Labour markets in advanced economies around the world are the tightest they’ve been in two decades, and Australia is no exception with unemployment at 4.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, the introduction of consumer AI models has sent consumer expectations soaring, and that increased pressure is falling on the shoulders of employees, particularly those on the front line.
Consumer demand puts pressure on front line employees
As consumers, we’re demanding more. Our last great experience with a company or brand is our new expectation, and consumer AI models are moving the goalposts for what we believe is possible at pace and scale.
Salesforce global research, including over 1000 Australians, found 69 per cent of consumers expect consistent interactions across departments, while 60 per cent prefer fewer touchpoints to get information or complete a task. Almost half said a poor customer service experience, such as a difficult return process, would stop them from making a repeat purchase from a company or brand.
As employees, with resources tight and consumer expectations high, we’re feeling the pressure more than ever.
A study by Robert Half found 80 per cent of Australian employees say they’re burned out, citing heavy workloads and an insufficient number of staff as key reasons. It’s clear that every team has more work to do than resources available.
To add to this, Salesforce research has found employees around the globe are spending 41 per cent of their time on low value and repetitive tasks, rather than on the more nuanced, human-oriented work they’re uniquely suited to, and that which drives them.
We’ve got frustrated consumers and frustrated employees on our hands; something has to change.
A breakthrough mindset meets a breakthrough technology
We believe employees working with AI agents can create labour that is elastic and abundant, meaning businesses will be able to untrap value and deliver greater productivity and growth.
Businesses need a step change in technology that unlocks the full potential to empower employees with AI at work. Moving beyond outdated solutions like chatbots and copilots, which struggle to provide accurate, trusted responses to complex requests, and cannot take action on their own.
With agentic AI, overwhelmed teams can now be supported by autonomous AI agents, which act as an extension of their team and can tap into data, reason, and operate in the flow of work.
Unlocking human potential and productivity gains
For the first time in history, we’ve introduced technology that has agency - that can anticipate business needs and take action.
The potential is huge. A recent Futurum report projected agentic AI would automate tasks accounting for over $US6 trillion in the global labour market by 2030.
What this means for businesses is they’re able to scale their workforce to better meet customer demand while also freeing human employees from those low value, repetitive tasks that are currently taking up nearly half of their time.
By allowing AI agents to handle routine tasks and information processing, employees are able to focus on higher-order thinking, develop new skills, and focus on uniquely human contributions. Emerging research and real-world implementations are showing AI has the potential to enhance human cognitive capabilities, extending our creativity into domains previously beyond reach.
The integration of autonomous AI agents into workforces will significantly transform the way we shape our operations and organisations, resulting in hybrid workforces composed of both humans and agents, and entirely new ways of working.
A limitless workforce is within reach for Australian businesses, empowering leaders to move from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, and fuelling productivity and growth for the future. Because our customers demand it, and our employees deserve it.
Frank Fillmann is EVP and general manager, Salesforce ANZ.
