Keep Technology and People in Step

 Businesses have been through a series of trials and tribulations over the last decade - including economic shocks and, of course,  COVID.  It is not surprising that they are now looking for AI to give them a productivity boost and help regain their resilience and confidence for the future.

However, those of us who have been through 'technological revolutions' before know that exploiting the technology effectively requires the workforce to understand the technology and have acquired the skills and attitude that support it. Most workers are suspicious of, or frightened by, change - especially if they don't understand it and even more so, if they perceive it as a threat.

Most workforces are likely to be faced with continuing change over the next few years.  This is likely to involve changes in products, changes in working systems and processes, changes in work design, changes in organisational structure… and so on.

Employee skills will become more important than their roles - the role will adapt to thn kinds off changes likely to be involved.  Staff have to be adaptable, flexible, motivated to acquire new skills and to learn how to wokr with new technologies.  This is the only way they can survive and not be replaced by those technologies.

The role of the executive team is to prepare their workers for this new world of AI-supported change, reducing fear and increasing flexibility.  

It won't be easy but it is necessary.

The Rise of The Wise

For almost all time, humanity’s well-being has been determined by how well it does certain things - catch animals for food, grow crops, build ships, forge weapons, etc.

The Industrial Revolution changed the way in which things were done, but it didn’t change that basic formula - the people and the nations that produced more became richer.  Technology allowed them to produce more.

The real power of humans was to invent and exploit new technologies - steam power, electricity, the jet engine, the computer.  

When automation started to be deployed in factories, it was assumed that humans who ‘did’ but did not think would become redundant from the workforce but the thinkers behind the machines would thrive and prosper.

However, we are now seeing the emergence of machines (AI) that take away this ‘thinking’ advantage. 

So, what’s left for humans?

Well if intelligence is no longer required … perhaps only wisdom is left.   AI can work out how to do things, but deciding on what things need to be done takes more - it takes ‘wisdom’.

Is this a short-term role while we wait for the machines to reach a state of wisdom?  Possibly,but for now the tech bros and their counterparts in smaller organisations can concentrate on analysing the environment (geo-political and local political, financial, social, technological) and work out gaps that need to be filled by new products and services, new technologies, new alliances, new structures and so on.

The wise shall inherit the earth  - at least temporarily.

What Works In The Longer-Term?

 I read a piece recently suggesting that creating opportunities for staff to volunteer for charity work helps raise engagement, motivation snd job satisfaction - all factors that can have a positive impact on productivity.

I don't doubt this - though, of course, the increase in productivity has to be sufficient to balance any productivity lost to time off volunteering - and has to be sustainable over time. It is this second factor that intrigues me the most.

Far too many wellness and performance programmes have an immediate impact but run out of steam.  Employees fall into a routine that might make them feel a little better about themselves but has little direct impact on their performance and productivity.

Perhaps if the nature of the organisations being supported or the nature of the support work changes regularly, a fresh impetus can be introduced.  I would love to see some research results that look tt this situation over a significant time period- especially if the research does indeed show longer-term benefit. 

Forget about your personal productivity

Many people want to improve their productivity.  They are trying to get noticed, promoted and supercharge their careers - or they are trying to get through the mountains of work that seem to perpetually contained in their inbox. 

That's good - but nowhere near good enough if we want to transform the productivity of the company or even the nation.  These have little to do with personal productivity.

We have to look at the (much) bigger picture. …. and at structures, sytems, processes and procedures rather than individual activities.

We have to look at non-work as much as work - waiting times, travel times, rework activity and error correction.

We have to look at what we are doing as well as how we do it.

Ifv we are doing the right things (to move us nearer to our strategic goals) and we have organised and planned the work effectively - and (importantly) if we can execute those plans efficiently using our well-trained and motivated workforce…. we have a good chance of achieving high productivity.

So take a step back from looking at your personal productivity - and concentrate on these big issues.