In 2019, when Genpact decided to put most of its learning online, two of its key employees — Piyush Mehta (chief human resources officer) and Gianni Giacomelli (chief innovation officer) — were tasked with building a platform. They called it Genome, to reflect the idea that learning was part of the company’s DNA. The duo identified 40 skills most important for growth, ranging from accounts payable and data literacy to commercial negotiation.

By early 2023, Genome had exponentially boosted learning at Genpact with over 50,000 learners every month. However, the platform lacked the number of “master gurus” — people with 20 years’ experience or more who were sought out within the company for these skills — who could curate the courses, add Genpact-specific content, and answer questions on online forums.

Genpact believes that generative AI (GenAI) represents a significant leap in technology. The company wants to make AI Guru a coach for specific roles and guide people on skills they should be learning. For example, a first-time manager who needs constant coaching can talk to an AI Guru for guidance.Time for learning to reboot

Genpact started in 1997 with 20 employees as a subsidiary of GE that handled the US conglomerate’s finance and accounting functions globally. It now employs over 115,000 people in over 30 countries. The NYSE-listed Genpact’s success depends on its employees keeping abreast of the latest in digital technology, domain and process expertise to serve its clients globally. “We didn’t have a choice,” said Mehta, who is based in Gurugram. “We had to skill and re-skill across the board if we wanted to grow.”

Today, Genpact hires 40,000-50,000 entry-level employees each year, all of whom need training. Like many others, Genpact used to rely on a mix of on-the-job learning and training programmes run by vendors, in scheduled classroom settings, with a real-life guru. But the old-fashioned way of signing up for physical classes, at scheduled times, just wasn’t keeping up. Vendor content was generic and outdated and class times inflexible.

Scaling AI-based learningGenerative AI, built on large language models (LLMs) that synthesise vast troves of data to generate text, images and more, hit the news late last year and is seen as the biggest technological leap since the web browser and smartphones. Companies are rolling out GenAI tools to assist employees in doing everything from writing computer code to drafting emails.At Genpact, the focus is on boosting employee learning and development, a crucial component when your business is professional services. The company is using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Services to scale up the development of courses, pull content from its own experts and constantly update materials.

According to Mehta, there are over 50,000 learners on Genome every month. The most popular course this year, not surprisingly, has been an introduction to GenAI: 60,000 employees have taken it. Storytelling is the next most popular course, particularly with sales and marketing teams, followed by people management, which has evolved rapidly in the age of hybrid teams. Next come role-specific courses like supply chain, fraud and accounts payable.

The impact on retention is tangible. Those who’ve enrolled for training on Genome, said Mehta, are twice as likely to stay with the company as those who have not. As far as AI Guru goes, the AI chatbot has transformed employee learning and development. Long story short, whenever there is a need for sound advice, the workers turn to the bot for help.