What happens when AI starts automating people’s jobs?

IKEA has given us a pretty interesting answer.

Rather than simply using automation as an opportunity to slash headcount, they re-skilled thousands of customer service employees into new roles. For me, it’s a brilliant example of what AI integration could actually look like when businesses bring their people along for the ride.

It also got me thinking about what we’re doing in our own businesses.

I’ve started telling my team that part of their job is to automate the mundane and repeatable parts of their role. I don’t want people hiding from AI because they’re worried they’re making themselves redundant. I want them actively looking for ways to use it, and being rewarded for doing so.

Because the opportunity here isn’t necessarily to achieve more by continually adding headcount. It’s to dramatically increase the productivity of the people you already have.

And that changes recruitment too.

As AI takes care of more routine work, the skills that become increasingly valuable are the ones that are hardest to automate: judgement, emotional intelligence, adaptability and genuine human connection.

AI is here. The question is whether we use it simply to replace people, or use it to make our people significantly better.