The Future of Automation and the workplace

Since the industrial revolution, humans and machines have worked side by side. Over the last few decades, industries and workers have been evolving in the company of automation and robots.

Every day, reforming technology and engineering systems improves automation in all industries. AI and automation are making use of highly advanced designed systems promise to increase productivity, simplify mundane operations, and improve workspace safety.

Amidst all this, the ways and world of jobs are changing rapidly. Around 87% of workers' time spent on production activities can be fully automated.

With each rising trend in automation also rises the need to shift all other requirements and prevalent operations. Hence, organizations need to adapt to transform and re-tool several aspects of corporate structuring.

Among all this, we at Growth Jockey are concerned about your progress. So, are you ready to grow with us?

Let us begin by understanding the Whats, Hows, and Whys of the future of work automation.

Workplace Automation - The New Normal

Automation, at the core, is about implementing systems that complete repetitive or quickly replicated tasks without manual labor.

Hence, automation in the workplace refers to the use of technological processes or systems. As a result, it accelerates your workflow by eliminating manual processes to boost productivity and efficiency. Overall, it contributes endlessly to the growth of GDP.

Recently, some organizations have stated that manual errors at work cause over 90% of accidents. On the other hand, AI technology can mitigate these errors by flagging any impairments early on.

The future of automation is bright and steadily achieved by industries because it is safer and more productive. This shift toward automation is changing the workplace and is unlikely to slow down anytime soon. Moreover, the advent of the pandemic pushed over two-thirds of global companies to cope with challenges using automation.

The future of work is strongly influenced by automation and engineering systems. These applications will grow as processing power rises in the future due to a more excellent drive for innovation.

Keeping up with changes and their patterns, Growth Jockey tells you how to prepare the workplace and employees for office automation.

How is Automation Changing the Workforce?

Evidently, automation is going to impact many jobs in the future. Around the globe, 61% of people believe that automation can put their jobs at risk. As a result of these ever-evolving more innovative technologies, the face of human skills required in the workplace is shifting.

Automation is beginning to advance to the point where it can handle cognitive activities in addition to repetitive, simple chores.

However, the need for unique human competency remains unmatched. Even when bots are trained and engineered to take up various jobs, only 5% of jobs are automatable. Hence, man will always play an essential role at work, despite how automation affects the future.

Contrasting today's popular belief that automation replaces humans and is leading to employment loss, it will instead create new opportunities. Researchers claim that by 2025, RPA (Robotic Process Automation) related jobs in the market will rise by millions.

Moreover, nearly 8%-9% of new labor-required jobs will be created in 2030 which do not exist today.

Furthermore, the workforce's need for social and emotional skills rises every moment. Although machines and AI can take up physical, technological, and manual tasks, higher cognition and emotion stay unique to man.

From 2016 to 2030, the need for programming and advanced IT skills is inevitable. Individuals possessing these abilities are a minority today but are expected to grow by 90% to support the future of work automation.

There would also be approximately a 26% rise in the US industry for highly efficient emotional and social skills. Among these, inclination toward entrepreneurship, leadership, and initiative-taking would be the most demanding.

Automation has been observed to take over basic cognition abilities like numerical skills and literacy. On the other hand, higher cognition skills, including critical thinking, creativity, decision-making, etc., stay particular to the human force.

What Jobs are More Likely to be Automated?

Amidst the range of jobs and industries, some are more likely to fully transform into automation than others.

The majority of these include physical activities performed in highly organized and predictable situations, together with data gathering and processing. Managing others, offering expertise, and interacting with stakeholders are the least likely to be automated.

Significantly, there would be a loss of jobs in agriculture, jobs for drivers, radiologists, receptionists, and customer service representatives.

As automation is deployed, the demand for workers like tellers, brokerage clerks, and accountants will decrease. There will also be less demand for a workforce with basic cognitive abilities, like data input and processing, basic numeracy, and basic literacy.

In addition, the demand for professionals with expertise in technology and other fields will rise, as will the demand for jobs requiring management and customer engagement.

The manufacturing sector has a significantly lower total demand for physical and manual capabilities compared to other industries. Automating office support services also reduces the demand for fundamental cognitive abilities.

When it comes to healthcare, the amount of upcoming automation seems lesser if not balanced. Even though doctor-patient interactions will change into automated AI channels, the need for caregivers and nurses will continue to rise.

Besides, three other fields— art and design, education, entertainment, and media- are unlikely to be too affected by automation. These fields require personal contribution that is difficult to replicate with technology.

Since the nature of work is rapidly and constantly changing, employees must acquire new skills to keep up. Growth Jockey can help you learn the essentials and make the necessary shifts.

How should Organizations Adapt?

Companies must redesign their organizational structures and working methods to fully utilize new technologies. To avail the true benefit of automation, workplaces must set new goals and approaches.

Although the current workforce is quick to realize and adapt to these changes, there are more personal and professional needs. Essentially, upskilling and re-training are necessary, along with intelligent hiring.

Additionally, due to advanced technology, HR needs to shift as a result of changing size and workforce makeup. About 88% of leaders concur that HR departments must adjust, creating new objectives and action plans.

Growth Jockey believes these steps are critical to rethink and restructure your workforce.

1. Re-training

Enhancing the efficiency and quality of work per digital trends requires adequately training employees at distinct levels. Initiatives to re-train employees in areas of expertise that are thought to be strategically important to the business are necessary. Among these are sophisticated IT and programming skills, advanced literacy abilities, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.

2. Re-assigning

Today, redesigning the company structure must consider automation and manual labor. Employers might reassign employees with specialized talents to better utilize the skill capacity already at their disposal. A better management strategy involves identifying areas of greater importance and using more of the manual workforce for these chores.

3. Hiring

A further alternative is hiring individuals or groups with the necessary skill sets. Companies need to consider hiring from non-traditional sources. Over time, more businesses have discovered the advantages of using contact or project-based temporary freelancers. High emotional intelligence and social skills are also essential qualities in candidates.

4. Releasing

Owing to automation, releasing job roles and responsibilities is natural. It unquestionably applies to firms experiencing a lack of growth due to more manual resorts instead of automation. Workforce transitions can be speedy upon releasing staff, which could result in significant cost savings.

Towards a brighter Future

It goes without saying that automated systems will dominate the future of workplaces. This scenario is already visible across almost all organizations.

In the past, automation required costly servers and a crew of professionals to maintain them. This cost-effective strategy put automation out of reach for many small firms. But now that cloud-based systems have developed, even the smallest businesses may use automation tools. Well, this is how approaches and objectives at work have evolved as well.

Today, the question is not about whether to take up automation. Instead, the challenge is how to implement it to suit and nurture your company's goals.
Ultimately, a company's most valuable asset is its workforce. Therefore, maintaining employee satisfaction must be a top organizational goal. This begins with effective planning that takes into account current demands.

At Growth Jockey, we are committed to delivering tailored marketing automation solutions that effectively address the critical challenges faced by our clients across various industries. Regardless of the scale of your business, whether you're a small-scale enterprise or a large corporation, you can now harness the benefits of advanced automation technology.

Take a proactive approach to unlock the next level of growth for your brand by reaching out to us today!