ZDNET
The experts suggest generative AI’s game-changing capabilities mean we won’t have to focus on mundane tasks that limit our productivity. However, while the technology has benefits, generative AI also comes with challenges, such as ethical risks and hallucinations.
Various business leaders have told ZDNET that keeping humans in the loop is the key to the successful deployment of AI. Talented professionals ensure emerging technology behaves as it continues to evolve.
“I believe that to create the best team in the world, you have to create the best team to work for,” she said.
“In my experience, when your team feels valued, they feel known as a person first, you celebrate their unique characteristics and recognize them, and you encourage collaboration and create a safe psychological space in the team, then they will naturally want to rise and be high performers for you.”
“I sometimes think about the number of meetings I used to go to with a bunch of people — maybe a dozen or more — talking about what they’d done last week or what they’re going to do next week,” he said.
“If you’d ask them an hour later, the other people in the room wouldn’t know what each person was supposed to be doing.”
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“There’s so much time wasted talking about what people should be doing,” he said. “Save those meetings for when teams need to make important decisions.”
White told ZDNET that employees are more productive when they’re happier. Focus on your staff’s happy places and help them reach those destinations.
“For some people, it may be flexibility in their working pattern so they can manage other responsibilities,” she said.
“For others, it might be development and training, so they continually learn and grow. For someone else, it may be recognition or regular feedback on what they’re doing well and where they can improve.”
Finally, White advised managers not to leave AI completely out of the mix.
“Despite advances in AI, the human factor remains crucial,” she said.
“I’ve found that setting short-term goals is very effective at providing an individual and their team with surety and a sense of purpose, even when long-term objectives keep changing. This clarity of purpose can have an impact on productivity.”
Latham told ZDNET that regular team reviews that score professionals against targets can help managers unlock continuous productivity improvements.
Latham also said it’s important to find time for personalized feedback sessions.
“At the same time, managers need to give individual attention to team members by ensuring they conduct monthly one-to-ones, an area often overlooked, ironically due to workloads,” she said.
Kronenthal told ZDNET at Dynatrace Perform in Las Vegas how those measurements can be used to scale the business.
“What that data immediately allows you to do, regardless of AI or not, is say, ‘What are you doing that all of your peers aren’t?’” he said.
“I was looking at data yesterday for a group in our business where an individual in our organization does 10 times the output of their next-best peer with a 97% customer satisfaction rating.”
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Kronenthal said business leaders can make professionals more productive by replicating best practices.
“So, what do you think my first call is when I land tomorrow? It will be, ‘What is this person doing that the rest of their peers are not?’” he said, before advising other managers to take a similar approach.