HP Innovation Journal Issue 12: Summer 2019 | Page 71

BETTER PROCESSES
Automation processes can funnel insight to leaders,
so that they can track the business. At the same time,
they can empower decision-making up and down the
organizational ladder.
This will require new decision support processes.
AI-driven decision support is no better than the data,
assumptions and goals of the models it is built on. Com-
panies that thrive through data need the buy-in of the
people who are feeding intelligence into their systems and
responding to changing circumstances.
Frontline workers are the people who
notice threats first. Efficiency through
automation requires these people to
be more empowered.
Without empowerment, the front line will continue to see the
tsunami from the beachhead. Unknown risks will continue
to build. The wave will continue to crash over your business.
If you believe that business is continuing to accelerate,
this suggests that tsunamis will come more frequently
and hit harder.
Frontline leaders will be critical to the success of digital
transformation efforts. They will always have tighter rela-
tionships with your market than any database could. They
will sense changes in critical information before it ends up
on your desk. It will affect:
• Where customers are buying
• How their pain points are changing
• Production hiccups
Getting buy-in on automation from your front line requires
greater transparency. It requires a culture that seeks out
labor-saving automation, the kinds of solutions that have
historically impacted frontline labor. For digital transfor-
mation to work, employees need to believe that the data
they provide will be used to their benefit.
These new tools and processes require the right governance
and culture to thrive. For many organizations, devolving
decision-making requires a change in posture from risk
reduction to risk management. It also requires a culture
where employees trust that automation will be used to
devolve responsibility instead of simply increasing reporting.
To understand the interrelation between front line buy-in
and rigid governance, let’s look at the U.S. healthcare
industry. The promise of electronic medical records was
that they would make doctors more efficient. Doctors
were told that they would spend more time with patients.
Hospitals were told that doctors would be more produc-
tive. But the reality appears to be the opposite.⁶
In many cases, doctors spend more time on reporting with-
out increasing productivity.⁷ The result, for many doctors,
is that they are providing greater effort without greater
satisfaction, and 74% would not recommend the medical
profession to their kids.⁸ Much of this is because culture
and governance haven’t kept pace with technology.
We believe that companies that thrive through automa-
tion will have consistent governance and culture traits.
Governance Traits
• Less dependence on upfront analysis
• Greater willingness to do iterative experimentation
• Focus on systems, rather than on individual failure
•
 enters of Excellence that listen and respond when
C
anyone raises their hand with a good idea or concern
Culture Traits
• Support risk-taking
• Budget for continuous upskilling
• Invest in retention
• Require transparency
• Nurture diverse thinking
In the near future, tool and process automation will be
table stakes. Entire organizations will need to pivot in
unison, in real time. Leaders will build cultures of trust
because they need information to move quickly.
No matter how automated an organization becomes, it
is made up of people. People share information because
they trust. As machines work more intimately with people,
trust becomes even more important. The individual risk
of automation will continue to raise its head. People will
always be the gatekeepers of information. Buy-in will
always be the accelerant of change.
What will you and your company do to build a culture of
trust and ride the next wave of automation?
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