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How to Manage the Human-Machine Workforce Posted on : Jan 21 - 2020

Today's managers and executives need to oversee humans and machines in this age of AI and RPA, but should machines be managed as humans in a way that some suggest?

As artificial intelligence and robotics process automation (RPA) usage continue to expand in enterprises, managers and executives need to learn how to supervise more than just human employees. They need to manage the human-machine workforce.

Some suggest that intelligent machines should be managed like people. More specifically, they suggest that, like people, virtual employees should have a job title and key performance indicators (KPIs). Others say it's the combination of humans and machines that needs to be managed.

For example, in some warehouse environments, there are handoffs from semiautonomous robots to people. Since time is money, warehouses must ensure that the handoffs are efficient.

"You could plan the number of tasks that one of these physical robots could be doing in a given timeframe before the people around them can consume the work that's coming their way," said Helen Potevin, VP analyst at Gartner. "You need to understand what activities these machines are doing and how people need to interact with that to complete the entire process as efficiently as possible."

Driving higher ROI from the human-machine workforce

Companies have invested millions of dollars in technology only to be disappointed with the ROI. According to an October 2018 survey of 12,000 people by multinational professional services network PwC, 90% of leaders believe they're buying technology with employees in mind, but 53% of employees disagree. Further, only half of staff and 64% of managers are satisfied with the learning resources they have at their disposal.

Carrie Duarte, workforce of the future leader at PwC, said some of the questions clients are asking include: If a machine is a member of the workforce, should we put them in our HR system? How can we get our workforce to adopt and adapt to the technology so we can drive more value from our investments? How can we achieve our business and digital strategies and accelerate innovation?

"[W]hatever the business strategy is, whatever the digital strategy is, we're seeing CEOs and business leaders appreciating that the workforce is either going to be an impediment to achieving that strategy or help us get there better, faster, quicker," said Duarte. "It's all about how [can] we make the workforce more productive, more efficient, more comfortable with the amount and pace of change so that they help drive things forward?"

One obstacle almost every organization faces is pushback from a subset of employees. While most of today's workers aren't technophobic, some are very concerned about the negative impacts intelligent machines may have on their careers. View More