There is a generally accepted skills shortage in AI-related disciplines across the world, with organizations scrambling to gain access to the talent they need to underpin the various digital transformations they’re undertaking. The importance of securing this talent was underlined by a recent study from Columbia Business School, which showed the direct link this can have on not only the overall sales of the organization, but even the size of the workforce.
The research found that when companies hire AI staff, they can expect to see a sales boost of nearly 15%, while also expanding both their geographic reach and their product offerings.
The researchers analyzed job postings from Burning Glass Technologies alongside employment profiles from Cognism. The analysis found that hiring AI talent creates a self-reinforcing cycle, as the investment in AI boosts revenue, which in turn allows for further investments in AI.
“For decades, we thought that artificial intelligence would be the future of technology, but we always looked to it with fear that investment in AI would ultimately take away jobs,” they explain. “But today, our findings show that investment in AI not only increases company sales and expands geographic reach, but it creates jobs, opening up new opportunities that would not have existed before. This information is vital for any company that needs a push to be bold and look to the future.”
AI-powered growth
Collectively, the researchers analyzed over 42 million resumes and job openings. They also assessed each of the companies with vacancies to Compustat data on their sales, income, employment, and R&D expenditure.
To uncover the jobs related to AI, the researchers looked for four key AI concepts in the job description, including machine learning, artificial intelligence and computer vision. The analysis revealed a positive correlation between hiring such workers and revenue growth, with this trend particularly strong among larger companies, who were more likely not only to invest in AI talent, but to benefit from it.
This trend was found to help those large companies grow even larger, as they could subsequently invest even more into their AI capabilities, and reap the bounty from doing so, which included sales growth of nearly 15%, 13% growth in employment, and a 1.3% growth in market share.
“AI is proving to be a revolutionary technology that fuels growth,” the researchers conclude. “Companies that begin investing heavily into AI could experience expansion that would have otherwise taken years to penetrate, and this rapid expansion is visible in every industry.”
