Imagine this. You’ve got a large data set of customer orders—invoices, delivery addresses, subscription renewal dates, etc.—and you need to sift through all of this information to find customers who may want to renew a subscription or make a new purchase. You know that you’re looking for customers who made a purchase six months ago or more, but your data set contains thousands of customers and orders. You could sort through this spreadsheet manually, or you could leverage the power of AI productivity tools and business process automation to free up your valuable time crafting stellar marketing emails rather than spending hours figuring out who to market to.
The 21st-century workplace has been forever altered with the adoption of AI productivity tools streamlining many tasks that used to take much longer. Sorting, summarizing, and making sense of data are ways these tools are making organizations more agile and efficient, allowing teams to skyrocket to levels of productivity unheard of in the past.
The Impact of AI on Workplace Productivity
The typical workday in the 2020s is still 9 to 5, but there’s only so much you can get done in 8 hours. I’ve seen what otherwise would be high-performing teams stifle their efforts by constantly having to attend to routine, repetitive tasks that were the domain of a bygone era.
The good news is with the advent of new AI productivity tools, mundane tasks can be automated, saving enormous amounts of employee time. Tools like Bardeen.ai can help you move data between apps (like a Google Doc or Excel spreadsheet), scrape website data, automate social media posting, and even create personalized messages for your audience.
Your business can further benefit from process automation with tools like Motion that can automatically build your team’s schedule and prioritize their work so your team members will always know what’s being worked on and what to work on next.
Notion is another comprehensive tool that can act as an information repository and allows collaboration across platforms with a lot of common workplace tools.
Business is inherently a creative enterprise that requires repetition and planning to keep running, but why waste all of your time deciding what to do? Using AI productivity tools can keep your team engaged in building relationships with clients rather than just scheduling meetings.
Key Areas Where AI Enhances Efficiency
Time management is an ongoing problem for many teams, but a lot more of this time is spent on simple tasks than you may realize. For instance, using an AI scheduling assistant can be particularly useful for remote teams spread across time zones as it can quickly determine the most optimal time for meetings and save your staff from having to send out emails and wait for a response.
Smart email sorting assistants like SaneBox can sift through the clutter of a modern inbox and reorganize messages based on priority. Think of how much more productive your team could be simply by filtering out promotions and less important requests. It can also flag emails that may need to be responded to.
What’s more, with AI’s ability to quickly parse and analyze data, certain tools can help your business make quicker decisions based on data. AI analytics tools such as Alteryx can process large amounts of data and suggest a plan of action. For example, if you’re a logistics company, it could look at historical data and suggest more efficient route planning. It can even look for efficiency improvements in your R&D processes.
Business Process Automation with AI
A lot of things need to happen for a business to function effectively, but not all of those things require human input. Using business process automation with AI is a key way for organizations to increase their productivity in the modern workplace.
For instance, you’ve likely got invoices that need to be sent out, items that require managerial approval, or maybe you’ve just got customers looking for quick answers. AI-powered business automation tools can do all of that. With a little setup, you can define a rule that sends an invoice to a manager if it’s over a certain dollar amount, or you can train a chatbot to answer frequently asked questions on your website. This can reduce the number of calls coming into your customer service department, allowing your agents to focus on solving trickier client issues.
In my line of work, AI tools are a fantastic addition to the office for onboarding. Setting up company accounts, scheduling training and gathering documents is much more seamless than it was just a few years ago.
AI and the Future of Work
With so many benefits, artificial intelligence in the workplace looks set to become the new normal. Companies that don’t adapt to this new paradigm will be left behind in the race for greater efficiency.
But as the role of AI in the workforce increases, what is the AI future of work, and how can it contribute to the long-term success of your business?
Routine and mundane tasks are likely to be automated, and while this may even eliminate some roles, your employees will become more productive across the board. The time that was spent on data entry or scheduling, for example, can now be spent on more high-value tasks like sustaining customer relationships and brainstorming new business ideas.
Once your business implements a few AI tools, it’s important to make sure your team is fully trained on their use to get the maximum benefit. These tools usually require a bit of customization for your specific use case, and you should be aware of a learning curve. Tools that I mentioned earlier, like Bardeen, have tutorials teaching you how to set it up for your needs. There will be a bit of an investment of time at first, but once you’re over the hump, you’ll see your team hit new heights of performance.
Why AI Productivity Tools?
As they say, time is money and utilizing AI in the workplace can improve your organization’s operational efficiency by saving your team members from manually scouring through datasets or emails.
Aside from just increased efficiency and reduced costs, AI tools allow your human talent to thrive doing what it does best. Whether it’s brainstorming new products or crafting business strategies, your employees are free to provide more value to the company while also feeling more satisfied in their jobs. The quicker they can take action on a plan, the faster your business can see the results.
Challenges and Considerations with AI Productivity Tools
As with any change, it’s not all upside. AI productivity tools and the new workplace environment they bring with them also offer some challenges for managers and teams. Your team will need to be trained on the use of this new technology, which will take time and could even spark resistance among some members. There are always employees who have found their own efficient ways of working and may not want to change.
But at the end of the day, these tools are just that, tools. They’re meant to augment, not replace, human talent, and fundamentally, your business is a human business providing services or products for other humans. When adopting this new technology, it would be wise to do so in consultation with both your IT and HR departments so that you can find ways to balance AI and human input and avoid becoming over-reliant on the technology.
Using AI for a Productive Future
Whatever your feeling about technology, business process automation and AI productivity tools are the future of work. From the automation of routine tasks to more efficient decision-making, productivity in the workplace is getting a significant boost in this era.
This boost also leads to increased employee satisfaction as they aren’t swamped with time-consuming tasks like basic data entry. A happy employee is productive and likely to be with your organization for the long haul, saving you money in rehire and training costs.
Increased efficiency, increased employee engagement and productivity—what’s not to like? I encourage you to explore some of the tools I’ve mentioned in this article to see how you can strengthen the retention-productivity link at your company.
If you’re looking for actionable advice about the changing workplace and steps you can take to remain at the top of your game, check out my monthly newsletter. It’s full of insights on how best to manage your team in today’s work environment. By signing up, you’ll also be placed on the list to be among the first to get my upcoming book, “The Retention-Productivity Link,” which contains even deeper insights into the mechanics of the modern office backed up by case studies on what works.
