Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JUNE 2018 FEATURES 27 T he topic of automation and AI is one of the biggest issues in the HR community right now, according to Chris Taylor, CHRO at Best Buy in Vancouver. And while it's not a topic that's being overblown, it's pos- sible the pace of change won't be as fast as some people think, he says. "I think that whole idea of exponential growth in the space will be accurate. I think it's going to take off very rapidly but I think over the next year or two, as companies invest and start to get in the space, it won't be overnight; I think people are trying to figure out their data strategies." In the retail and "e-tail" space, automation is heavily driven by consumer expectations, with people looking for a fast, seamless experience, says Taylor. "It's really a war for time, and using technology to save people's time," he says. "It's about how automation can move product through the warehouse more efficiently and get it out the door to a customer." Over time, that type of automation will start to replace mundane, repetitive jobs, says Taylor. "But we hope we can reskill people who are interested in learning about this technology and stay(ing) within the organization. And the turnover within those areas is gen- erally quite high anyway, so we don't see a forced situation where we would be losing or costing jobs. But we see over time implementing this type of technology to be more ef- ficient for our business and our customer and, at the same time, giving people way more interesting work they aspire to — so we think it's a win-win." One of the big areas of focus is the cloud, with Best Buy making a fairly significant investment to move its custom- er service technology and HR technology there, he says. "We believe once we move our key platforms to the cloud, then we're in a better position to maximize AI and automation in the software world, and be managing those releases throughout the year, every year, whereas a lot of companies are stuck with the old technology and can't move at the pace that needs to happen. So I think if com- panies aren't investing in the cloud today, they're going to be left behind very, very quickly." In HR, the move to the cloud includes transactional work in payroll but also opportunities in the talent acqui- sition space, says Taylor, "using some of the algorithms and AI tools to both attract and assess the best candidates, so rather than wait for them, use the technology to source the web to find individuals that best fit our organization." en it's about looking at building the data strategy and understanding why people join Best Buy, why they stay and why they leave, he says. "(It's about) how we use that data to make sure the pro- grams we develop and the information that we get to them is getting to them before they even ask for it. I think that's what AI and the cloud does, it starts to understand the behaviours through the system that your employees are using and… you can start to cater your information and curate directly to individuals." Information is not always available, so inefficiencies remain for employees when it comes to finding answers, says Taylor. "We see the future solution having answers and infor- mation at their fingertips, across the suite, which frees up our leaders, frees up our employees to do the work we want them to do, to ultimately take care of our customer. It won't be easy." "ere's a data strategy that's going to take a couple of years. I think all companies realize it's not an overnight (process) but it's pretty exciting work and in a couple of years, it's going to look very, very different." In implementing these changes, work processes will change radically, and hopefully take away a lot of repeti- tive tasks, he says. Of course, there's a small fear that would mean a reduc- tion in headcount, says Carter. "Any company is going to want to look at that, and say, 'It should at some point create some savings for you' but as we roll it out, we're going to make sure our team is just transferred to more interesting work." It's very exciting work but it's going to take some time, and everybody's trying to figure it out simultaneously, he says. "is technology shift and data shift has, I believe, brought organizations closer together, even ones that ac- tually compete to some extent, to have better discussion about how they move and thrive going forward, so there seems to be less fear of sharing," says Taylor. "I've never felt a stronger sense of community of the HR individuals in my market and across the country… so that's a product of how fast technology's moving, that companies feel like 'If I don't get out there and network and talk to my peers, there's a chance (I) get left behind there,' and there's a lot of openness to that, which I think is awesome for the Canadian economy." W hen it comes to trends in automation, the in- surance industry has endured a few challeng- es, according to Ingrid Wilson, vice-president of HR at Echelon Insurance in Toronto. "You have a lot of paper-based (work) and (it's about) trying to move towards client expectations which are 'Can I buy insurance on my mobile phone?'" In addition, there are a lot of long-term staff in the insur- ance sector, she says, "so for some it will be challenging for them to make those transitions." When it comes to HR being prepared for the disruption, it varies, says Wilson. "Because we move at such a fast pace here in terms of thinking, I need my HR team to be very adaptable, and it's been a challenge to me through the years to get people who have 20-plus years' experience to shift to that adapt- ability because they're still carrying 'Oh, I need to do the paperwork before we respond to the client'… whereas I'm more focused on 'What's our end game?'" e firm's small HR department is trying to use more online tools for its work, and looking to provide staff with benefits accessible via mobile devices, she says. "We have to reiterate to employees every year 'You do have online tools you can use.'" Echelon is also looking at automation in areas such as accounting and bookkeeping, according to Wilson. "Because we're a public company and there's a lot of requirements and lot of time-crunching, there are tools that the accounting team (members) are using that allow you to share documents and update documents and allow them to focus on the end product, the financial statement and efficiencies, returns on equity… rather than the more service-driven, very administrative pieces. So we're auto- mating there where we can," she says. But staff aren't necessarily told this is about automation. "e way we approach it is 'We're trying to allow you to focus on the more strategic items, and take away the more manual, administrative (part),'" says Wilson. "But that also means a different mindset, when you have a generation that's been working with people forever — it's retraining them on how to use those tools." "It's really the focus about getting used to it, and the stress around learning a new tool versus their jobs. We don't focus on 'Oh, you know, automation's going to have you losing your job in the future' because we're retrain- ing people on using tools. It's an enhancement for them, whether they stay with us or go outside to another com- pany. And, quite frankly, the personal tools they're using, Siri, Alexia, Google Play… they're using those tools outside as well, so if you think about it, it's not just work, the world around is changing as well." Some of the talk about automation and AI destroying jobs and industries is a little overblown, she says. "It's really up to the company and the HR team to tran- sition people... A big part of it is retraining staff for new skills, and pulling them away from more technical skills. Especially insurance — we're very technical and we don't concentrate on the soft skills so much," says Wilson. "ere's a small percentage that will make the decision 'I don't want to do this,' but there's others who will realize, once they get training, 'is is giving me more skills to help me with real life out there.'" For HR, it's about identifying the skills and competen- cies needed by staff, whether you're a professional, super- visor, manager or more senior person. "We've rewritten our performance reviews this year," she says. "We've written our competencies so that they're more simplified, connected at different levels, and then they'll work through the online performance tool… so each of the employees will know the competencies of each level." "It does (account for AI and automation) because it identifies those higher level soft skills, so not just leader- ship and collaboration but what we call effective commu- nication, being able to weed out the fluff and what's not really necessary, and critical decision-making, especially as you go through the levels, how to get from A to Z with- out the unnecessary diversions." Human skills have been talked about for a while, says Wilson, but they're even more critical now. "Anybody who comes through the door is expected to have the technical skills for the role. It's those other pieces, and where is this role going to be in next five years: Are you looking for this to be a leadership role where they have those leadership skills, the critical thinking, effective communication — all those other human skills we need? So that's a discussion that may happen at the beginning." Chris Taylor CHRO at Best Buy Canada The Vancouver-based company has 12,000 employees in Canada Ingrid Wilson vice-president of HR at Echelon Insurance in Toronto The company has about 250 employees in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and B.C.

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