Duolingo assures employees during AI-pivot; Intel CEO calls for culture revamp after layoffs
Plus TalentLMS, Worktango study shows employees don’t feel they have adequate resources during transition periods.
Good morning, comms people! Let’s dive into this week’s top stories and biggest takeaways about how organizational change is reflected internally.
- Duolingo reassures employees of their value as it makes AI pivot.
Duolingo is betting on AI. But the company is doing so with a clear mission and a transparent message.
The language app’s CEO Luis von Ahn said in a company email this week that the brand would move toward an AI-first approach “while continuing to be deeply centered on its employees.”
The message, also shared on the company’s LinkedIn, justified the move while reassuring employees the AI pivot would elevate Duolingo’s mission and continue to align with the brand.
From the memo:
“Being AI-first means we will need to rethink much how we work. Making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won’t get us there. In many cases, we’ll need to start from scratch.
“This isn’t about replacing Duos with AI. It’s about removing bottlenecks so we can do more with the outstanding Duos we already have. We want you to focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks. We’re going to support you with more training, mentorship, and tooling for AI in your functions.”
“As part of this shift, the company will introduce a set of new guidelines:
- Contractors will be phased out for work that AI can take over.
- AI capabilities will be considered in both hiring decisions and performance reviews.
- New headcount will only be approved if a team has already maximized automation opportunities.
- Most departments will be expected to adopt AI-centric workflows.”
Von Ahn does a couple things here that communicate Duolingo’s thinking while admitting that learning curves don’t equate to complete doom:
- The brand cannot afford to lag in the AI race, but it will stay true to its core values; and
- The company will not compromise dedication to its employees, but there will be moves made that impact certain job titles, including eliminating contract workers and hiring new people.
Sharing realistic goals along with transparent messaging can alleviate employee woes, especially as AI continues to dominate the professional workforce.
- Intel CEO addresses employees over latest round of cuts, promises to reshape company culture.
There were already rumors ahead of Intel’s Q1 earnings call late last week that a 20% workforce reduction was imminent. Ahead of that announcement, CEO Lip-Bu Tan addressed the chip maker’s employees directly, turning the rumors turned to reality.
In a company memo, obtained by Times Now News , Tan called for an overhaul of company culture citing that customer feedback dinged Intel as “too slow, too complex and too set in our ways.”
From the memo:
“We need to get back to our roots and empower our engineers. That’s why I elevated our core engineering functions to the [executive team]. And many of the changes we will be driving are designed to make engineers more productive by removing burdensome workflows and processes that slow down the pace of innovation.
“To make necessary investments in our engineering talent and technology roadmaps, we need to find new ways to reduce our costs. While we have taken significant actions in the last year, our current cost structure is still well above competitive benchmarks. With that in mind, we have reduced our operating expense and capital spending targets going forward, which I will discuss during our investor call this afternoon.
Tan was transparent about what he’d like to see in the coming months, including more innovation, less meetings and more in-person working hours. The message was clear, albeit a bit broad, and moving forward employees need more concrete steps to feel assured about their roles.
- More than a third of employees don’t feel supported through change.
In a study released this week, TalentLMS and Worktango showed how employees respond to organizational change and how they feel their company handles those transitions.
As many as 39% of employees surveyed said they didn’t feel supported by their organization or weren’t given adequate resources to help them navigate the change.
From the study:
“On this subject, our data tells a clear story. Most employees are navigating significant change with limited support from their organization.
“In the current climate of urgent and constant disruption, the temptation to deprioritize support is real. And in many ways understandable. But it comes at a cost to employee engagement, wellbeing, and the success of the change initiative itself.”
While many employees feel left in the dark during pivotal transitions, 28% of employees did feel supported by their direct manager, if not the organization, the study showed.
“Organizational psychologists and change experts have long emphasized the pivotal role of managers in times of change. Our research plays this out. In the face of company-wide shortcomings, managers are stepping up to provide the most common source of support for employees during business transformations.”
Get all the details and read the full study here.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
