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Forbes
18-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Agentic AI Is Coming For CIOs
SAP Insights explains what CIOs need to know about agentic AI and how to build a workforce strategy. Agentic AI is the next iteration of AI at work, and CIOs need to know how to incorporate it into strategies and workflow. The next SAP Insights newsletter explains how to get started. Agents for AI. Agentic AI is the AI that's able to trigger commands that automatically complete tasks, and that means work gets done sort of in the background. Software companies are starting to add it to their existing AI tools, which is to say: Agentic AI—coming soon to your workplace. If it's not there already. However, it creates some additional considerations that CIOs need to be aware of. We discuss. Also in this issue: Supply chains. There's a supply chain change happening at the moment that's steering focus away from resiliency and toward cost. Concerns about stability and the global economy have prompted this refocus. But the question is: Can you have both? We say yes. Celebrating (?) the birth of remote working. Here's who to blame for our ability to work anywhere. Apple's iBook laptop with built-in Wi-Fi was a game changer. Although Apple discontinued the colorful clamshell design after just two years, the Wi-Fi technology remains. This is the history of what we now take for granted. Research That Hasn't Reached Your Inbox. AI and employee well-being; AI and employee stress (hint: it's about control); and why using LLMs to write is kinda problematic. Want the full stories? Make sure you never miss a biweekly SAP Insights newsletter. Sign up here.
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Productivity Savings From Gen AI Don't Always Add Up
Business leaders need to think harder about the effects that Gen AI will have on different employees and about how to make the time saved from Gen AI be of value to both employees and the company. getty By Chris Koch, SAP Insights The productivity savings from Gen AI will not free us all to, as the hyped-up platitude goes, 'focus on higher value-added tasks.' Sure, GenAI is already saving us time. But assuming that as a result, employees will automatically spend that time valuably is simply wrong. Most companies don't have a bunch of higher value-added tasks just sitting around like boxes of candy on a shelf. If they did, someone would already be doing them. The platitude is just a way to paper over the fact that figuring out what to do with incremental slices of time that Gen AI saves individual employees is not only complex but also may consume more time and resources than it's worth. Business leaders need to think harder about the effects that Gen AI will have on different employees and about how to make the time saved from Gen AI be of value to both employees and the company. In truth, the time that Gen AI saves individual employees, and the value that time saved contributes to companies, can vary considerably. Consider call centers. Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research observed over 5,000 agents who used a generative AI-based conversational assistant during text-based chats with customers. The assistant gave the agents information to share with customers and prompts to manage the tenor and range of the chats. With an AI bird on their shoulders, the agents resolved an average of 14% more issues per hour. However, the AI assistants didn't help every agent equally. Each agent's productivity gains were linked to their experience and talent. The performance of novices and low-skilled agents improved by 34%, while the more experienced agents gained little or no improvement. This makes sense when you consider that AI chatbots are only as good as the data they train on – in this case, the best practices of the most highly skilled agents. For the newbies, using AI was like having a really good cheat sheet. Meanwhile, AI obliterated the expertise that had helped the best agents not only rise to the top but also earn more money and recognition. It's a sign of complications to come. What happens to the employees who trained Gen AI to become their equals? What higher value-added tasks will they get? We know that overall, AI will increase overall company productivity. But the story can play out differently for individuals. Some employees will see gains, others a dead end. Here are some ways to think about the value GenAI can deliver to both companies and employees: If employees only use Gen AI to help write e-mails or create a rough draft of a report, the time savings won't magically enable them to take that time and put it towards something more valuable than what they already do. If, on the other hand, Gen AI can decode a 30-page spreadsheet full of invoice entries, compare them to payments, and flag the inconsistencies, now you've saved some serious time. Talk with employees and find out where the big savings are. A survey by Microsoft found that users of its Gen AI tool CoPilot saved employees an average of 14 minutes per day. But trying to figure out what to do with 14 minutes at the individual level is a time suck for everyone. Instead, package up all those minutes into a collective number and bigger goal, such as reducing the number of external contractors, or getting a lower price on an outsourcing contract. If an employee says they want to learn something new, that may be the higher value-added task you've been looking for. And they'll be more motivated to retrain themselves if they can use the time they save with Gen AI each week. Ignore the productivity mania, banish the platitudes, and focus on value.
Forbes
26-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why The Business Case For DEI Still Matters
The companies seeing the most success treat DEI as a core lever for performance, not a side initiative. By Lauren Paul, SAP Insights Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts have faced intense public scrutiny and political backlash in recent years. Yet, some companies aren't backing down. Why? Because when done right, DEI is far more than a social justice initiative; it's a business imperative. Karen Brown has been at the forefront of corporate DEI efforts for over two decades, and she's seen firsthand what works and what doesn't. In her new book, The Leaders You Need, she outlines why many organizations have failed to generate lasting impact from their DEI initiatives and what it takes to turn things around. We spoke with Brown to explore how leaders can reframe DEI as a driver of business performance and innovation. Among the takeaways from our conversation: It's a common misstep: treating diversity, equity, and inclusion like a one-off campaign or a compliance checklist. But programs, by nature, are finite; they launch, they run, they end. A strategic approach, on the other hand, embeds DEI into the fabric of the business, just like technology, finance, or operations. Brown argues that the companies seeing the most success treat DEI as a core lever for performance, not a side initiative. That means aligning it with long-term business goals, dedicating meaningful resources, and holding leaders accountable for progress. Without that strategic mindset, DEI risks becoming performative and, while well-intentioned, is ultimately disconnected from real impact. One of the most damaging mistakes companies make is appointing DEI leaders who are passionate but unqualified. Passion matters, but so does business acumen. Brown says the ideal DEI leader understands operations, strategy, and performance metrics, because their job is to connect inclusion to bottom-line value. They should be able to sit at the executive table, speak the language of business, and influence across departments. When DEI is led by someone who doesn't know how to drive results, the work gets marginalized and credibility suffers. Leadership must reflect not just the values of inclusion, but the ability to turn those values into action. When DEI is integrated into how teams operate, not just how they communicate, it becomes a competitive advantage. Brown points to data that shows companies with inclusive cultures outperform on employee retention, innovation, and customer loyalty. Why? Because when people feel valued and heard, they perform better. And when teams are built with different perspectives, they make better decisions. The organizations thriving in today's environment are the ones that go beyond slogans. They invest in inclusive leadership training, build feedback loops into team dynamics, and reward behaviors that foster collaboration across difference. It sounds simple, but it's a powerful mindset shift. Whether you're designing a product, crafting a policy, or assembling a leadership team, asking 'Who's not in the room?' can uncover blind spots and missed opportunities. Brown challenges leaders to build this question into every decision-making process. It forces a reevaluation of assumptions and opens the door to perspectives that may otherwise be overlooked. And in a global, multicultural marketplace, that level of intentionality isn't just nice to have; it's essential for relevance, resilience, and growth. Curious how to turn DEI into a strategic advantage? Read the full interview with Karen Brown.
