By Charles Eaton
Like most users of the new iPhone 4S, I’ve been having fun discovering
what Siri, the phone’s virtual personal assistant, will say to odd requests.
The Apple team has done a great job giving her witty responses. Make a HAL
reference, for example, and Siri sighs like she’s heard it a million times
before — and she probably has.
But when I asked Siri if she was “better than a human,” her
response was, “No comment.”
Is Siri feeling guilty?
During the recession a lot of companies found new efficiencies using
technologies that allowed them to forego rehiring workers when business picked
up again. The overall result is that America’s improved economy hasn’t been
followed by a commensurate improvement on the jobs front.
That’s helped some companies climb back into the black. But hiring
is so slow that some observers wonder if the work human beings have come to
depend on is going to be totally replaced by automated counterparts.
There are lots of problems with the “humans are obsolete” scenario,
however.
One, there is the feedback-loop problem: the more people we
replace with computers, the fewer consumers there are who can afford the goods
and services companies sell in the first place.
The other is the fact that companies still need human
capacity in key areas of their operations if they are going to be competitive
over the long term. Cuts in workforce can make shareholders happy in the short
term. But increasing market share, expanding into new markets, rolling out new
products, and investing in R&D to develop the next generation of products
are the ways a company remains competitive and ensures profits over the course
of decades. Technology surely has a place in each of those functions, but each
one also takes people — more of the right ones.
An example: A few months ago I had the pleasure of visiting one
of our board members at his company, Rackspace Hosting, in San Antonio. Rackspace
has consistently grown its staff, revenue and profits over the past several
years. There was an audible buzz when I entered Rackspace headquarters – but
not a buzz of computer fans and data center cooling units. This was the buzz
created by people talking, actively working on solutions and helping customers.
Rackspace’s employees, known in the company culture as “Rackers,”
are located in open pods in which teams of engineers and customer service reps work
side-by-side delivering their brand of customer service called Fanatical
Support.
As a visitor, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the
energy created by all these smart and engaged people. On one level, Rackspace
is about technology. But they are savvy enough to know that it’s their people
and how those people engage customers that will be the company’s competitive
advantage.
Here’s why human capital will be essential to America’s
success moving forward:
- Only humans can
solve problems. Most end-users come to you because they need a problem
solved. Companies whose people can solve customer problems are gold. They will
help retain customers even when a competitor lowers prices.
- Only humans can think
creatively. Competition domestically and from abroad is intense, and it’s
only going to get stronger. Computers can only react. It takes human beings
with creative minds to figure out how to invent business plans and execute
them. Need new ideas — fast? Companies that can tap into their own ranks and
“crowd-source” their employees will have a huge time-to-market advantage.
- Only humans have the
human touch. Apple may have programmed Siri with something akin to a
personality, but talking with Siri is still not the same as dealing with a
person. I do almost all of my banking, insurance, and investments with USAA
because I know there’s a person I can call for immediate help. Others
apparently agree, as USAA consistently tops the lists for great customer
service.
Prices are so low now in most sectors that many customers
are willing to pay a little bit more for fewer headaches. Helpdesk, customer
service, support desk — whatever you call the customer service function — companies
that get this part right, keep the business they acquire.
To help companies capitalize on the power of the human
worker, the Creating IT Futures Foundation, established in 1998 by CompTIA, has just launched the IT-Ready Apprentice
Program. The program is designed as an antidote for the well-documented
technology “skills-gap” which has left a good number of IT jobs unfilled even
in a sluggish economy. True to its mission, the program will be focusing on
helping those in poverty or at risk of poverty, military veterans and their
caregivers, as well as groups under-represented in IT, such as women and
minorities.
The program will be available in five locations in the first
quarter of 2012: Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and
San Antonio with expansion into additional markets planned for the future.
Pulling our country out of the economic malaise is going to require
companies to be even more ambitious for profits, willing to take advantage of
new markets and new opportunities, and investing in a workforce that can get
them there. But it’s also going to take a strengthening of service to keep the
customers they already have.
And that takes people.
Unlike the gadgets that come and go, good people will never
be obsolete.
Charles Eaton is the
Executive Director of the Creating IT Futures Foundation established by
CompTIA, the IT Industry Association. For more information, visit
www.creatingITfutures.org or contact Charles at ceaton@comptia.org. If you are interested in becoming involved
with the IT-Ready Apprentice Program, please contact Amy Spear at aspear@comptia.org.
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