Widely discussed for decades, advancements in the field of generative technology made earlier this year have thrust AI firmly into the zeitgeist.
As of May 2023, a quarter of US companies had adopted AI technology in some form, and a further 43% are exploring its potential applications, according to a study by Forbes.
From healthcare to banking, manufacturing and government, virtually no sector will be untouched by the rise of these technologies. Its adoption is set to have a profound impact not just on the services offered by companies and organisations, but also on the way they connect with employees.
In a recent interview, Jon Arnold, an analyst focusing on the business-level impact of disruptive communications technologies, discussed the growing impact of AI on the employee experience (EX).
Building on strong foundations
For Arnold, the onset of AI, particularly in the EX space, was largely made possible by the shift towards remote working during the pandemic.
“AI wouldn’t be having this big moment if it wasn’t for the trend that came before it, which was the Cloud,” notes Arnold.
“The Cloud is the foundation that’s made all of this possible, and as it matured over the past three years or so thanks to remote work it has really become the dominant platform for real-time communications.”
AI as an enabler
While individuals will always have their own unique traits, Arnold believes that the surge in communications taking place via the Cloud has given AI the tools it needs to predict behaviour at scale.
Backed by a growing set of data to mine from, AI technologies could be set to transform aspects of the everyday employee experience in areas such as transcribing and administration.
Arnold explains that: “Advancements in speech recognition technology, for example, will greatly reduce the time spent on mundane tasks such as taking notes during a call.”
“This will give employees more energy to focus on what they’re doing person-to-person, which should lead to closer connections and greater efficiency.”
Beyond speech recognition, technology such as predictive analytics could make recommendations around meeting scheduling based on factors such as historic attendance, helping to maximise the engagement of attendees and, in turn, boost productivity.
The management experience
One of the common fears associated with the rise of AI in the corporate arena is that it could dehumanise the working experience.
The relationship between team member and manager has, for example, traditionally been viewed as a particularly human dynamic, something which critics fear could be lost by the implementation of AI technology.
But for Arnold, AI should instead be seen as an aid for managers looking to dedicate greater focus to forming stronger relationships with their employees.
“On the one hand, managers will be able to use AI to carry out more mundane management tasks in areas such as onboarding and basic training,” adds Arnold.
“On the other, AI will help managers determine the team members that are most deserving of a promotion by monitoring their progress on hitting particular milestones. This is particularly important in the remote working era, which has made evaluating employees that much more difficult.”
But as Arnold points out, introducing AI in this arena will be a delicate process: “It’s important to set clear guard rails around AI policy so that employees know it’s being used to help them succeed, and not to monitor everything they’re doing.”
If companies get that right, AI could be set to transform the employee experience, enabling deeper connections, heightened productivity and better outputs.
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