As the trend of adopting AI and machine-learning in business becomes more prevalent, it will also impact the lives of employees in the workplace. While businesses are looking to AI and machine-learning as the holy grail for increasing profit and enhancing employee efficiency, there can be challenges with integration. However, despite the challenges, the benefits of adopting AI far outweigh the concerns – especially when it comes to employee advancement.
At the core of every business decision, it’s critical executives understand how new technologies not only benefits their business methods, but also how they impact their employees’ workload. Here are three ways AI can benefit employees professionally.
Simplifying customer interaction, without compromising it
According to an Accenture Global Consumer Pulse report, 61 percent of those surveyed responded that customer service delivery can be improved by making the delivery faster. As cutting down on wait times can be a large priority for companies, AI implementations can do just that. AI can quickly fix minor issues for customers and employees alike, which increases first-time resolution rates for customers, and work ethic for employees.
What does this mean for employees? While some fear that AI will replace jobs, it’s crucial to keep human interaction in mind, and what that value and face time brings for your employees. Human interaction remains an important aspect of the customer service process, and companies are even adopting video chatting methods for customers and agents to connect. By offering additional methods of communication in the customer service process, employees have the options to choose which method works best for them and current scenarios to decrease wait times and solve problems faster.
Reducing human error
Automation and artificial intelligence reduces human error and pushes the people up the value chain so that they are more strategic in the equation rather than lower down the value chain where a simple error could cost tens of millions of dollars on a construction site, for example.
What does this mean for employees? Adopting AI across day-to-day tasks and between customer conversations gives employees back time to work on other items on their to-do list. Removing typically administrative responsibilities, where humans can frequently make errors, will save time in adjusting those errors in the long run.
Engaging your staff in more strategic work
IDC (News - Alert) reports that the need for customer service agents will go up 10-20 percent in the next 2-3 years. Employees who are able to fill these tasks will need to utilize AI to help them accomplish menial tasks on their plate, as well as increase their personalization skills to create a fully positive and comprehensive customer service experience.
What does this mean for employees? AI works to replace smaller tasks for employees that can become quite tedious. By leaving this work to the bots, human productivity can be achieved in other areas. For example, freeing up time for employees to work on larger company initiatives will give them purpose in their positions, and allow for them to foster creativity in the workplace.
Overall, employees are drawn toward modes of automation that can alleviate menial tasks that take up hours of their day. Employees want to grow in their roles at their company, and spend more time on projects that can lead to career growth and overall contribution to the business, and AI adoption can help employees achieve this in their professional careers.
About the Author: Brian Hannon is the Chief Commercial Officer for Voxpro, where he develops the services, solutions and teams to solve our customers’ challenges and develops the growth of Voxpro’s business around the world. Brian has extensive global BPO experience. Prior to this role, Brian was the Business Development Director for Conduit, launching and developing the business’s healthcare and technology segments. He brings to the role experience in driving global teams to develop and implement solutions for Fortune 500, public sector and scaling organizations in Europe and the US, developing partner channel strategies and building successful growth teams. Brian has also gained from experience working in finance and in the international tech start-up market. In his spare time, Brian is a passionate participant and follower of all sports, in particular mountain biking, football and American football. He holds a BCOMM and MBS from University College Dublin and a dual MBA from London Business School and Columbia Business School, NYC.