As artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and data become more embedded in aging services, organizations are recognizing that successful technology adoption depends as much on people as it does on the tools themselves. That means helping employees build the confidence, judgment, and skills to use technology effectively in their day-to-day work.

LeadingAge members are approaching this challenge in different ways, from creating new digital literacy positions and providing role-based AI training to strengthening onboarding, data governance, and workflow improvement. Together, their experiences show how workforce development is becoming an increasingly important part of technology strategy.

Creating New Positions to Support AI Adoption

In some cases, providers have already brought on new hires to fill roles resulting from changing technologies and related needs. Travis Gleinig, chief information officer and vice president for innovation at CAST Patron United Methodist Communities (UMC) in Neptune, NJ, recently created the position of Digital Literacy & Adoption Specialist, now filled by educator Larissa Scheck. “Her focus is helping employees understand how technology fits into their actual workflows, not simply how individual features work,” said Gleinig. Scheck will provide role-based training, practical resources, and support for best practices and tools used by UMC, including Microsoft Copilot and OneDrive. She will also provide support for operational platforms across UMC and the aging services organizations supported through UMC’s consulting arm, Beam Advisors.

“Larissa also helps employees build confidence with AI through hands-on workshops using real workplace scenarios, while reinforcing privacy, security, and responsible-use expectations,” said Gleinig. “This gives us dedicated ownership of the human side of technology change and helps ensure that our technology investments and systems are adopted consistently, and improve day-to-day operations.”

At LeadingAge member Vivie, based in Minnesota, Samantha Beckman, chief strategy officer said of the organization’s newly created AI Director job: “We needed a leader who could connect the human side of work with the technology enablers. The [new hire] will lead our enterprise strategy and help us develop systemic, scalable approaches.” As for specific skills and capabilities, Beckman explains: “We wanted someone who could see across departments, connect dots, design better workflows, and ensure solutions are thoughtfully architected before implementation.”

Recently onboarded as Vivie’s AI Director, Francisco Arechiga, who has a background in AI, automation, and technology innovation, will lead the organization’s AI strategy. “In aging services, I’m particularly excited about AI’s potential to support more personalized care and better outcomes while freeing caregivers and support teams to focus more of their energy on what is uniquely important to each person and their life journey,” he said.

AI-Powered Support

Making AI, technology, and data more streamlined for employee use is a priority at CAST Patron Sun Health in Surprise, AZ, according to Jim Butler, vice president of information technology. “Our philosophy is that employees should not have to be technologists or data scientists to benefit from data,” he explained. Sun Health achieves its goal by simplifying processes, expanding access to information, and providing training and support based on how employees actually work.

“Technology is changing what we value in more traditional IT positions,” he said. For example, a help desk employee no longer needs to have every answer memorized, because technical information and AI-assisted resources are more readily available than ever. What’s increasingly important is the ability to investigate a problem, evaluate the information they find, and apply it appropriately, he explained.

AI bots are now being programmed by staff at CAST Patron Asbury Communities, said Nick Patel, chief information officer, with content to help reduce workload around inbound inquiries. “We are using a programmed personal.ai bot to address all of the first-touch HR questions coming in from approximately 2,000 associates,” said Patel. “Our goal was to reduce the burden on staff relative to answering questions that can be conveyed via the AI bot and summarizing more complex questions for follow-up from human staff members.”

The same is true at UMC. “We also use AI-assisted candidate screening to identify applicants who meet defined role qualifications and to move strong candidates into the recruiting pipeline earlier for human review,” said Gleinig. “This helps our recruiting team respond more quickly in a competitive labor market without replacing human judgment.”

Onboarding New Staff Members 

Onboarding at UMC features a more structured, role-based technology experience. Rather than conducting a single technology overview during orientation, UMC now provides new employees with access, security education, collaboration-tool training, and system-specific guidance needed for their position, followed by practical resources and continued support, according to Gleinig.

Seeking to engage new employees on data right away, CAST Patron Ingleside in Rockville, MD, explains during the onboarding process how data is used for analytics and dashboarding, said Dusanka Delovska-Trajkova, chief information and digital officer. “This often sparks valuable conversations about technologies and processes that new employees have experienced in previous workplaces,” she said.

New hires are encouraged to reach out to IT if they have an idea that could be beneficial to Ingleside. Delovska-Trajkova shares an example: “A newly hired manager identified an opportunity to automate a partially manual process used to track attendance in our Adult Day Program. The suggestion was evaluated and ultimately developed into a fully automated process.”

Effective Use Of, Not Just Access to, AI Tools 

Sun Health’s Butler cited his organization’s emerging data governance program as an example of how important data is becoming to decisions and operations while the organization expands its use of AI. Data is not owned exclusively by IT, as SunHealth is preparing to identify data owners within the organization and offer role-specific training.

“This will help them understand responsibilities, establish shared definitions, identify data-quality concerns, and make decisions about appropriate use,” noted Butler. IT “will provide the technology and structure, but people closest to the work will take greater ownership of the data.”

Vivie’s Beckman agrees: “Our goal isn’t simply to give people access to AI tools. We want to build the capability to use them effectively. That will happen through a combination of education, practical training, coaching, workflow redesign, use-case development, and hands-on application.”

Identifying Opportunities for Improvement

Frequent reviews of processes and workflows are regularly conducted at Ingleside, in order to identify time-consuming activities that may be ripe for automation or redesign. Ingleside is supported by a Solutions Architect on staff. This individual serves as a bridge between employees, the technical team, and organizational needs, which Delovska-Trajkova said has proven successful.

“The Solutions Architect regularly connects with employees and encourages them to think differently about their work via in-person staff conversations, which allow us to identify opportunities that may not surface during a formal online session.” She adds, “This guides the third-party team toward solutions that make sense within the Ingleside environment rather than simply implementing technology for technology’s sake.”

As technology is further integrated into various workflows within a company, critical thinking by employees remains essential, according to Butler. “Although the required technical skills vary by role, curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to learn are becoming increasingly important throughout the workforce. We need employees who can continue developing as the tools and the work itself evolve.”

“We aren’t trying to turn everyone into an AI expert,” said Beckman. “We’re trying to build an organization where people know how to connect their expertise with the right technology enablers to continuously improve how work gets done.”

What stands out to me is that preparing the workforce for AI and other emerging technologies means helping people understand how to use these tools appropriately, evaluate the information they provide, identify opportunities to improve their work, and know when human judgment is still required. With technology evolving so rapidly, organizations can no longer conduct training as a one-time event tied to the launch of a new system; employers now need to continually build AI literacy, data literacy, and confidence across the workforce. Providers that make this an ongoing part of their culture will be better positioned to not only adopt new technology, but also turn those investments into meaningful improvements for employees and the older adults they serve.