Conflicting research and statements over whether or not people fear that robots (physical or software based) will replace their jobs makes us think of a phrase recently seen on plaques and cocktail napkins: “It doesn’t matter if the glass is half-empty or half-full, there is clearly room for more wine.” In other words, whether you look at it negatively (half empty) or positively (half full), do something about it. And this is where the HR Professional has an opportunity to create a strategic change in their role and impact on the business as we transition into the As-a-Service Economy.
Now is the time for HR professionals to proactively address the onset of automation, while it is still mostly at the beginning stages of momentum, and before it gains speed and moves up the automation continuum to “Intelligent Automation.”
This move to Intelligent Automation, as HfS has discussed (link) will take the form of a range of applications from the use of software for repetitive and mundane tasks to the use of machine learning, for example, to not just do, but “learn” and adjust and continue to do more, better. While HfS hears of fears of automation replacing people, our research (e.g., case studies and conversations as well as surveys) is finding that people who are managed with the right expectations about what automation can do to free them up from mundane tasks are interested and excited by the possibilities; and concerns are stemming more from the amount of time they will have to "manage the 'bots" or learn new work. Recognizing this, HfS is making an effort this year to further engage HR professionals in the dialogue about the As-a-Service Economy—on demand, digitally-enabled business process services, for example.
Any expressed fears from people regarding increasing automation should be a wake up call to HR professionals—and to executives to empower HR professionals—to proactively manage people's expectations around the role of automation and robots, and what it can mean for their careers. It’s also an opportunity to proactively help employees plot and train for careers of the future that will benefit the company. No one can stay in mundane task mode forever. There is no value to them or the company for which they work. The up and coming generation will live and work alongside machines, and HR professionals are the ones in position to help create an environment of co-existence where the “glass” is neither half-empty or half-full, it’s a different shape altogether.