Organisations must prioritise human touch to get most from GenAI
While businesses are keen to implement AI solutions at scale, they are struggling to win over staff and the public, according to a new study. The report from Unit4 finds that while 59% of UK enterprises alone plan to invest in GenAI digital assistants in the coming year, their employees are split on whether the technology will help or hurt their position at the firm.
Entitled ‘The Path to AI Everywhere: Exploring the Human Challenges’, the paper from Unit4 aims to illustrate the strategies required to successfully build an AI-fuelled workplace of the future. Key to this is a survey carried out on the firm’s behalf by research firm International Data Corporation, interviewing business leaders and employees across a number of key geographies.
Across Europe, the study found that companies are enthused by the promises of generative AI. In particular, 32% were hopeful of productivity gains via the technology enabling a focus on higher-value tasks, while 28% hope it can reduce the number of repetitive tasks in a day. A 25% portion said this could lead to improved employee experience – but staff aren’t so sure.
Despite reassurances that automation may see workers realigned to new work, rather than simply cast aside, employees are aware that companies often shed headcount to preserve their bottom lines, even without technology entering into the equation. As such, 28% of European companies said they were finding it hard to effectively address the fear of layoffs attached to GenAI functions.
UK companies are no exception to this ambivalence, Unit4’s report shows. A 59% majority of British firms insist they will invest in GenAI by the end of 2025, with 30% believing it will have the biggest impact on finding time savings, and 38% investing in tools to measure the impact of GenAI on employee workflows.
As a result, 70% of employees agree that AI will at least partially impact their current roles. But they are divided on to what end. While 50% feel the changes will improve their experience, allowing them more flexibility, and providing more support in their work, the potential for companies to simply demand more from already over-worked staff, or use the opportunity to downsize their salary bill, means the same number are worried. A 50% portion of UK employees said they feared their company does not categorise AI applications based on the risk of potential harm to employees or customers.
If firms are to get the most out of AI, they will need to assuage these fears. After all, ultimately, AI’s application depends on human skills. To do this, the researchers suggest “building an AI DNA” into the firm, fostering a culture of continuous education. The paper claims that 50% of survey respondents would need additional training to take full advantage of AI – but by supporting these needs, firms can emphasise the importance of collaboration, creativity and critical thinking, while leaders need to be able to demonstrate empathy, be proficient in AI and understand the governance required.
“AI is going to have an increasingly important role in organisations in the future and the AI-fuelled workplace will be very different, so we should prepare long-term strategies now,” said Claus Jepsen, chief product and technology officer, Unit4. “For successful strategic AI adoption, organisations must be clear on the problems they want to solve and know that AI cannot replicate every aspect of human-to-human interactions or random situations unique to every business. At Unit4 we’ve built our AI DNA around ensuring AI empowers the potential of our people, focusing on pragmatic adoption that’s underpinned by human-centric design excellence.”
