Half of New Zealand workers have said their jobs have changed as a result of automation, according to a report by recruitment company Hays.
16 per cent of respondents noted their job responsibilities have been impacted “significantly”, having seen their roles change completely or becoming redundant, while a further 34 per cent have seen only a “partial effect”.
Hays Australia and New Zealand managing director Nick Deligiannis said that the automation of routine and repetitive job tasks is inevitable, and that employers should ensure that open communication with employees is maintained during this process, as well as providing staff the opportunity for upskilling.
“Talk to staff about how AI and automation can be used to perform the repetitive, menial tasks of their role, freeing their time to focus on higher-value job responsibilities,” Deligiannis told IR.
This can touch staff members in many different parts of a retail business, from manufacturing, to HR and IT, with new technology creating a range of digital tools which quickly perform previously time-consuming, low value tasks.
“HR and IT are using chatbots to answer frequently asked employee questions, facilities managers are using automated smart offices to control heating, air conditioning and lighting, and marketing uses automated AI customer relations management platforms to manage customer information and interactions,” Deligiannis said.
Moving forward, research from McKinsey suggests that while 5 per cent of occupations will become fully automated in the future, about 60 per cent could see at least a third of their job tasks automated.
“While we’re far from the demise of the human worker, technology is increasing how fast our knowledge and skills are becoming outdated,” Deligiannis said.
