mainstay
Empower your team with AI training in New Zealand
The fastest way to increase productivity and engagement is through our expert-led generative AI workshops.
Are you ready to use generative AI to unlock the full potential of the people in your organisation?
Mainstay provides AI workplace training designed specifically for New Zealand organisations. We help your team harness the power of AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude.
Transform how your team works with AI
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, AI literacy is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity.
Our hands-on workshops empower your teams to:
Understand the different types of AI and their associated strengths and weaknesses
Learn how AI is a thinking partner (it’s not here to replace you)
Increase productivity and efficiency
Enhance creativity and problem-solving skills
Align more closely with your strategy
Identify new, innovative ways of working
Mitigate risks associated with AI usage.
Led by Tom Hovey, a digital strategist with over 25 years of workshop experience and more than 1000 hours of hands-on AI experience, our training goes beyond basic tool usage. We help your teams reimagine how they work and unlock new possibilities.
The introduction of AI training creates the opportunity for your team to ask new questions: How do we create value? How could we do that more effectively? What could we do differently?
"I loved learning from you yesterday about the possibilities that AI opens up. I am viewing it completely differently now and can't wait to start making it work for me." – Juliet
Why choose Mainstay for AI Training?
Expert instruction:
Benefit from Tom Hovey's unique blend of AI expertise, digital strategy, and creative design background.
Team-focused approach:
Our enjoyable, collaborative workshops build collegiality and foster innovation within your organisation.
Designed for your team:
Every training programme is designed for your team, ensuring your team gets to apply AI to real-world scenarios relevant to your team.
Flexible delivery:
Choose from in-person or remote training options to suit your team's needs.
Don't get left behind:
Equip your team with the skills they need to thrive in the age of artificial intelligence.
Ready to transform your workplace?
Let’s discuss how Mainstay can tailor AI training to your needs.
Our AI training programme
Mainstay's AI workplace training will take any team from AI novices to confident practitioners.
Our programme is built around four key workshops:
1. Introduction to AI
Understand the fundamentals of generative AI and its potential impact.
2. AI tasks identification
Identify the opportunities where and how AI can enhance your daily tasks and processes.
3. Applying AI well
Develop the skills to create powerful prompts and usefully integrate AI into your workflows.
4. Develop AI Habits
Build lasting habits to ensure continuous improvement and effective AI usage.
Each workshop is facilitated through Miro, allowing for interactive and engaging sessions whether delivered in-person or remotely.
For team members who need extra support or missed a session, we also offer personalised 1-on-1 catch-up sessions.
Focus on people, not technology
We empower your people to use readily available generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot. Your people are at the heart of the training we provide. We help your team create ‘playbooks’ for using AI well.
We don’t create ‘use cases’ for where you could implement new AI technology.
Implementing AI technology could be important for your organisation as part of a longer term strategy, but we start with people, not technology.
For now, the best AI strategy for organisations is to upskill your people.
"In addition to being super skilled at what you do, you also make it fun which I totally appreciate." – Seb
Success stories:
AI in action
In addition to the daily benefit of using AI for research and ideation, here are specific examples of how some of our clients are leveraging AI after our training:
A communications team using AI to help apply the corporate style guide: saving hours of proofreading every week
A team of reporters using AI to better interrogate large documents and come up with new angles for stories
A professional services team using AI to come up with new analogies and stories to help explain complex topics to create more compelling proposals
An IT team using AI to help them speed up the onboarding processes for new staff
An advocacy team using AI to read, summarise and tag nearly a decade of historical submissions - a task that wouldn’t have happened without AI
A marketing team using AI to capture and analyse the sentiment of website content for better decision-making
A data team using AI to analyse customer data in new ways to find new insights
A digital team using AI to help make quick prototypes of new customer experiences
A team of consultants using AI to help them write better Excel formulas for more complex data analysis and report charts
An engagement team using AI to test surveys and come up with new questions.
Looking for AI success?
Let’s discuss how Mainstay can meet your AI training needs.
Our clients
We support all leading
gen AI technologies
Is AI training really necessary?
Increasing the AI literacy of your team is vital. In addition to improving productivity and increasing engagement, it also reduces the risks of your team using generative AI badly.
Although not yet the case in New Zealand, the Australian government has just released its Policy for the responsible use of AI in government.
It strongly recommends all agencies implement AI fundamentals training within six months.
It’s an urgent need in a rapidly changing world.
Overcoming AI training challenges
We understand that introducing AI training might seem daunting and time-consuming. Here's how we address common concerns:
Time constraints: Our flexible scheduling options accommodate different sized teams to ensure that even the busiest teams can benefit from AI training without disrupting their workflow. It goes without saying that using AI well will free up time.
Fear: It’s natural to be afraid of new things, especially new technology that threatens to change your job. In our first session we address concerns and reassure people that generative AI needs human input. It can only be used well when it supports the human, not replaces them. We also lean on the psychology research that demonstrates you can’t be curious and afraid at the same time. We make sure our sessions are fun, sparking curiosity and joy.
Skepticism: Many people believe they already understand AI's capabilities. Our hands-on approach demonstrates practical applications that even seasoned professionals find eye-opening and valuable.
AI training benefits
Boost productivity
See tangible productivity improvements from day one
Enhance creativity
Unlock new problem-solving and innovation possibilities
Strategic alignment
Using AI well requires your team to think about its goals and how it delivers value
Increase engagement
Watch your staff become more engaged and excited about their work
Reduce risk
Learning to use AI well reduces privacy and cyber risks
Give your team the skills and permission to thrive
81%
81% of regular AI users report that AI technology is improving their productivity*
19x
Workers are 19x more likely to report a productivity increase if they’ve received AI training*
+24%
24% increase in work satisfaction reported by regular AI-users compared to non-AI users*
* Source: a global Slack survey conducted in March 2024 of over ten thousand workers
Take the next step
Equip your team
Give your staff the permission and AI training required to embrace new ways of working that improve productivity and satisfaction.
The Mainstay difference
We don't just teach teams how to embrace AI—we help you reimagine how and why you work.
Our training goes beyond tool usage, encouraging your team to understand how they create value, align to your strategy and develop innovative approaches to work
About Mainstay
Mainstay is an independent AI training provider, dedicated to empowering businesses with the knowledge and skills needed to use generative AI effectively.
Founded by Tom Hovey, digital strategist and generative AI nerd, Mainstay wants to drive productivity in workplaces across New Zealand.
Mainstay was born from Diagram. Diagram is a digital strategy consultancy, member of the AI Forum, and NZ Government Approved supplier of professional services.
Follow Tom Hovey on LinkedIn for regular tips about how to use AI well.