CHICAGO — Conversations around AI integration in the workplace have been accelerating in recent months beyond possibility and into implementation.
To find out more about where AI is being integrated and what entry-level or early-career professionals can upskill to gain a competitive advantage, Trade Show Executive connected with Janice Rogers, Chief People Officer at Diversified USA.
Rogers recently spoke at the SISO Leadership Conference about the impact AI is having on workplaces and workflows in the events industry.
MADDY: It’s clear where AI can help accelerate efforts around sales and marketing through research and campaign automation. Where else do you see the possibility for the transformation of roles in the events industry in particular?
JANICE: AI can assist in a number of organizational and operational tasks. Creating reusable forms for document submissions, streamlining scheduling capabilities, facilitating collection of information for travel planning — think about the tasks we all do on a regular basis. It’s likely that AI can assist in creating tools to streamline these processes and allow us more time to focus on human-centered work.
MADDY: I think there’s an argument to be made that if someone just starting out is using AI to do certain tasks, they won’t really be learning the why behind how things get done. In response to that, how can young professionals in the industry be sure they’re using AI effectively to do routine tasks, while still building the understanding and expertise that will help them excel in their careers and become the next generation of leaders?
JANICE: I think you could make the same argument when a human delegates a task to a team member but doesn’t tell them the “why” behind it. As in those situations, as managers we can’t abdicate responsibility for proper training if we want an effective outcome and employees who can not only complete the task at hand, but apply the learning to other areas and grow and contribute in their role. The “human sandwich” remains critical: The human needs to understand the reason for the work, employ AI to assist with the completion and then check the output to make sure that it is accomplishing what we need.
MADDY: From your experience seeing AI being adopted across an organization, what skills do you think emerging professionals should focus the most on sharpening to give them a competitive edge as roles evolve?
JANICE: I’ve seen AI be most useful in thoughtful data analysis, drafting content as a starting point, researching, creating concise presentations and building tools to streamline repetitive tasks. When you can create an effective slide show in minutes versus hours, that time can be redeployed in other areas.
Two key points to success here:
- Be thoughtful and thorough about what you put into your prompts or projects.
“Garbage in, garbage out” is real. The more constructive information you can provide the engine, the better the output will be. - Do not pass on “workslop.” No leader wants to spend time correcting work that a team member has not closely reviewed and corrected before submitting.
MADDY: If someone isn’t offered AI upskilling through their own employers, where can they look to gain those skills?
JANICE: There are numerous online resources and AI certification programs available for low or no cost. Coursera and EDX are two sites that offer these options.
MADDY: What would you say to someone considering entering the events industry who may be fearful that AI will replace the entry-level roles that would help them start establishing themselves?
JANICE: I think the face-to-face events industry is far less prone to job replacement by AI. Our work is high-touch and human centric. AI can’t build the strong customer experience that makes our events so special and compelling. If anything, I think entry-level roles will become more exciting for early career professionals, with less routine, manual tasks and more thought-driven, creative work. As I said in my presentation at the SISO Leadership Conference, the advantage will belong to teams that use AI to elevate human judgment — not replace it.
MADDY: Your session at SISO Leadership Conference, People and Culture: AI’s Impact on Workforce and Workflow, had many key learnings. For those who weren’t in the audience, what was your one or two big takeaways from that presentation you’d like to leave emerging leaders with?
JANICE: Humans are still driving the bus! AI can’t work effectively without human direction and verification. You can delegate tasks, but you can’t abdicate responsibility for the outcome — you own it.
If you’re having trouble getting started on what work or tasks would be best suited for AI-assistance, use your tool to help figure it out. Giving it a task list or job description is an easy way to identify the low-hanging fruit that can benefit most from AI. Look for the quick wins first.
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