The office has undergone a strange evolution from dystopian cubicles to hyped-up hang-out spots with everything from snack bars to in-house gyms. Now, many of those famous for top-tier workplace benefits, like Google, are cutting back on the fun. At the same time, many large players like Amazon are mandating a return to the office. These moves equal a more populated office with less to offer.
It’s high time for an office revamp to redefine what life in a physical workspace looks like. AI-driven robotics is here to deliver. The timing is right, their benefits are tangible, but becoming robot-ready is no easy task for business leaders.
Supercharged and Ready to Clock In
Advanced robotics is no new phenomenon; Boston Dynamics’ Atlas and Tesla’s Optimus have grabbed headlines with their futuristic tech, but these kinds of bots haven’t yet been relevant to the everyday workplace. However, recent leaps in AI tech have changed this, and strides in software, sensors, computer vision and precision activities bolster these advancements. In addition, costs have fallen and production ramped up to make robots accessible to even small organizations.
The stars have aligned to grant AI-infused bots the capabilities and practicality perfectly suited to office life. A new era of the workplace is badly needed, but what practical benefits can bots offer?
Making a Business Robot-Ready
Integration with bots won’t happen seamlessly without intentional and thoughtful planning. Important steps need to be taken to ensure your team gets the most out of your new additions.
Educate: Adoption is rooted in education. Team members need to be comfortable with the tech that will be joining the workplace. By integrating upskilling workshops, leaders can equip employees to get the most out of new tech. Evaluate where skill or knowledge gaps lie to make sure your team is ready to confidently utilize bots to their highest potential.
Model: Consider other companies that have successfully brought bots to the workplace (or those that have failed). Use cases, applications and methods can all help inspire ideas and give insight into what is relevant to your team. Thoughtfully consider what you admired and what you want to avoid. Those who have gone before provide valuable insights, and learning to model their wins can be a strong asset.
Target: In team roundtable sessions, discuss where bot integration makes the most sense, based on discoveries from the modeling phase. Carefully consider the team’s capabilities; often, a single integration within a single team is a good starting point.
Establish guidelines: Security can’t be taken lightly, especially when bots have access to sensitive data. Robots need to function in clearly defined parameters, limiting their involvement to tested and tried areas. With open discussions, teams can plan for expanding or shrinking boundaries and decide on what deeper integration will look like.
Plan for mishaps: Decide how shutdowns, breaches, or other issues will be handled. Consider if insurance or other safeguards are an option to help protect your business in case something goes wrong.
Future-proof: Bots are all about flexibility, as constant updates and upgrades can adjust their capabilities and functions. Be willing to rebuild and restructure as both bot and team changes occur. Humanoid-humanoid interactions are on the horizon and can bring another revolution to office bot functionality.
Monitor: Decide how you will measure progress and success. In the end, bots should bring measurable value to the business. Whether that’s a rise in productivity, increased safety, or better collaboration, decide on what elements you’ll track and how you’ll employ success parameters.
Valuable Partners in Every Step
Integration is no easy feat, but the value gained makes the trouble well worth it. Bots can aid in a wide range of tasks in the modern office, packed with features and characteristics that inject value across many different functions. With such adaptable benefits, it’s no surprise that they’re coming for the office.
- Reliability: Enhanced with AI, bots can handle delicate tasks with certainty and reliability. They can be trusted with repetitive tasks like maintenance, oversight, cleaning and even basic errands. Additionally, they can run the front desk and provide recommendations and advice suited to each company’s needs.
- Safety: Security, surveillance and compliance bots can bring a new level of safety in the office. Physical safety can be ensured by robots with 24/7 surveillance, threat detection and data reports skills, while others can help monitor for wireless breaches and data theft.
- Problem-solving: With the ability to be updated with the latest technology and information, bots can help solve both digital and physical issues, adapted to a team’s function. With learning scalability and adaptable uses, bots can learn from their experiences to help in both general and niche tasks.
- Tech support: Bots can master tasks like tech repair, bug fixing, programming and troubleshooting. A custom-trained bot can help with specific problems that plague each company.
- Collaboration: Humanoid robots can provide a variety of cross-functional services that help teams work better together, such as project management, scheduling, cross-team event management, coordination and hybrid meeting facilitation.
A New Age
The office is past due for a facelift, and it’s time for robots to bring the workplace into a new age. The benefits are clear, but they won’t come without thorough rounds of preparation. If you want an evolved workplace with top tech innovations and educated and connected employees, the time is right. The invasion is coming, are you ready?
