CCO at TELUS International, a global customer experience provider powered by next-gen digital solutions.
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Incorporating artificial intelligence and automation into everyday processes to drive efficiency and save time and money is becoming increasingly common in the workplace. Just think about how many hours in a day a customer support team could redirect toward positive business growth if we all but eliminated the need for team members to sink time into password resets, shipping updates and basic troubleshooting? The prospect of regaining that time to refocus on driving more personalized experiences dazzles the eyes of many company executives.
But there may be a disconnect between how leaders view automation versus how their employees view it. According to a 2019 survey by Blumberg Capital, 90% of executives believe automation will give employees more time to dedicate to more complex and rewarding work, while just 19% of employees believe it will actually lighten their mundane task load. Additionally, nearly half of employees believe automation has led to job losses in their workplace.
Digital transformation, which can include incorporating aspects of automation and machine learning and self-serve channels, such as chatbots, presents companies with a multitude of opportunities for reshaping how they do things, with an eye toward making operations and customer service delivery more time- and cost-efficient and reducing customer effort. This "found" time can be shifted toward driving more personalized and empathetic experiences for customers. That focus, however, can be negatively viewed by employees. Whenever a new AI-related initiative is unveiled, workers may find themselves wondering: "Could this new technology replace what I do?"
This tension, when not properly addressed, can lead to unease and uncertainty in the workplace. That's why it's critical for companies to understand these very real employee concerns and to proactively develop and disseminate a detailed road map that communicates what everyone can expect as individuals, as a team and as part of the company’s overall strategy when change is in the air.
Developing A Road Map For Change
Companies can't and shouldn’t promise that AI and other technologies won't automate certain tasks. What they can do is ensure that employees who are impacted have a development plan in place to support an effective transition to other roles and opportunities within the company — especially ones in which they work alongside the new technologies.
After all, nowadays, it's virtually impossible to deliver high-quality CX without a human touch. In fact, as New York Times technology reporter Nellie Bowles wrote in 2019, a customer experience with a deft human touch is fast becoming a popular request that can ultimately aid in brand differentiation: "Human contact is becoming a luxury good."
Automation and AI are key to giving front line team members the information needed to deliver these memorable, personalized customer experiences, but how can companies make the switch, converting customer service agents into concierge superstars and technical wizards?
Employee journey mapping can help those currently employed by the company find new footings while helping your business better understand where and how to allocate future talent. Employee journey mapping is a company-wide exercise in which management and staff work together to suss out the biggest challenges, redundancies, opportunities and needs in the company's human resources. Brands should map out what new skills are needed, which skills can be redirected to other roles within the organization and demonstrate what new roles can exist and how skills can potentially transfer from one job to the other.
Doing this exercise effectively demands ongoing communication, empathy and transparency between executives, people leaders and employees. Without these elements, it may be difficult to establish trust in the process.
Communicating With Workers
Brands should focus on communicating what changes employees can expect with regard to automation, and that may look different at each company. At TELUS International, we found success in giving employees regular, paid opportunities on designated company time to gain new skills and upgrade their knowledge. A strong learning program — coupled with the ability to use those new skills at work — is integral to our ability to hold onto our most talented team members.
We also keep our equipment and software up-to-date, to keep on top of the latest trends in our field but also to keep team members engaged and interested in the work they do. This includes the use of data analytic tools and psychometric tests to customize learning and training opportunities to ensure that team members get the most out of their sessions.
We do everything we can to keep the work interesting. Automation presents us with a massive opportunity to offload repetitive tasks onto chatbots, intelligent FAQs and other AI-driven solutions and give our talented team members more complex, engaging work and the time to focus on delivering high-quality interactions. Empowering our teams to be problem-solvers and to use the technology made available to them — rather than be used by it — is intrinsic to and inextricable from their satisfaction at work.
And finally, culture is essential. We are keenly aware that various skills can be taught but that cultural fit is deeply personal and rooted within each of us. That is why our recruitment and hiring practices focus on individuals who share our corporate values and want to be part of our team and global family.
Now, put all this against the backdrop of the fact that in 2019 Gallup saw the highest level of U.S. employee engagement since it started tracking the metric in 2000, largely because of factors like these.
Yes, automation does put some tasks at risk, but it also creates countless long-term career opportunities for employees to advance and excel, keeps the work interesting and rewarding and provides customers with highly-sought-after customized brand experiences. At the end of the day, only certain elements of customer service can be fully automated to the degree that customers will embrace — and as we know, customers are still delighted by the human touch.
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