We must resist the use of scare tactics and bashing company executives. Over half of the 40-55,000 jobs that were to be lost in the next decade, as announced by Philip Jansen, former BT Group CEO Philip Jansen’s successor at the helm in 2023. Digitisation and automation were expected to cause 10,000 layoffs.
Allison Kirkby’s claim to the Financial Times in the past month that artificial intelligence advances could allow the Telecoms giant to become ” smaller” by 2030 gives us pause.
Kirkby’s opinion that the original group ambitions “didn’t reflect the full poten- tial of AI” shows the way the technology disrupts operations in the entire sector. Her comments also raise questions about the way AI is changing employee lives, customer experiences, and society in general.
AI is not a panacea
What is the potential of AI when you consider the amount of redundancies AI has caused in many industries? Many corporate decision-makers remain unsure.
Orgvue’s research suggests that more than half of companies who fired employees in favor of AI now regret their decision. Gartner predicts by 2027, many companies will abandon their plans for reducing customer-facing staff due to the failure of ‘agentless’ staffing initiatives.
Executive teams are learning – often to their embarrassment and cost – that AI does not solve the problems of high performance.
It is difficult to quantify the value employees add.
AI: Four practical ways to understand it
How can organisations avoid the pitfalls associated with a hasty technology implementation, and instead use it to benefit them and their stakeholders.
1. Clarify what you consider to be ‘good’
AI is undoubtedly a disruptive force. We know where we’re going – away from our current circumstances – but how clear is it about what we’re moving towards? AI strategies that are not guided by an integrated vision of the future will be ineffective, rudderless or even harmful.
The first step would be to define what “good” looks like. This means defining what AI will mean in reality for your workplace, the lives and jobs of employees, customers and society as a whole. Also, it is important to describe what will be lost in the future. The plans could be flawed if different stakeholders can’t agree on whether your vision is enriching.
2. Consider value and not cost
Silicon Valley AI is dominated with rhetoric about speed, cost and efficiency. Such strategies are rarely successful in the long term. The relentless drive for efficiency, powered by AI and fueled by the AI-driven AI, risks destroying workplaces, businesses, and entire societies, robbing them of meaning and richness. Few people want to surround themselves with bots.
Spreadsheets always favor AI over human resource, so cost metrics will skew conversation. Explore how AI can both enhance and detract from the value that your business is meant to create.
In this decision-making, trade-offs play a role. For example, redundancies may be good for the finances, but they are bad for people, their families, and society. What is the “opportunity’ for these stakeholders to offset a company’s “ability” to be smaller?
3. Automate tasks, don’t replace people
Employees’ value is difficult to quantify. Think of the hotel doorman. His role is to not only open the doors, but also to champion human experiences that guests value. This ‘invisible responsibility’ secures rack rates, and repeat business.
AI bots can be replicated by competitors and unlike human employees, AI outputs do not add meaning to your relationships with employees and customers. Questions about the replacement of jobs are likely to miss hidden benefits and be premature.
Ask your colleagues and customers what they would like automated. This will help you gain buy-in from your colleagues and customers, as well as reveal practical solutions.
AI has a significant impact on employee productivity.
4. Let your AI strategy evolve
AI decisions made today will not be sufficient for the future: work environments are complex, roles change, people grow and evolve, markets shift, and appetites alter. The technology is also advancing rapidly. Kirkby says that we cannot fully understand the potential or harm of AI.
The best way to make the most of new technologies is by taking small steps. Engage stakeholders in a dialogue about automation, and not just a research project, to enhance value.
It is important to give everyone an assured view of the unknown future during the early disruption. As you progress, learn from your mistakes.
Leadership Strength
AI has a wide range of impacts on society, employees, customers and (in particular for large companies) the economy. Executive teams with intelligence, empathy, and care will think about consequences, relate to others, and make good choices.
Last week, a friend of mine, who is the head of technology at a global bank, said: “Most AI strategy are designed confidently on a spreadsheet. That’s a disaster. In the above areas, no one can fully understand AI because definitive answers are not possible. It is important to ask the right questions.
As the world struggles with this complex but vital reality, I wish Kirkby and her peers in global industry imagination, courage, and not least luck as they shoulder their burden to create value through AI.
