5 Easy Steps to Start Your AI Journey

AI Isn’t Scary—It’s an Opportunity

If you’re a leader wondering how to start your AI journey, you’re not alone. Many leaders hesitate, thinking AI is too complex or that they need to overhaul their entire organization to make use of it. But starting with AI doesn’t have to be a massive project. In fact, taking small, actionable steps can lead to big results over time.

At ForwardPath, we’re committed to helping leaders like you integrate AI in a way that feels approachable, practical, and empowering. In this blog, we’ll guide you through five simple steps to get started with AI, no matter where you are in your journey.

Step 1: Identify a Need

The first step to AI integration is identifying an area in your business where AI can add value. Look for repetitive tasks that take up time and resources but could easily be automated. For example, think about how billing and invoicing in your finance department may involve a lot of back-and-forth emails, spreadsheet entries, and manual data checks. These activities are prone to human error and can slow down team collaboration.

By introducing AI tools for invoicing and billing, your team can automate these repetitive tasks, improve accuracy, and speed up the entire process. These systems also improve collaboration by centralizing information and allowing team members to review, edit, and approve invoices in real time.  

Case Study: Streamlining Billing Collaboration at a Mid-Sized Tech Firm

One mid-sized tech company was struggling with inefficiencies in its billing process. Every month, multiple departments, including finance, operations, and sales, had to coordinate to ensure invoices were sent out on time and payments were tracked. This manual process led to delays, errors in invoicing, and wasted time in correcting those mistakes.

The company implemented an AI-powered billing solution that integrated with their existing finance software. The platform automated much of the invoice generation and payment tracking, while also providing a collaborative workspace for teams to review and approve invoices. With this new AI tool, departments could quickly access shared billing data, flag any inconsistencies, and ensure that invoices were processed smoothly.

After implementation, the company reduced invoice processing time by 30%, lowered error rates by 15%, and improved overall cash flow due to quicker payment cycles. This example shows how AI can be a powerful tool for team collaboration, helping your finance teams work more efficiently and effectively.

Step 2: Start Small

Once you’ve identified a need, the key is to start small. Pick one project and begin experimenting. This could mean implementing an AI solution that is extracting data from several sources and organizing that into a common file or even helping your team find existing information more easily to craft new content. Starting small helps you gather data and build confidence in your AI approach without risking too much time or capital.

Step 3: Use AI for Insights

AI isn’t just for automation. One of its most valuable uses is in analyzing data to uncover insights that can improve decision-making.  

A great and tangible example of this is within Human Resources, where AI can be used to assess employee performance and provide leaders with a clearer understanding of their team’s strengths and areas for development.

For example, many organizations are beginning to use AI to analyze employee productivity, engagement, and development over time. AI can process large volumes of performance data—such as project completion times, feedback from peers, and learning progressions—to give HR teams a more comprehensive view of each employee's contributions.

One way to use AI for performance analysis is by identifying patterns in performance metrics that humans might overlook. For instance, AI can spot trends in employee engagement based on project types, work hours, or team dynamics. By understanding how different factors influence performance, leaders can better allocate resources, optimize team structures, and provide targeted development opportunities.

Additionally, AI can help predict which employees are most likely to excel in leadership roles or require additional training to succeed. By analyzing historical performance data alongside contextual factors like training history or project outcomes, HR teams can make more informed decisions about promotions, compensation adjustments, or career development plans.

A mid-sized marketing agency, for example, used AI to identify which employees were at risk of disengagement. The system analyzed various inputs, including project feedback, overtime hours, and collaboration metrics, to detect early signs of burnout. Based on these insights, the agency proactively offered flexible work arrangements and mentorship programs, improving retention rates by 15% within a year.

By leveraging AI to understand people performance, HR teams can gain a more holistic view of their workforce, anticipate issues before they arise, and take proactive steps to support employee growth. This fosters a culture of continuous development and ensures that team members receive the support they need to thrive.

Step 4: Empower Your Team

AI adoption doesn’t happen in isolation. As a leader, your role is to empower your team to understand and leverage AI tools. Start by offering training and resources that demystify AI. This could be as simple as organizing workshops or encouraging your team to explore user-friendly platforms like ChatGPT, CoPilot, DALLE, DataRobot or AutoML. But first, remember to put a policy and rules of engagement in place to guide your team.

Step 5: Measure, Evaluate, Scale

The final step is to measure the impact of your AI initiative. Did it save time? Did it reduce costs? Use these metrics to evaluate the success of your initial project. Once you feel comfortable, consider scaling to other areas of your business.

The time to act is now! Take the First Step Today

AI doesn’t have to be intimidating. By following these five easy steps, you can start your AI journey today. Whether you begin with a simple chatbot or a more complex analytics tool, every small step brings you closer to unlocking AI’s full potential for your business. At ForwardPath, we’re here to support you every step of the way, with guidance and hands on team to ensure you start right away!

** Disclaimer: Both the image and blog post content were generated with the use of AI under a human direction

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