The impact of AI on the industry’s workforce must be examined and managed – a new initiative shows us how

Commercial context

Few can now be in any doubt about AI’s ability to replace tasks and roles in the global workforce. According to the World Economic Forum, 85 million jobs will be replaced by AI by 2025. But this is not the only headline – the same report forecasts that AI will also create 93 million jobs over the same period. The telecoms industry, like many others, must prepare for this change – not just for the deadline of 2025, but for the long-term changes that will inevitably come.

Helping employees adjust to the arrival of AI is as much a part of the digital transformation as implementing new technologies. Organizationally, CSPs are presented with two major challenges: how to accommodate staff whose jobs are being replaced by AI, and how to train and retrain others in new competencies suitable for new AI-based roles. The need to do this is pressing – organizations that do not adapt to these new circumstances could face loss of employee morale, lower productivity, attrition of key personnel and could in some cases face risk of industrial action.

The solution

That’s why TM Forum has set up the Rise of the Bots Catalyst, which aims to develop best practices for organizational redesign, talent reallocation, and cultural adaptation suitable for the era of digital transformation. The project itself begins with an industry-wide study of the current state of digital transformation across the telecoms world. Executed across a large number of CSPs, it will study the impact of current and upcoming AI implementations on affected employees, with the ultimate aim of creating a guide to how CSPs can reorganize and treat their employees.

The methodology of the study is based on the principles outlined in IG1316 (TechCo Organizational Design), which focuses on how CSPs can accommodate and reorganize employees impacted by digital transformation. This is supported by the new Digital Talent Maturity Model being developed in GB1047 which is designed to help CSPs and companies in the wider tech sector plan and adapt their organization and talent as digital transformation gains momentum.

According to Saleh Laslom, Director for Professional Technology Learning at stc, “studies indicate the importance of aligning strategy, talent and culture to achieve an organization’s goals and objectives. This Catalyst will help stc by providing insights about these three main pillars: organization, people and culture. It will help stc understand our transformation gaps allowing us to take the necessary actions to close them and achieve our strategic goals."

Applications and wider value

The learnings and best practices identified in the study will feed into TM Forum’s new TechCo Organizational Design project to create a framework that will help other CSPs navigate their organizational transformations successfully. This should deliver clear business benefits for the wider industry, such as quicker ROI for digital transformation investments and greater long-term financial performance. More than this, it will encourage many more CSPs to confidently embark on digital transformation, knowing that they have a clear guide to navigate the most challenging aspects of culture, talent and organization.

With the pace and scope of digital transformation increasing day by day, CSPs that embrace this challenge stand a bigger chance of success in the race to digital transformation. With this Catalyst, organizations can finally have peace of mind that they, and their staff, can confidently handle the introduction of AI into the workforce.