The evolution of AI continues to shape customer experience landscapes, prompting industry leaders to rethink strategies for balancing technological advancements with human workforces.
In this 2-part blog miniseries, we'll discuss pressing industry questions with key insights from CX leaders about the critical impact AI is having on workforce dynamics and operational efficiency.
How can organizations stay on the cutting edge of AI implementation?
How can businesses balance efficiency with AI and human-centric processes?
And most importantly, how can we prepare workforces to thrive in this new world of work?
Our experts bring diverse perspectives from different roles, including experiences with partnerships, leadership transformation, and contact center expertise. Keep reading to explore insights about the future of customer experience in this newly shaped AI-human collaborative landscape.
Joel MacCharles, Founder @ Polaris Reach
Joel MacCharles is a former senior executive, currently advising entrepreneurial individuals and organizations on harnessing AI to drive business impact through proven frameworks that enhance focus and build confidence for clients to achieve measurable results.
Q: How are you seeing AI shift the way partners and providers collaborate?
There is no simple answer to how collaboration is changing with AI today. It is changing how we collaborate in as many ways as there are people. We still have many people today who are in denial or maybe just not aware or overwhelmed by where it goes. But I think it's really important to note that there are others right now getting real value.
This is like the early days of the internet when technology pioneers, who are now common names, discovered innovative ways of working and challenged the rest of us to do the same.
Q: What workforce challenges are top of mind for your customers right now?
The most common challenge that I hear today around AI is the fear of security. I also heard this in 1999 with Y2K, and then again 2009, 2010 when we talked about the cloud.
The truth is that in many cases when we dig deeper, the security concerns which are real and valid, all have answers or most have answers. But we have to be very careful that we don't use security as an excuse not to look any further and pretend that we're somehow safe just by ignoring what's actually happening.
Q: How do you help teams adopt new technology in a practical way?
One of the biggest keys in helping people adopt any new technology, just like any change management project, ask “what is in it for them?”
If you are really hopeful to transform how your teams use AI, if you really want them to experiment and learn it and really profit from it in every way that they can and make their work more fulfilling, then we have to make sure that we know what's in it for them.
Have we explained to them why we're doing this and that this is or isn't a threat to their job? Because otherwise, are we just asking them to do work that might just be a threat to themselves?
Q: In your view, what does “effective AI” look like for a customer?
Effective AI to me is like a superhero suit. An Iron Man or an Iron Woman or an Iron They suit. It is not a replacement of a human being. If you look back at the superhero story of Iron Man, the inventor built not a robot that replaced him, but rather he built an outfit that augmented him and was better with him inside it and he was better wearing it.
When I look at human-centered AI and I look at the future of AI, it's much the same that I see for us. How do we put ourselves not only in the loop, but in the center of the solution with the technology?
Cheryl Tjok-A-Tam, Executive Consultant, CEO @ Tjok Consulting
Cheryl Tjok-A-Tam is an Executive Consultant and former VP at CFO Group with experience at AT&T Canada, IBM Global Services, and RBC across multiple sectors. As a consultant, she excels at driving complex transformation initiatives while balancing operational agility with long-term value creation.
Q: What themes are emerging in workforce transformation?
Two things come to mind, and one is around this new level of entry into the workforce, and how are we ensuring that our employees have a level of readiness, interest, and aptitude, along with the capacity to learn in a direction that may be completely different from their field of study or interest within an organization. That will also put a greater demand on leaders and the type of leadership skillset that's required.
Q: What big questions should executives be asking about AI right now?
While we have a responsibility to our shareholders, it's imperative that we're not being shortsighted on the decisions that are being made today. We have to factor in 12 months from now, 18 months from now, three years from now, what the implication of those decisions made today will bear on our organization on a go-forward basis.
Another consideration is talent. This includes redefining high- valued work, and ensuring that we have a resource pool that is skilled and prepared for entering the job market at a higher level of expectation.
Q: How do you create space for diverse voices in these discussions?
We invite them. We bring them to the table. So many organizations, more than not, have spent the last 10, 15, 20 years in conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is imperative that we do not lose the momentum of those conversations.
We have individuals that will be emerging leaders for the future. Identify a few of them and bring them into the discussion, because at the end of the day, they're going to own this for the future as well.
Q: Why is it important for leaders to step back and reflect together?
This is our opportunity to come together to have a discussion about a shared experience that we're all having, agnostic to whatever industry we currently work within.
We have lots of understanding of the power of AI, however, it could be a power wielded poorly. This gives us an opportunity to tear pages from each other's book around how to approach this and how to make sure that we emerge from all of this successfully.
As AI continues to develop and reshape the workplace, it’s more important than ever to highlight conversations surrounding the importance of balancing advancing technology and human-centered approaches.
By bringing diverse perspectives to the table, one thing is clear: AI works best when augmenting human capabilities, rather than replacing them. This balanced approach brings real value for both customers and employees, ensuring that efficiency is prioritized without losing the human heart of operations.
These discussions will continue to shape how we build technology for the future and how workplaces can create processes where people and AI complement each other, delivering better business outcomes.
Stay tuned for part 2, where we'll explore how AI is transforming business partnerships and the contact center landscape with insights from Miratech’s Territory Director of Canada, Amanda Traynor, Aspect's Director of ISV Partnerships, Ian Storm, and our EVP of Growth, Contact Centers, Dan Nordale.
