As companies implement AI into their workflows, some employees are concerned that AI will replace them. It may not be time to panic yet. Steven Kramer, co-founder and CEO of WorkJam, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss work environments and how the company is trying to help frontline employees manage their work experiences.
When asked about the potential challenges of AI replacing frontline workers, Kramer told Yahoo Finance: “Right now, there's no real risk of AI replacing frontline workers. We've seen a lot of focus on self-checkout, especially in the last few years.” We're seeing a lot of organizations pull back on their plans right now because they're having some challenges, but the reality is that the power of AI is driving operations forward. I think it contributes to. It enhances the excellence of these organizations and enables them to operate more efficiently. ”
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This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino
video transcript
Work Jam wants to revolutionize the way frontline workers are managed.
Workplace management apps provide a one-stop shop for employees to view and adjust their schedules, communicate with co-workers, and access learning features here to discuss work situations. Work Jams co-founder and CEO Steven Kramer has his next vision for workplace automation.
Thank you for being here.
I'm pleased to meet you, today.
So first of all, I'd like to zoom out a little bit and talk about the big picture of labor. Because, for example, we just saw an unexpected increase in unemployment claims in the United States this morning.
So, from a pure numbers perspective, what is the overall picture of demand at the moment?
Work Jam is an organization primarily focused on the frontline workforce.
And, uh, we've seen a little bit of softening in the employment numbers, but uh, we're seeing the labor market continue to be tight in the frontline sectors, as an example, especially in retail, uh. And we found that retail added uh, about 20,000 new jobs, uh, an average increase of 7,000 over the past 12 months.
So, uh, the job market continues to be, uh, tough, but certainly the numbers have eased a little bit.
There was also some easing in wage increases.
But I think organizations, uh, are very attuned to their frontline, especially their staff, and what they need to do to retain them and improve the employee experience and the customer experience. Masu. .
A and Steven, what is the Work Jam business like?
Well, specifically, what, what kind of demand are you seeing right now?
And is that demand coming from specific sectors, especially specific industries?
Well, Work Jam is essentially a system that revolutionizes the way organizations manage their frontline staff through communication, flexible scheduling and operational excellence.
And I think what we're seeing now is actually very strong demand globally.
The reason is that the organization is highly focused on improving profit margins.
Well, there's certainly been a lot of pressure on wages over the last few years.
Well, margins are also being squeezed due to inflation.
So doing more with less is very common in discussions with prospects.
Additionally, more and more organizations are connecting customer and employee experiences.
We all know that happier and more engaged employees lead to better customer experiences, but this is true now more than ever because customers are so fickle. It is important.
Well, it's about the organization that they do business with.
And finally, as the market front continues to tighten, jobs are becoming more specialized and specialized, and the need to retain employees is a future that our customers and we are talking about. I think that's certainly the most important thing for the outlook. To.
Therefore, the demand is very high due to the recognition that this management method needs to be radically transformed.
Well, Steve, I think we talk a lot about AI, but do you think it's common sense to think that frontline workers probably have more evidence of AI than other types of workers?
Does that seem to be borne out in your discussions with clients?
Well, I think it's very interesting to focus on AI. Um, so the amount of insights that our customers can gain through the data that they collect through the platform, in terms of productivity and engagement levels, is being used to actually drive operational excellence. There is currently no risk of AI replacing frontline workers.
Particularly in recent years, we've seen a lot of attention paid to self-checkout and how it impacts the field.
We are currently seeing many organizations pulling back on these plans due to some challenges.
I think the power of AI is to drive operational excellence in these organizations and enable them to operate more efficiently, Stephen, which is interesting and I think the pandemic has highlighted for a lot of people. I would like to know not only how important frontline workers are, but also the challenges that many people are facing. From your perspective, what do you think will happen to frontline workers after the pandemic? Have there been any changes?
Oh, sure.
I think that pandemic was, ah, a real black swan event. There, there's never been a situation in history where people were hanging out there and applauding from the windows and grocery store employees applauding.
This placed greater emphasis on the need to improve the frontline experience.
I think it's given a little bit more power to the front lines to have a voice within these organizations and drive the culture and also the benefits that they're getting within these companies.
Well, certainly, what happened as a result of the pandemic and what we came out of was a very, very competitive job market.
This has also led organizations to implement strategies such as access to earned wages and flexible scheduling.
Part of what we do at WorkJam, for example, is allow our employees to work from multiple locations.
Well, recruitment usually took place in one place.
Well, giving flexibility to schedules was actually a big win of the pandemic, and it's staying that way to encourage retention.
And it matters now because statistics show that most front-line workers now hold two to three jobs as a result of stubborn inflation.
By providing flexibility in shift schedules, you can increase loyalty and retention to your organization.
Interesting, Stephen, thanks for joining us on the show today.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for inviting me.
I appreciate it
