Vancouver, Canada – Hannu Rauma, a senior manager at Student Marketing Agency, felt overwhelmed by the stress of managing 83 employees. His frustration and disappointment were taking a toll on him as he struggled to juggle various responsibilities within the company. However, everything changed in November when the agency implemented an autonomous AI manager developed by Inspira, a US-based company.
The AI manager not only aided employees in setting schedules and planning workloads but also improved timekeeping, sent deadline reminders, and recorded time spent on different clients for accurate billing. Additionally, it offered suggestions to enhance written text, answered work-related questions, and updated work progress in a central portal. The introduction of AI management significantly reduced stress levels for Mr. Rauma and boosted overall productivity within the team.
A study conducted by Inspira, in collaboration with academics from esteemed universities, compared the performance of AI managers with human counterparts at Student Marketing Agency. Results showed that the AI manager had a 44% success rate in getting employees to pre-plan their workdays and a 42% rate of motivating employees to log in on time, comparable to human managers.
While AI integration in the workplace has shown promising results in terms of efficiency and productivity, experts like Prof. Paul Thurman from Columbia University caution against complete replacement of human managers with AI. Middle management plays a critical role in providing mentorship, coaching, and continuity within organizations. AI can complement human managers by handling routine tasks, allowing managers to focus on innovative strategies and team development.
Moreover, AI managers can identify underperforming team members in need of additional support and recognize top performers for their contributions. However, there is a fine line between utilizing AI as a tool for empowerment and over-reliance on it as a surveillance mechanism. Maintaining a balance is essential to prevent the dehumanization of the workplace and ensure employee well-being and engagement.
