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UK - Hays CEO says we should not fear losing jobs to robots

24 November 2015

During recent media coverage on the future of labour and smart machines, Hays CEO Alistair Cox said it will be humans, not robots, who will continue to differentiate businesses in the coming decade.

In a statement, Hays said that robotics and technical innovation will not spell the end of many jobs, but will instead help create new jobs for the future.

Cox points to recent research that shows that up to a quarter of today’s jobs will be performed by robots by 2025.

“The more sensationalist headlines predict the demise of the human worker,” Cox said. “The more sensible do point to the opportunity for advanced robotics to unleash a massive wave of productivity improvements, akin to the impact of the original Industrial Revolution. I find it hard to believe some of the more dramatic headlines, many of which appear to discount the importance of personal relationships and intuition, for which everyone in business knows there is no substitute.”

Cox said that the rise of robots will mean that people and their unique skills will be more valuable.

 “Yes, machines already carry out many roles and with technology’s rapid evolution this is only set to increase” Cox said. “There’s no denying that when it comes to repetitive motion and basic data analysis, for example, robots certainly have the upper hand.”

 According to Hays, there are four reasons why businesses will need people as much, if not more, than they will need robots: 

1.     People become a premium: “It’s too easy to forget that no matter the industry or sector, those at the end of the sales funnel are human,” says Alistair. “Technology consistently re-values skills, and with the digital world permeating every area of our professional and personal lives you should expect colleagues, customers, clients and partners to place an increased premium on quality, relevant, insightful, and ultimately human engagement in the future. We must all be aware that technology can be replicated by your competitors but your people can’t. We should therefore look at robots not as a threat, but as a means of freeing up time, increasing capacity and productivity and ultimately allowing businesses to focus on the human side of what they do.”

 2.     You can’t build rapport with a robot: “I’ve yet to meet a robot that can motivate a workforce, bank goodwill, return a favor or build a relationship, qualities that enable a business to run smoothly and get things done,” says Alistair. “It’s these meaningful personal relationships and interactions that see employees go the extra mile for a client or each other. Human relationships simply cannot, and will not, be replicated by robots.”

3.     Innovation can’t be programmed or plugged in: “In today’s ultra-competitive corporate world, the battle for innovation has never been fiercer. To be truly innovative requires a level of collaboration, idea sharing and creativity that simply cannot be programmed or plugged in. These moments are often unplanned and happen in the office corridor, over a drink in the evening or when joining a meeting you might not have been scheduled to attend. While there is no replacing hard work, it’s often these unexpected and unplanned moments which lead to businesses standing out from their competitors.”

 4.     Human instinct should be trusted: “While technology can execute strategy, planning is best left in the hands of people. Natural intuition cannot be coded and we’ve all seen examples of results that fly in the face of prior data. Ultimately I don't think you can program a culture and an element of ‘gut’ instinct is often required in business, especially when it comes to delegating within a team or future proofing your organization through new hires and training.”