Christy S. is always eager to boost her skills. 

So when HireSmart co-founder Anne Lackey offered an AI Leadership class to the company’s virtual employees, Christy decided to join. 

“It’s been years since I did any leadership class,” she said. “I’ve been in a home-based setup for nine years now. So I told myself, why not join this class, at least to refresh my mind, to be able to speak to everyone again, and to update myself with what’s going on.” 

Christy was already using ChatGPT regularly, but that was about as far as her knowledge went. 

“What I knew about AI was just ChatGPT. That’s it,” she said. 

More Than ChatGPT 

The class introduced Christy to tools including Claude and Perplexity, with activities that gave participants a chance to try different uses for AI. For Christy, it opened up a much bigger picture of what was available. 

“When I joined that class, I was able to introduce myself to the different uses of AI, which is very good,” she said. 

She has since started sharing some of what she learned with coworkers. Christy works closely with different teams for her property management client, so she has opportunities to see where a tool might be useful in someone’s day-to-day work. She recommends ChatGPT when a coworker needs help managing time and tasks, for example, and Perplexity when someone needs information with sources. 

“I would tell them, use Perplexity if you want sources,” she said. 

One of Christy’s biggest takeaways from Anne was about being prepared. “Be confident when you speak and be prepared,” Christy said. “Study whatever inputs you have; learn from it before you speak to everybody.” 

She feels considerably more prepared to have those conversations now. 

“I’m confident to say that I’m AI knowledgeable,” she said. 

What AI Means for the Job 

Learning more about AI also made Christy think about what employees need to do as the technology gets better. She believes employees have to keep up with those changes, but she also sees differences between what a tool can do and what an experienced employee brings to a client relationship. 

“A human being is different from a computer,” she said. “As long as you know what you’re doing, you have the heart in it, and keep yourself up to date … your client will hold on to you.”

Christy has years of experience working remotely and a long relationship with her property management client. From her perspective, part of an employee’s value is the ability to adjust to whatever the work requires. 

“Tools are just tools,” she said. “Tools just focus on one thing. Unlike you. You can be flexible in any other things.” 

The class also covered confidentiality. For Christy, that was particularly important because of the property-owner information she encounters in her work. 

“Of course, it’s the confidentiality, especially with owners’ info,” she said. 

That caution hasn’t made her less interested in AI. She has become more aware of what information needs to be protected and where a person’s judgment still matters. 

“It cannot replace the person,” Christy said. “They still need us.” 

A Company That Support Continued Education 

The class is part of a larger effort at HireSmart to support its virtual employees beyond placing them with clients. Christy points to health and medical benefits, VE retirement plans, and educational scholarships for employees’ children as other examples. For her, the opportunity to continue learning is another way HireSmart invests in the people who work for the company. 

“With HireSmart, Anne’s vision is actually for the people,” Christy said. “She’s always after what’s best for us.” 

Christy has years of customer service experience and works across teams for her property management client, helping with customer inquiries, property showings, tenant applications, and other responsibilities. She had plenty of experience before she entered Anne’s class, but she also recognized that the tools people use to do their jobs are changing. 

She signed up because she wanted to keep up with those changes. Now she’s comfortable enough with what she learned to help coworkers who are trying to figure it out, too. 

Her advice to other virtual employees is straightforward. 

“Just be ready,” Christy said. “Just be flexible to learn new things.” 

Curious what a fully supported, continually trained virtual employee could add to your team? Click here to schedule a free consultation.