Toni Handler is chief people officer, dentsu Americas, and deputy chief HR officer.
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Artificial intelligence is transforming industries at a record pace with the AI market poised to reach $407 billion by 2027. Businesses are eager to benefit from the technology, 64% of businesses expecting AI to increase their productivity.
Among the industries and companies being revolutionized are agencies, enabling them to meet their clients’ needs faster, more efficiently, and with more personalization.
How Agencies Can Embrace AI To Empower Their People
AI has the potential to empower employees to do their best work. Yet some companies make the mistake of thinking AI will replace employees. But it’s not an either/or proposition. The most innovative companies will recognize that the key to success is embracing and integrating AI to unleash the potential of their people.
There's no denying that AI can do some things faster and better than humans, while at the same time, humans excel at things that AI doesn't. Agencies—and all companies— should strive to capitalize on the strengths of both AI and their people to drive the best outcomes for clients while developing and growing their people. Employees can utilize AI to automate or enhance certain tasks or projects, freeing up valuable time to focus on other important work or learn a new skill.
In our experience, AI can be a boon to design and other creative work by freeing up time for our designers and developers. For example, DALL-E is a powerful AI image generator that can be used to quickly create drafts and mockups that our creative team can use as a starting point for the final product. This can save hours for our team and ultimately expedite the process for our clients.
Equally important as optimizing our team’s work, AI can help companies bring in and retain top talent. When recruiting for open roles, talent acquisition teams can use AI to equitably identify candidates and narrow searches. Internally, we have begun using AI to analyze the results of our employee engagement survey, giving us in-depth insights into what our employees value much faster than could otherwise be achieved.
At the same time, humans excel in areas where AI falls woefully short, such as reasoning, problem-solving and emotional intelligence. Unfortunately, all too often employees are so saddled with the mundane tasks associated with their jobs that they can struggle to focus on the areas where they excel.
Take Necessary Precautions
Despite the obvious benefits AI brings, it's important to take necessary precautions. AI requires access to data to be effective, and this can open the door to security and privacy risks.
As a result, companies should establish clear guidelines about how AI can and cannot be used. For example, our company requires employees to answer a questionnaire before using generative AI tools, especially if it relates to work involving clients. Employees must not mix personal and work in the use of AI, or use any AI tools that are not specifically provided by the company.
We also take steps to ensure no confidential or personal data can be used in any prompts or other AI interaction.
Show Employees How They Benefit
One of the major talking points surrounding AI is concern over whether it will take jobs away from humans. As a result, some companies and employees are hesitant to embrace the technology.
In our experience, when employees fully understand how AI benefits them, and can make their jobs easier, those concerns melt away. Instead of being worried about losing their job to AI, our employees are excited about the ways they can use AI to do their jobs better and faster.
At the same time, it's important to provide the necessary ongoing training to make sure your employees can benefit from advances in AI. Ongoing training also reassures employees of their value and helps to eliminate any lingering concerns they may have about being replaced.
Similarly, it's important to continue upskilling employees in areas outside of their use of AI. Since one of AI's greatest benefits is that it frees employees from gruntwork, companies must continue to train their employees to tackle more important tasks. Essentially, AI raises the ceiling for what employees can accomplish, but they must continue to be trained to reach their potential.
Adopt AI Sooner Rather Than Later
Given the pace with which AI is transforming industries, companies that adopt a wait-and-see will be left behind. AI is here to stay and the longer it is, the more it will continue to revolutionize the workplace.
The sooner companies can train their employees and adapt to using AI, the sooner they will be able to see a return in the form of increased productivity, happier employees and improved customer interaction. In contrast, those companies that delay adoption could find themselves hopelessly behind by the time they do decide to get on board.
In the last few decades, there have been a number of technological advancements that have revolutionized the workplace: computers, the internet and mobile computing are prominent examples. In each case, companies that were early adopters were able to seize the opportunity, grow and thrive, while those that hesitated were often left behind.
AI is transforming agencies across the world. Those who adopt it sooner rather than later can be part of the revolution and reap the benefits that come with it.
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