reaching, because when employees feel their skills aren’t being developed or their performance isn’t recognized, engagement plummets. More Gallup data reveals actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. economy up to $605 billion each year in lost productivity. These employees are also more likely to leave, or at least “poison the well” and negatively affect overall team morale. Ultimately, the organization’s bottom line suffers.

The status quo isn’t working.

How Zensai’s AI solutions turn challenges into opportunities

Faced with such complex challenges, organizations need a new path to training and performance management — one that’s agile, personalized, and driven by data. Zensai (formerly LMS365 and Weekly10) leans heavily into the framework of trustworthy AI that Microsoft provides. Our platform’s AI solutions enhance Microsoft tools and offer a nimble approach through our Human Success platform, which elevates organizational performance across key areas.

At Microsoft Build 2024, we unveiled how our platform harnesses the power of Microsoft Copilot to transform organizational dynamics. With Copilot, users gain cutting-edge sentiment trend insights, receive strategic recommendations to boost team morale, and achieve a comprehensive understanding of their organization’s progress in learning and development.

By seamlessly integrating with Microsoft tools and applications, the Human Success platform empowers organizations to tailor their learning experiences, create training content seamlessly, pump up performance conversations, and promote a culture of continuous improvement – all in the daily flow of work. That is how our platform’s AI features are revolutionizing the way organizations train and develop their workforce.

Learn365 training overview.

The platform features three core apps: Learn365, which empowers employees with personalized, continuous learning experiences; Engage365, which drives employee engagement by providing real-time sentiment analysis and actionable insights to foster a positive work culture; and Perform365, which optimizes performance management by delivering data-driven feedback and growth opportunities. Together, these apps create a cohesive and powerful system that aligns with Microsoft’s comprehensive AI security and governance to drive meaningful results:

• Personalized learning paths: The platform’s AI can automate skill development by helping users create tailored and efficient learning journeys. This way, new hires and seasoned employees receive relevant content that accelerates skill development and keeps them engaged.
• Streamlined performance processes: Our AI-driven insights reimagine performance management by moving beyond annual 1:1s to a model of continuous feedback and growth. We help managers gain a deeper understanding of team sentiment so that they can identify strengths, areas for development, and potential roadblocks in real-time.
• Improved employee performance and engagement: A study by Deloitte found companies with a strong learning culture are 92 percent more likely to innovate. With our platform, organizations can build that culture while boosting performance and engagement. Employees feel valued and supported, motivated to reach their full potential. And as they grow, so does the company.
• High adoption rate: As our host of applications fit seamlessly in Microsoft 365 environments, companies have realized an over 88 percent adoption rate of their systems. In this way, the Human Success platform helps Microsoft 365 users expand and extend their environments, while also improving the usage of those applications.

Zensai’s AI in action: 7 scenarios that power your people

Since our platform’s AI capabilities integrate seamlessly with Microsoft 365, business leaders get a wide array of features to improve training and performance management, all within the apps they use daily. These seven key scenarios demonstrate the power of our AI within Microsoft 365:

1. Creating courses with AI: Our Learn365 platform uses AI to automate course creation, so training materials are always up to date.
2. Creating skills with AI: Our AI-powered solution helps you define, develop, and track essential skills that align with business needs and evolving industry trends.
3. Effective manager coaching: According to a study by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), teams with leaders who embrace coaching conversations are 130 percent more likely to see stronger business results. Engage365 uses AI to provide managers with personalized coaching recommendations that facilitate better communication and higher productivity.
4. Sentiment overview for managers: Engage365 helps you check your team’s pulse by aggregating sentiment data, giving managers actionable insights to boost morale, address concerns proactively, and foster a positive workplace.
5. Discovering training: We created Learn365 to get rid of the guesswork. AI suggests customized training paths based on each individual’s role and skills, maximizing learning impact and resulting in higher completion rates.
6. Preparing for performance reviews: Perform365 is designed to make performance conversations more meaningful. AI analyzes huge amounts of performance data, then uses it to generate valuable feedback for both managers and employees.
7. Company-wide sentiment insights: Engage365 serves up big-picture results. Our AI platform gathers sentiment data across the organization to inform strategic leadership decisions.

Engage365 team sentiment summary.

Embrace the future of work with Zensai and Microsoft

Zensai’s Human Success platform is built for the Microsoft 365 ecosystem you already know and love, enhancing AI capabilities while delivering a familiar and intuitive user experience. From personalized training in Microsoft Teams to AI-driven insights in your Microsoft 365 inbox, our solution uses existing Microsoft Entra ID groups and the security and scalability of Microsoft Azure to empower organizations.

The impact of our AI-powered solutions is tangible, and our customer success stories speak volumes: higher training completion rates, comprehensive performance metrics, reduced admin burden, and a more engaged workforce. By bridging skill gaps, automating course creation, and providing managers with real-time insights, Zensai’s trustworthy AI, integrated with Microsoft’s powerful tools, offers a transformative path forward.

AI will continue to reshape the workplace, and organizations that embrace these innovative solutions will gain a competitive edge. The Human Success platform, in conjunction with Microsoft tools, empowers you to create a more skilled, engaged, and high-performing workforce, ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. We don’t have to wait for the future. We can shape it ourselves.

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