CEOs Must Pivot Their Workforces to Seize AI-Driven Growth & Help Them Work with Intelligent Technologies, Accenture Report F...
January 22 2018 - 6:01PM
Business Wire
Stronger commitment to AI could boost revenues
by 38%, employment by 10% by 2022
Businesses risk missing major growth opportunities unless CEOs
take immediate steps to pivot their workforces and equip their
people to work with intelligent technologies, according to new
research by Accenture (NYSE: ACN).
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Impact of greater AI spending on revenue
and employment growth, 2018-2022 (Graphic: Business Wire)
The Accenture Strategy report, Reworking the Revolution: Are you
ready to compete as intelligent technology meets human ingenuity to
create the future workforce?, estimates that if businesses invest
in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human-machine collaboration at
the same rate as top performing companies, they could boost
revenues by 38 percent by 2022 and raise employment levels by 10
percent. Collectively, this would lift profits by US$4.8 trillion
globally over the same period. For the average S&P500 company,
this equates to US$7.5 billion of revenues and a US$880 million
lift to profitability.
Both leaders and workers are optimistic about the potential of
AI on business results and on work experiences, according to the
study. Seventy-two percent of the 1,200 senior executives surveyed
said that intelligent technology will be critical to their
organization’s market differentiation and 61 percent think the
share of roles requiring collaboration with AI will rise in the
next three years. More than two thirds (69 percent) of the 14,000
workers surveyed said that it is important to develop skills to
work with intelligent machines.
Yet, a disconnect between workers’ embrace of AI and their
employers’ efforts to prepare workers puts potential growth at
risk. While a majority (54 percent) of business leaders say that
human-machine collaboration is important to their strategic
priorities, only three percent say their organization plans to
significantly increase its investment in reskilling their workers
in the next three years.
“To achieve higher rates of growth in the age of AI, companies
need to invest more in equipping their people to work with machines
in new ways,” said Mark Knickrehm, group chief executive, Accenture
Strategy. “Increasingly, businesses will be judged on their
commitment to what we call Applied Intelligence - the ability to
rapidly implement intelligent technology and human ingenuity across
all parts of their core business to secure this growth.”
The research suggests that there is a strong foundation on which
to boost AI skills investment. Sixty-three percent of senior
executives think that their company will create net job gains in
the next three years through AI. Meanwhile, the majority of workers
(62 percent) believe AI will have a positive impact on their
work.
The report shows how pioneers are using human-machine
collaboration not just to improve efficiencies, but to drive growth
through new customer experiences. An online clothing retailer’s AI
helps its stylists learn more about customers’ preferences so that
they can offer a unique and highly personalized service. And a
sports shoe brand set a new bar in customization and
speed-to-market by aligning highly skilled tailors and process
engineers with intelligent robots to design and manufacture in
local markets.
“Business leaders must take immediate steps to pivot their
workforce to enter an entirely new world where human ingenuity
meets intelligent technology to unlock new forms of growth,” said
Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer,
Accenture. “Workers are impatient to collaborate with AI, giving
leaders the opportunity to demonstrate true Applied Intelligence
within their organization.”
To help leaders shape the future workforce in the age of AI,
Accenture makes the following recommendations:
1. Reimagine Work by reconfiguring work from the bottom
up. Assess tasks, not jobs; then allocate tasks to machines and
people, balancing the need to automate work and to elevate people’s
capabilities. Nearly half (46 percent) of business leaders agree
that job descriptions are already obsolete; 29 percent say they
have redesigned jobs extensively.
2. Pivot the Workforce to areas that unlock new forms of
value. Go beyond process efficiencies and prepare the workforce to
create new customer experiences. Fuel new growth models by
reinvesting the savings derived from automation into the future
workforce. Foster a new leadership DNA that underpins the mindset,
acumen and agility required to seize longer-term, transformational
opportunities.
3. Scale up ‘New Skilling.’ Measure the workforce’s level
of skills and willingness to learn to work with AI. Using digital
platforms, target programs at these different segments of the
workforce and personalize them to improve new skills adoption.
Accenture has developed a ‘new skilling’ framework based on a
progression of skill level and using a suite of innovative digital
learning methods that maximizes training investment at speed and
scale.
MethodologyAccenture combined quantitative and
qualitative research techniques in order to analyze the attitudes
and readiness of workers and business leaders with regards to
collaborating with intelligent technologies. The research program
included a survey of 14,078 workers across skill levels and
generations and a survey of 1,201 senior executives. These were
carried out between September and November 2017 in 11 countries and
(Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan,
Spain, UK and the USA) and the following industry sectors:
Automotive, Consumer Goods & Services; Health & Life
Sciences; Infrastructure & Transportation; Energy; Media &
Entertainment; Software & Platforms; Banking (Retail &
Investment); Insurance; Retail; Telecommunications; Utilities. The
research also included economic modelling to determine the
correlation between AI investment and financial performance, in
depth interviews with 30 C-suite executives and ethnographic
interviews with 30 individuals who have been working with AI.
About AccentureAccenture is a leading global professional
services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions
in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations.
Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more
than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the
world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the
intersection of business and technology to help clients improve
their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With more than 435,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way
the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Strategy operates at the intersection of business and
technology. We bring together our capabilities in business,
technology, operations and function strategy to help our clients
envision and execute industry-specific strategies that support
enterprise wide transformation. Our focus on issues related to
digital disruption, competitiveness, global operating models,
talent and leadership help drive both efficiencies and growth. For
more information, follow @AccentureStrat or visit
www.accenture.com/strategy.
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AccentureMatthew McGuinness, +44 7584
187689matthew.mcguinness@accenture.comorTourang Nazari, +1
202-322-4640tourang.nazari@accenture.com
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