For decades, workforce development has focused on helping people prepare for jobs. That mission remains as important as ever. Yet a quiet shift is taking place inside organizations that deserves far more attention. Increasingly, employers are not simply redefining jobs—they are redesigning how work gets done. Understanding that shift may become one of the most important responsibilities of workforce professionals over the next decade.
Much of today’s conversation about artificial intelligence centers on employment. Which occupations are most at risk? What new skills will workers need? Which jobs are growing and which are declining? These are important questions, but they may not reveal the earliest signs of change. Before a job changes, the process behind that job often changes first.
Organizations across every sector are taking a fresh look at their workflows. They are asking whether customers can complete more tasks on their own, whether information can move automatically between systems, whether repetitive activities can be automated, and where employees add the greatest value. These are not simply technology decisions. They are decisions about how work should flow through an organization.
State workforce agencies are already demonstrating what this looks like. The Texas Workforce Commission’s virtual assistant, “Larry,” has answered millions of unemployment questions, reducing routine inquiries and allowing staff to focus on customers with more complex needs. Ohio is using artificial intelligence to assist employees with document processing, multilingual customer support, and finding information more quickly. Virginia has developed AI-generated videos that explain unemployment benefits, helping customers understand the process before they ever need to contact agency staff.
These examples have something in common. None were designed to eliminate workforce professionals. Instead, they were designed to remove repetitive work so employees can spend more time applying judgment, solving problems, and helping people navigate situations that technology cannot resolve on its own. The nature of the work changes even though the position may remain the same.
This raises an important question for workforce leaders. When organizations redesign the way work gets done, who should help design those new processes?
Too often, new systems are selected, consultants develop new workflows, and employees are trained after most of the important decisions have already been made. Yet the people with the deepest understanding of the work are frequently the last to be consulted. Front-line staff know where customers become frustrated, where forms create unnecessary delays, where unofficial workarounds have developed, and where human judgment remains essential. They understand the difference between the process documented in a manual and the process that actually works.
Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities for workforce development is to help organizations recognize and use that expertise. Rather than viewing front-line employees simply as users of new technology, organizations can involve them as partners in redesigning the work itself. Their observations can identify bottlenecks, improve customer experiences, reduce unnecessary steps, and uncover unintended consequences before they become larger problems.
This shift also suggests that workforce professionals may need to ask employers a different set of questions. Instead of focusing only on which positions are difficult to fill, conversations might also explore how work is changing inside the organization. Which tasks are becoming automated? Which now require greater judgment? Where are employees spending more of their time? How are front-line staff contributing to process improvement? Answers to these questions often reveal emerging skill needs long before they appear in traditional labor market statistics.
Workforce development has always been about preparing people for the future. As organizations continue to redesign how work flows across people, technology, and artificial intelligence, another opportunity is emerging. The profession can help organizations think differently about work itself while ensuring that the people closest to the work help shape its future.
The next workforce challenge may not be redesigning jobs.
It may be redesigning how work gets done.