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How often do you use artificial intelligence?
Are you an AI super-user, using ChatGPT to turn the dwindling groceries at the back of the refrigerator into gourmet recipes and Copilot to whittle down your cluttered email inbox into a streamlined to-do list?
Actually, it’s more likely you’re a part of the majority who are not yet using AI at work. That could be because you’re worried about the impact of the technology on your job security, your cognitive ability, or planet Earth; because you lack the skills to get started; or even because you’re part of the 17% of Americans who haven’t even heard of AI usage in the workplace (yes, really).
So, what if your business made it company policy that all staff must use AI at work, and used adherence to that policy as a measure for determining career progression?
‘AI is no longer optional,’ Microsoft President tells managers
It’s a question that employers and HR professionals must ask themselves, as the world’s most well-known organizations begin implementing such mandates.
This week, it’s the turn of Microsoft.
According to a Business Insider report, a division president at the tech giant recently told managers to begin evaluating staff on the scope of their AI usage and impact.
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Julia Liuson, who oversees Microsoft teams responsible for building developer tools, wrote in an email: "AI is now a fundamental part of how we work… Just like collaboration, data-driven thinking, and effective communication, using AI is no longer optional — it's core to every role and every level."
The memo informed managers that employee AI usage must now form a part of their “holistic reflections on an individual's performance and impact,” with the business reportedly considering the implementation of a metric into its performance review processes in the next fiscal year.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Business Insider’s report claimed the policy is being touted as a way to tackle lagging internal adoption of AI services, including Copilot.
If AI usage does become an embedded performance review metric, staff who don’t use AI tools like Copilot could face the prospect of smaller bonuses and financial rewards, as well as less favorable career outcomes and diminished progression opportunities.
Should employers include AI usage in performance reviews?
Microsoft joins a growing list of notable employers to explore making AI usage a mandatory part of the day job.
Information services giant Thomson Reuters, for example, has told its employees that staff who do not pick up AI skills and use tools in their daily work have no long-term career prospects at the firm.
Mary Alice Vuicic, Chief People Officer, told HR Grapevine last year: “We’ve said to our people, you will be left behind. We’re giving you every opportunity to use this… so if you don’t adopt it in your day-to-day and use the tools, there won’t be a place for you in the future.”
Elsewhere, executives have certainly made no secret of their ambition for a future workforce in which employees work seamlessly alongside an army of ‘digital colleagues,’ as the concept of agentic AI grows in popularity.
It’s understandable to see why some businesses (or departments), especially in the tech world, are considering more rigid methods to build AI competencies within their firm.
We’ve seen in recent months just how eye-wateringly expensive it can be to ‘buy’ in elite AI skills, so attempting to simultaneously mandate and nurture AI adoption is perhaps a good alternative to ‘build’ those capabilities instead.
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However, there are undeniable risks involved in making AI usage a performance review metric.
America’s growing digital divide has been well documented, including significant gaps in access between areas with higher median incomes, more bachelor’s degrees, and increased broadband availability, versus others.
Without a level playing field for access to technology, including AI tools, is it fair game for employers to hold back the careers of staff who don’t feel as ready or able to adopt this technology in their day-to-day work?
Is it justifiable to compensate one employee less than another if they choose to complete the task, project, or job without using an AI tool?
Is it sensible HR policy to force workers to choose between their legitimate concerns about responsible AI usage or environmental impact, and the financial incentive of a full end-of-year bonus?
Incentivizing AI usage through performance metrics will no doubt feel too much stick and not enough carrot for plenty of employees, who would prefer a more measured approach rooted in training & development opportunities – and at the very least to have a dialogue about how they complete their work.
