How Machines Can Be People Too

How HR can future-proof human jobs

Forget the gig economy, skill gaps, and succession plans. The future of work is threatened by something more acute: automation. If you feel stunted by a lack of skills or an overcrowded, multi-generational workforce, imagine what happens when an intelligent, automated workforce of workflows, algorithms, bots, and programs outnumbers human workers.
 

Everyone knows they could be automated out of a job. This narrative implies an unavoidable conflict, a fight between man and machine. Automations are tireless, cheap, and reliable, so it’s not much of a competition. Machines are fast becoming the new backbone of business, as evidenced by the many business-critical functions that now operate in a black box or during a late-night background job. Losing our jobs is just one outcome of automation; the loss of accountability is another. While it’s efficient to let machines run and protect our business, without oversight we expose ourselves to new, and sometimes unknown, risks.

We may be able to protect our jobs and help businesses maintain accountability by redefining the narrative of man versus machine. We need to re-embrace our human side. Instead of treating the human like a machine, we need to start treating the machines like people. We need to extend our concept of the manager. 

Early in my career, I received some wise professional advice: “Your job is to make your boss look good.” I had assumed my manager was there for me, but in fact, the relationship is symbiotic. Promotions don’t come as soon as you are more proficient or cheaper than your manager, so why should automation replace humans for those reasons? We need to incorporate automation in ways that augment human skills and complement remaining manual processes. Automation’s job should be to make their human look good.

But who will lead the charge and what should we do? Not all business functions focus on the human, so this redefinition effort could start with Human Resources. Instead of treating the human as the problem to be solved (with automation), HR should partner with individual department managers, process managers, even IT, to analyze current roles, and create a standardized procedure to determine what parts of a role can—and should—include automation. The goal is not automation. The goal is achieving a better balance between the business and workers. One way we can do that is to create better compatibility between man and machine.

To do this, HR, along with their team of department managers, IT, etc., begin by parsing out each person’s duties, identifying interdependencies, and highlighting bottlenecks or exceptions. Next, they consider where automation might relieve the human of a repetitive action or support them by doing tedious tasks. It is critical to ensure that this all still aligns with achieving a better outcome, and that the investment to build and the time or cost saved are measured. Inevitably, this exercise will reveal where work is not inherently consistent or governed by black and white rules. This is where the work becomes more interesting. Finally, to ensure oversight and accountability, the remaining manual duties of the human will be to manage their associated “team” of automations. Instead of losing their relevance due to inefficiency or subjectivity, the human’s role transcends into a manager of the automation itself.

Remember, we are re-embracing the human element. So this new manager’s actions, activities, and considerations shouldn’t differ from traditional people management. In fact, they will consider many familiar things, asking questions like:

1. Staffing and budgeting

 

 

 3. Performance reviews

 

It may feel silly to personify automation or consider managing things that lack consciousness, but this is about future-proofing our jobs. This is about introducing new human value to reduce abrupt job obsolescence. As automation matures and gains the ability to take over new duties, we need a meaningful way to continually reframe our role. 

Management isn’t just for humans. All company assets need to be effectively managed. The growing demands for automated workflows, algorithms, and programs have turned them into a company asset, like people. Unchecked and unchallenged, automation displaces and disrupts the workforce, and it may not even improve the processes they sought to fix. Good management is requisite to long-term success. Becoming a manager of automation is one small step toward creating a symbiotic rather than competitive relationship.

Automation is not a salve for bad processes. RPA cannot avoid making mistakes if the steps are off. AI won’t always recommend the best action. This is all OK when automation doesn’t exist in a vacuum; when humans still help with cross-functional requirements gathering, multi-system coordination and monitoring, and ad hoc exception management. Removing the human element too quickly or too completely isn’t a strategy for success. Human-managed automation is the transitional step needed. It’s how humans stay in control and businesses remain accountable. 

When automation serves as an ally rather than an other, it’s no longer man versus machine. When we have an attentive, engaged manager, it is no longer unclear as to who will take responsibility for the outcomes. To get to this state, we must start managing automation like we want to be managed—like people, not machines. With this more symbiotic relationship, automation becomes less of a threat and more of the partner we want for the future

Rachel Disselkamp is a consultant and millennial thought-leader in the fields of HR, technology, and Workforce Management. She started her career as the development editor for a 650-page textbook, the Workforce Asset Management Book of Knowledge (John Wiley and Sons, 2012), and soon after started a product and services business around WFM industry certification. During that period, Rachel trained and consulted technology vendors, businesses, and individual professionals on the ROI and strategic value of workforce management software. She also served the White House, Office of the President, through consulting on metrics needed to measure the outcomes of the state and federal Fair Labor Scheduling Acts sweeping the nation around 2013. She is currently an Enterprise Solution Consultant at Ceridian. Connect Rachel Disselkamp