AI-powered tools automate routine tasks, optimize workflows, and facilitate informed decision-making, allowing professionals to focus on more strategic activities. This helps to improve productivity and outcomes.
In the only longitudinal study of real-world business use, workers using generative AI experienced substantial gains in task throughput and work-product quality. Even entry-level workers benefitted.
Automate Complex Tasks
Getting the most out of AI in the workplace requires that you identify key areas where it can help. This will likely involve cost savings and revenue generation, such as automating repetitive tasks that would otherwise eat up the time of your best employees or improving efficiencies that result in lower costs. For example, implementing automation for manual processes can reduce overhead costs (and eliminate error). Using a smart system that can learn and adapt to new work inputs is a good fit for this type of application, too.
A number of tasks are well suited to this approach, including contract management, meeting minutes, data uploads and transfers, and other processes that use structured data. Essentially, any task that is highly repetitive and rule based and does not require critical thinking is a candidate for automation.
For IT professionals, generative AI can help code faster with fewer errors, and there are numerous code completion resources that use this technology. Additionally, AI sensors can measure utilization of workspaces to generate utilization reports, which saves IT managers time and effort by eliminating the need to manually track employee productivity.
Finally, AI can improve the efficiency of remote work by enabling teams to collaborate more effectively. This can be done by streamlining the flow of information and simplifying communications between team members. It can also help to make meetings more productive by reducing the amount of time spent on unproductive discussion. And by automating certain aspects of collaboration, such as meeting scheduling and logging, companies can ensure that their employees are always on the same page. These types of applications can significantly improve productivity for both remote and in-office employees.
Analyze Big Data
A variety of business tasks rely on analytics and the ability to find patterns in data sets. These insights help businesses grow, expand, and make better decisions where you can learn more here. AI can help with these tasks by performing the heavy lifting of analyzing big data, and also by automating time-consuming processes. This allows human employees to spend more time on strategic, revenue-generating tasks.
Big data refers to massive, complex collections of data from new and different sources. This data can include things like text documents, social media posts, video content, audio files, and more. AI can be used to analyze this data to discover patterns and correlations, providing insight into what works and what doesn’t. This can lead to better products, more effective marketing campaigns, and other business improvements.
Many tasks, such as customer service, security surveillance, appointment scheduling, and sales forecasting, require an understanding of large data sets. These tasks can be difficult and time-consuming to complete manually, but with the aid of AI, they can be completed much faster and more accurately. In addition, the use of AI can free up customer service reps to focus on more dynamic and revenue-generating tasks, without sacrificing quality.
AI can also be used to automate other tasks that are time-consuming and tedious, such as data entry, data processing, and product pricing. This frees up employee time for more revenue-generating work, and can lead to improved company morale and culture.
While cost savings and productivity gains tend to garner the most attention, another impact of workplace AI that often gets overlooked is its potential for enhancing diversity and inclusivity (DEI) in the office. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as using predictive analytics software to identify suitable candidates for open positions or using LinkedIn automation to reach out to job seekers with relevant skills.
Automate Time-Sucking Processes
Using the right process automation software can save your team time by eliminating manual tasks that don’t add any value or impact to day-to-day work. For example, recurring tasks that require repetitive actions like reconciling credit card expenses or updating spreadsheets with customer data are great candidates for automation.
As your people spend less time on routine processes, they have more space for the important aspects of their jobs, such as personalization, connection, and creativity. Additionally, reducing admin work helps your people avoid becoming overwhelmed by tedious details that can lead to stress and burnout.
AI tools can help with the heavy lifting of routine processes by automatically collecting, analyzing, and processing data. The best AI can even work outside of human working hours to ensure that your teams are always able to complete their most important work.
The benefits of AI in the workplace don’t stop there, though. The technology can also support employee development, which is an excellent way to build team culture and empower employees to succeed in their roles. For example, AI can automate training by creating questions or quizzes for learning and development programs. Streamlining this task allows HR to focus on other areas of the business.
Hybrid workplace leaders can also leverage AI to optimize their office space by analyzing employee utilization rates. This enables them to create better office experiences that foster connections and promote collaboration, while helping them rightsize or reduce their physical footprint and corporate real estate costs. This can be done by leveraging predictive maintenance and streamlined workspace planning tools.
Automate Customer Service
A company’s customer service department can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive part of its business. However, there are ways to streamline this process with the use of automation tools that can help improve overall customer experience and productivity in the long run.
One way is to implement a customer support chatbot that can provide instant help with commonly asked questions. AI chatbots can automatically identify the intent, language, and sentiment of a customer request and then route it to the correct agent or department. This eliminates wait times and ensures that customers are receiving consistent support even if agents are busy or not available.
Another tool that can help with customer service is an automated text analysis software that can automatically classify incoming text messages and identify keywords. This allows managers to quickly review and respond to customer requests, improving resolution times and reducing costs. This type of software can also be used to detect patterns in customer feedback, identifying issues that may need to be addressed in your product or service.
Customer service AI can also reduce the number of low-level tasks that are sent to agents, helping them focus on more complex, high-value interactions with customers. This helps reduce the risk of burnout and ensures that agents can stay engaged and happy with their job.
The use of AI in the workplace is beneficial for both employees and companies alike, boosting efficiency and productivity while reducing cost and increasing revenue. To maximize the return on investment in an AI solution, make sure to select the right tool that will fit your unique needs and business goals. For example, you could use a no-code automation platform like Zapier to integrate your favorite apps so that adding an AI component to a workflow is as easy as getting extra green chile on a fast-food order.
Automate Reporting
In addition to time-saving efficiencies, workplace AI offers cost savings and revenue growth in the form of improved productivity. For example, automating report preparation can free up employee time to focus on more value-adding work. This includes tasks like data tracking, customer service, fraud detection, and more. In turn, these improvements can reduce the need to hire additional employees or invest in training existing ones.
Moreover, automated reporting can provide real-time data access for teams and individuals. This means that those who build and deliver reports can spend more time on the actual analysis, which can help to improve decision making. Similarly, those who request reports can receive them much faster.
Automated reports are also more user-friendly and easier to interpret, which means that less time is spent explaining them or explaining how to use the data contained within them. This can reduce stress levels for both those who prepare the reports and those who require them.
For example, a team manager might need to keep track of desk utilization across multiple buildings and regions. This can be a daunting task, especially when they need to look at full day usage metrics over multiple days or weeks. AI can help by automating this process and providing managers with easy-to-read reports that show usage trends.
It can even offer recommendations for desks that are likely to be available and optimally utilized, based on past data patterns and usage. Additionally, it can help to predict future utilization and make adjustments accordingly. This can help managers to avoid over-booking rooms, which can lead to a loss in productivity. Furthermore, it can also help to save money on electricity costs by reducing the amount of space that is not being used.
