Today’s workplace is an interesting place. We are in the middle of a workforce evolution that is transforming what we are all calling the future of work. And, yet there are still operational inefficiencies that exist at many levels of the organization. For the purpose of our discussion today, AI (artificial intelligence) can certainly step in and help, right?
The Importance of People
Eagle Hill Consulting recently conducted a survey and found 68% of employees say much of their time is spent on low-value inefficient tasks. Okay, let’s be honest, that is wasted time spent on things that could be making the company money, right? Conducted in January 2025, this survey was a random sampling of 1,375 employees across the Unite States.
Most of these employees—78%—want to improve this inefficiency and admit they regularly exchange ideas with other colleagues on how they improve efficiently, but organizations often aren’t leveraging employee ideas these days. Roughly 63% of employees report that their organization lacks a clear process to submit ideas for improvement, with nearly a quarter reporting that their organization has no process at all. Additionally, 83% of respondents say their organization struggles to generate ideas for change. Does your company need to bring back a suggestion box?
This consulting firm argues people are the solution to breaking old paradigms, and they hold the key to heightening business optimization.
I would argue that people are the starting point. We must consider the triangle of success: people, process, and technology if we want true business optimization to occur.
The Importance of Technology
If we want to address the labor shortage, we are facing in many industries such as manufacturing, construction, healthcare, hospitality, and more, we must consider how technology, more specifically, AI (artificial intelligence)—will fit into this equation. AI can serve a role from the frontline worker to the plant floor.
Technology—more specifically accurate data—is the heartbeat of many organizations and offers insights into how we can achieve the optimization that is so desperately needed today.
But technology comes with its challenges. AMA (American Management Assn.) recently surveyed 1,100 individual contributors, managers, and senior leaders throughout North America. The objective was to identify how businesses are contending with AI in their organizations. Let’s explore what it found.
The hard truth is 57% of employees feel behind keeping up with AI and only 49% have received training in AI. What’s more, 44% say AI tools are being used without a centralized approach. Candidly this is a recipe for disaster. Sometimes we need to slow down and wrap our arms around something before we go full speed ahead. No need to be a bull in a China shop. We need training, awareness, and strategy if we want true success with any technology.
There is some good news to report. Last year’s AMA study indicated the vast majority of North American organizations had not yet harnessed AI technologies strategies at all and were not prepared to do so. However, by December 2024 this trend had shifted considerably. Today, the good news is many organizations are at least leveraging AI in some capacity.
But now we are in the messy middle. Companies must consider how to develop strategies and implement governance. It is truly time to get our hands around the process part of this equation.
The Importance of Process
We need to consider how to create a process and business strategy that surrounds our workers and our technologies. This will look different for each company, but some key core components are the same. Companies must consider how to streamline workflows, create standard processes, and train employees on how to follow the procedures. Companies also must consider how employees fit into this equation. Bringing this full circle, we need to understand how people, technology, and process all work together.
The AMA survey suggests when asked which soft skills would help them apply AI more effectively, survey responses included such core business skills as:
- Problem solving (53%)
- Communication (51%)
- Analytical skills (49%)
- Critical thinking (47%)
At the end of the day, the bottomline is we need people, process, and technology. While the future of work is still being defined, we are still identifying where we need workers and where we need AI to step in and help fill in some of the gaps. We are still identifying how man and machine will work side-by-side to streamline business, while increasing output. It is certainly a balancing act, and it is one we will need to continue to keep an eye on in the future.
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