Intelligent assistance where it matters
As digital technologies, including AI, work their way deeper into office and professional environments there is a risk that frontline workers are left behind. eir evo wants to change that and is working with Irish organisations to create a path to skilled and secure digitalisation
Frontline workers are the backbone of many essential services, such as health, education, social care, retail, and hospitality. They play a vital role in delivering quality outcomes for customers, citizens, and communities. It is therefore imperative that such workers are equipped to best leverage the latest technology such as real-time collaboration tools, shared online systems, and AI to create a modern work environment that increases productivity, innovation and efficiency.
Martin Wells, managing director of eir evo said that despite widespread digitalisation and access to devices, there exists a digital gap for frontline workers who are not yet seeing the real value and potential to reduce and enhance their workload.
“From our engagement with a variety of organisations, we understand that modern frontline workers are often tied into process heavy, manual and repetitive tasks. At the same time, they’re working for organisations that have recently gone on a transformative digital journey – more than half have access to cloud solutions and almost 90% have access to mobile devices. They have the digital tools, now it’s about how best they leverage them to focus on the work that matters most”
Wells was speaking to insights captured via a recent report released by eir evo and supported by Microsoft Ireland, Digitalisation on the Frontline, which followed a survey of 400 Irish workers.
The report indicates that while 65 per cent of frontline workers rate their organisations as ‘highly digitalised’, some 62 per cent feel they personally are ‘digitally poor’ within their role.
This indicates a significant gap between having simply access to digital solutions and using them strategically to deliver value and efficiencies.
Responding to this, eir evo has made it its mission to help organisations across Ireland respond to changing times. By digitising frontline work, organisations can not only enjoy productivity gains but ensure staff and customers both have better experiences – experiences that drive improved outcomes and value-added services.
Wells said that what was needed was to address system disconnect and promote digital literacy, as well as improve data quality. With the introduction of new technologies, notably generative artificial intelligence (AI), both digital skills and good data are crucial.
“There are two big topics that organisations are considering. The first is that everyone is committed to the journey, and they’re all talking and thinking about AI. with significant uptake on programmes such as Microsoft Copilot. The second is security, and both of these go hand in hand” he said.
Indeed, compliance and security have been issues, but clear licensing terms from Microsoft has significantly eased concerns. Workers, especially at the frontline, such as in contact centres, however, do need to develop appropriate skills in order to use AI efficiently.
“Training is a critical enabler because AI is powerful. The technology is opening up, but you have to balance the skills and the need to use it for the right reasons,” Wells said.
One of the greatest remaining barriers to AI adoption is siloed or poor quality data, and in order to reap the benefits of AI, a proper data strategy needs to be in place.
However, Wells believes both business and the public sector are excited to push forward and eir evo’s focus on AI adoption will help: “Our customers want to fix their data and get their security posture right. This is the next step of that journey”.
For details: visit eirevo.ie
