Burnout is at an all-time high as employees face ever-increasing productivity expectations while being forced to do more with less. Approximately 82% of employees are at risk of burnout this year, and 95% say their emotional state plays a big part in their productivity. The research underscores the importance of happy, healthy employees–and while it might seem like simple altruism at the corporate level, there are real financial consequences of letting well-being fall by the wayside. Most notably, burnout costs employers as much as $300B annually. 

Today, while most research centers on the burnout of knowledge workers at large, one subset group is faring worse than others: software developers. These teams are the foundation of nearly every modern company, and research shows they’ve been stretched thin to the point of crisis. Solving developer burnout must become a top priority for organizations, or they risk losing the very engine that powers their progress.

Burnout: By The Numbers

According to Harness’ State of the Developer Experience Report, relentless workloads are the leading cause of burnout in the software industry and are the primary reason most developers quit. Over half (52%) of developers cite burnout as the main factor driving their peers to leave their jobs. One of the primary causes of burnout is developer toil: the prevalence of manual, repetitive tasks that consume significant time and effort without providing significant value to the business. The report found that nearly half of developers say they can’t release code to production without risking failures. If that code does need to be rolled back, an astounding 67% of developers do so manually.

The problem is exacerbated by scope creep, which almost two-thirds (62%) of developers experience. To keep up with their workload, nearly a quarter (23%) of engineers work overtime at least 10 days a month, and 97% of developers admit to context switching, meaning they move between unrelated tasks throughout the day, further reducing their productivity.

Additionally, hiring isn’t helping quickly enough, as organizations struggle to onboard new hires quickly enough to alleviate the pressure on current employees. The report found that 71% of respondents said onboarding takes at least two months, leaving existing engineering teams to shoulder the extra workload in the interim.

Solving the Developer Burnout Crisis

While the challenges are steep, there are numerous ways to circumvent these problems and ultimately improve developer mental health:

Automate Toil

Automating toil refers to the process of leveraging technology to eliminate repetitive, mundane, and time-consuming tasks, freeing up human resources for more strategic and creative endeavors. By implementing advanced software that automates monotonous tasks, such as code rollbacks, organizations can enhance efficiency, reduce the risk of errors, and improve overall productivity. This approach not only streamlines workflows but also enables employees to focus on higher-value activities that require critical thinking and innovation. Consequently, automating toil is a key strategy for leaders looking to optimize DevOps while improving the employee experience.

Sabbaticals & “No Meeting” Days

Sabbaticals are generally thought of as a “big company” benefit. But startups, and specifically smaller companies with high percentages of software developers, can reap major benefits from implementing these programs. Harness offers a “Sabbatical for Startups” program, which offers employees time off to focus on self-care through health & wellness benefits. Thus far, the program has decreased turnover while improving employee well-being–and these results aren’t limited to Harness; they’re also backed by research from Adecco Group.

Dual Onboarding

A dual-onboarding process can cut down on onboarding time, enabling new employees to make an impact faster. This two-pronged approach separates the orientation process from functional onboarding. During orientation, employees learn about the company’s culture, values, policies, and procedures, ensuring they understand the organizational environment. In the functional onboarding phase, new hires receive role-specific training and get acquainted with the tools and resources they will use daily. By distinguishing these components, employees quickly adapt to the company culture while gaining the skills needed for their roles, allowing them to contribute to their teams and projects more rapidly.

Listen to Feedback Consistently

Progress cannot be made without opening the doors to transparent feedback company-wide. Employee engagement surveys can help determine levels of motivation and engagement across the organization, while manager surveys, conducted away from the performance review cycle, enable honest feedback about leaders within the company. Departmental surveys can take inventories of their teams and help strategize for the future. Combining the results of these surveys provides a comprehensive view of employee experience, enabling HR managers to advocate for their employees effectively. Addressing mental health and burnout among developers requires a multifaceted approach. By implementing advanced tools, innovative programs, and open feedback channels, companies can create a healthier, happier, and more productive environment for their employees.

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Becky, please provide a brief overview of your role and expertise within Orium, particularly in assisting commerce and retail brands with their digital transformation journey?

I’m the VP Digital Programs at Orium, which means I’m the executive sponsor for all projects and programs that fall within this line of business. The duties of an executive sponsor on a project or program at Orium involve providing strategic guidance, oversight, and support throughout the project lifecycle, with specific internal and external duties. Here are some key responsibilities of an executive sponsor in this context:

• Program / customer alignment
• Leadership and support to clients, teams and internal stakeholders
• Strategic decision making
• Stakeholder management in programs
• Risk management in programs

What is the role of composable commerce and MACH architecture, and what is its significance in today’s digital transformation landscape?

When digital commerce first emerged, brands operated two separate sales streams: in-store and online. This isn’t the case anymore, and as the where, when and how of commerce experiences has evolved, retailers have started leveraging a MACH approach (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud native, and Headless) to overcome the rigidity of older technology stacks and enable them to serve their customers better.

With the growth of the MACH ecosystem, brands are recognizing the value of a composable approach. Composable architectures mean every component is independent, and they’re brought together in a curated, best-for-me system. This means brands can choose each element of their digital services to best meet their specific business model needs. The realities of modern commerce require brands to be able to respond effectively and efficiently to changes in the marketplace and the ability to custom curate and seamlessly integrate solutions is a core part of how brands will grow and thrive in the future.

What challenges do you believe organizations face when considering a transition to MACH architecture, based on your experience working with various brands?

One of the biggest challenges brands face is understanding how to work within this new paradigm. Monolithic solutions can be overly rigid and limiting, but they do take a lot of the decision-making out of the equation. One of the areas I work most closely with our clients on is helping determine both the what and the how— where do they need new tech today to create or seize opportunities and how should they approach implementation to maximize success.

Accelerators are an extremely effective way for brands to take advantage of the interoperability of a composable architecture while streamlining a lot of the early decision-making and integration. Orium’s Composable Accelerators, for example, provide a pre-integrated framework to operate from, which enables brands to launch on a new system in as few as 6 weeks, without compromising the ability to select the vendors that make the most sense for their unique business needs.

Could you elaborate on the key insights from the “Get MACH Ready” report regarding the importance of understanding the motives behind transitioning to MACH?

Making a move to a new tech stack — and especially to a new approach to how you architect and manage your tech stack — requires complete organizational buy-in. As with any investment, it’s not to be taken lightly. It will change not just the technology, but the ways in which teams are structured and how your organization operates, what skills your team members need and how you think about and approach challenges. Because of that, it is imperative that everyone is bought into the initiative from the start. And to secure that buy-in, you need to be aligned on why this matters.

How will making a move to MACH improve the function of the organization? How will it help teams in their day to day work? What impact will it have on helping everyone meet the strategic goals of the company? Understanding what you’re aiming towards is crucial. It’s often referred to as the “North Star”— that future-state of org-level functionality that means you are able to achieve what you want, how you want, when you want it.

How essential is it for organizations to garner support from all impacted departments before involving the C-suite in the decision-making process, as outlined in the report?

Gaining universal buy-in, especially when people are entrenched in the status quo, can be really challenging. By digging into the challenges of each department and helping them understand how a move to a MACH-based composable architecture can positively affect their day-to-day work and help them achieve what they need to, you can start to build a groundswell of support. The C-Suite, especially the CEO and CFO, are going to be extremely motivated by results that can drive revenue or decrease costs. When you connect directly with impacted departments, you can present real data about what to expect from the improvements that come with MACH.

In your opinion, what are the critical components of building a compelling financial case for transitioning to MACH, and how does it contribute to the success of the overall strategy?

I talk a lot about the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), because I think it’s one of the most critical parts to understand about the move to MACH. With an all-in-one monolith, people have always looked at cost as just the number on the contract. One year of this solution costs X amount of money, the end. But that has always been an overly simplistic view of cost. Understanding things like time to first value and ROI are important, but don’t overlook the impact of efficiency gains. Does your marketing team have the ability to adjust messaging without the support of developers with this new approach? How does that contribute to revenue? Are developers building new features instead of wasting days, weeks, and even months on maintenance and bug fixes with a legacy platform? How does that impact revenue? TCO doesn’t just look at the cost of the solutions, it also looks at the gains, because these things aren’t separate from one another. Even things like employee engagement should be examined— hiring and training new staff because employees are frustrated by a lack of growth opportunities or bad experiences with outdated software is an expensive way to justify keeping your legacy stack, and long term can have a terrible impact on your company culture. It’s all connected and the more you’re able to reinforce the holistic view of the financials, the better.

Could you discuss the significance of talent and change management in the context of transitioning to MACH, and how can organizations effectively address these aspects?

As I noted earlier, switching to a composable architecture isn’t just about the technology. Because technology doesn’t operate itself (at least, not yet…). Ultimately, there are people at every single level who will be working with and impacted by the adoption of this new approach. There will be new skills to be learned and old skills may no longer be relevant. Your team and organizational structures may need to shift. Operational routines, in particular, will change. These are challenging things for people! Change is challenging! But when handled thoughtfully, when planned for and communicated clearly at every stage, this kind of change can present incredible opportunities for growth. Communication is key— listen to the team’s concerns and do your best to address those issues head on. Don’t be afraid to be open and honest throughout the process. These are the people who are going to either embrace or reject your new approach. Why not make it as easy as possible from them to embrace it?

What are the potential pitfalls of implementing MACH architecture out of order, and how can businesses navigate these challenges based on the clear seven-step process outlined in the report?

In any transformation, there are going to be risks. Adopting a MACH approach is no different. Broadly speaking, there are three categories of risk:

• Lack of buy-in
• Lack of planning
• Lack of communication

Buy-in:
I’ve already talked about how important it is to get align around the North Star and garner buy-in before you even commit to making the move to MACH, but this isn’t something that’s done at the outset and then is done forever. Buy-in is an ongoing process. Ensuring you not only get, but maintain, support from the whole team is crucial. Even one or two powerful naysayers can tank a great program, so take the time to check-in regularly, gauge where people are at and how they’re feeling, and address concerns quickly before they become the freight train that has no brakes.

Planning:
It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: you can’t stumble into success here. A transition to a new tech approach is extremely doable, but only if you’ve taken the time and care to do it well. A trusted systems integrator is invaluable in this, as they’ll be able to help you think through what you don’t already know, identify potential areas of concern and roadblocks with your specific circumstances, help you select the solutions that make the most sense for your needs, and guide you through the process of change management. We’ve seen it all before, we can help you, too!

Communication:
Keep, People. Informed. It sounds so simple, but it proves, time and again, to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks for brands. It’s not enough to talk to team members once at the start, or to just tell them what’s happening and not include them in the decision making process. You want and need diverse perspectives to ensure you know where your most pressing issues are up front, and then to know where things are going right, if things are going wrong, and how to fix them. Maintaining stakeholder support only happens with effective communications. Expectation setting, sharing of wins, timeline updates… all of this needs to happen on a set cadence so everyone knows where and when they’ll hear news and have the ability to ask questions. Don’t leave people in the dark.

Following the launch of a MACH implementation, what strategies do you recommend for organizations to monitor and optimize their performance, particularly in terms of metrics and analytics?

Each organization will care about and want to examine different metrics, depending on what they were investing in and focused on, and part of the aligning on a North Star and setting expectations early on process should include identifying key metrics you’ll measure to understand what success looks like. Maybe your experiences had terrible performance in the past and you were losing customers because of that— page load speeds are going to be a key metric to measure. Or maybe you replaced your checkout experience, and you identified average order size and checkout completion rates as the key metrics. The important thing is you examine what matters most and refine your approach if you’re not hitting your benchmarks. When you do, you can move on to focus on other aspects of the experience for improvement, but don’t stop monitoring those key first areas. You want to ensure that once you hit those targets, you keep hitting them and where and when possible, set new targets to work towards.

Lastly, how can organizations ensure they maximize the return on investment (ROI) of their MACH transition, and what ongoing strategies do you suggest for continuous improvement and adaptation?

There are two things I would suggest for getting the most out of your MACH architectures.

1. Monitor and optimize. Just because you improved page load times by 300% doesn’t mean you never need to think about it again. Monitor, refine, check in again. Composable is inherently capable of supporting a strong, cross-platform data infrastructure. Dig into it and find the areas of opportunity!
2. Leverage the experts. The advantage of a composable approach is you have access to support from the people who know search (or checkout, or front-end performance, or order management and inventory oversight… you get the picture) the best! Your SI and the vendors you work with will be able to help you not just use the basic functions of your implementation, but truly take advantage of all the bells and whistles these best of breed vendors have to offer.

The other thing to remember: the whole point of adopting a composable approach is that you get what your business needs, not whatever comes in the box. If something isn’t working for you, you can and should swap it out.

Becky Parisotto

VP, Commerce & Retail Platforms at Orium

ecky Parisotto is the Vice President, Digital Programs at Orium, bringing over 13 years of experience in eCommerce client services and program management to some of the biggest client engagements. With a focus on in-store technology, loyalty programs and customer data activation, Becky’s work supports the future of unified commerce. Orium is focused on large-scale digital composable commerce transformations for the retail space, bringing omni-channel technologies together. Key accounts that Becky works with are Harry Rosen and Princess Auto in Canada, and SiteOne Landscape, Shamrock Foods, in the USA.

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1. Raj, please share key insights into your role as the Founder and CEO of Techwave and your journey contributing to its rapid growth.

As the Founder and CEO of Techwave, my journey has been one of relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation. Steering Techwave from its inception to becoming a global leader in digital transformation services has been both challenging and rewarding. My role has demanded a visionary outlook to foresee industry trends, a strategic mindset to navigate market dynamics, and a people-first approach to leadership. This trifecta has been crucial in contributing to Techwave’s rapid growth. We’ve expanded our global footprint, diversified our service offerings, and nurtured a culture that champions innovation, inclusivity, empathy, and continuous learning. My leadership philosophy has always been about empowering our teams, fostering a collaborative environment, and placing our clients at the center of everything we do.

2. What notable accomplishments has Techwave achieved under your leadership, particularly in terms of expansion, capitalization, and employee engagement initiatives?

Under my stewardship, Techwave has achieved remarkable growth, a testament to our innovative solutions, customer-centric approach, and the dedication of our global workforce. We’ve significantly expanded our presence, now operating with a prominence presence in 11 countries across the globe and serving a diverse client base across industries. Our workforce has grown to over 3000 associates, a reflection of our robust expansion and capitalization strategies.

Our employee engagement initiatives, particularly the SPARK framework, underscore our commitment to creating a vibrant and inclusive work culture. This framework focuses on engaging employees, fostering community engagement, and promoting diversity, which has significantly contributed to our high levels of employee satisfaction and retention.

Our corporate social responsibility efforts, like supporting the Houston Food Bank and participating in Primiethon – The Hope Run, reflect our commitment to making a positive impact in the communities we serve. These initiatives, alongside our accolades such as Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award and the President’s Volunteer Service Award, highlight our achievements in fostering a culture of excellence and community service.

3. How has Techwave positioned itself to stay ahead in a competitive digital landscape?

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, staying ahead requires agility, foresight, and a commitment to innovation. At Techwave, we’ve positioned ourselves at the forefront of digital transformation by continuously investing in emerging technologies and nurturing a culture that embraces change. Our R&D efforts are focused on leveraging AI, machine learning, cloud-native technologies, and blockchain to develop solutions that address our clients’ most complex challenges of today and tomorrow.

We prioritize understanding our clients’ unique needs and market dynamics, which enables us to tailor our solutions for maximum impact. Our approach to innovation is not just about adopting new technologies but integrating them in ways that redefine business processes, enhance customer experiences, and drive sustainable growth.

4. Could you highlight Techwave’s approach to trending topics such as Platform Engineering, Cross Border Payments, and Artificial Intelligence Modelling Language?

Our approach to platform engineering, cross-border payments, and AI modelling language is rooted in our deep industry knowledge and technical expertise. In platform engineering, we focus on building scalable and resilient systems that support our clients’ business strategies. For cross-border payments, we leverage blockchain and other fintech innovations to offer secure, efficient, and compliant solutions. In AI, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with advanced modelling techniques that enhance decision-making and operational efficiencies for our clients.

These areas are critical to our mission of delivering comprehensive digital transformation solutions. By focusing on these domains, we ensure that our clients are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the digital economy.

5. What are the essential core components for a successful omni-channel strategy, and how do they contribute to an integrated customer experience across channels?

A successful omni-channel strategy hinges on seamless integration, personalization, and real-time engagement. At Techwave, we understand that an integrated customer experience across all channels is paramount. We leverage data analytics and AI to gain insights into customer behaviors and preferences, which allows us to deliver personalized experiences. Our technology stack, designed for agility and scalability, supports the seamless integration of various channels, ensuring that our clients can offer their customers a cohesive and engaging experience.

6. How does technology play a critical role in ensuring a seamless digital customer experience through omnichannel integration at Techwave?

Technology is the cornerstone of creating a seamless digital customer experience. At Techwave, we use a combination of cloud computing, AI, and machine learning to ensure that all customer touchpoints are integrated, providing a unified and personalized customer journey. Our investments in technology enable us to automate processes, analyze vast amounts of data, and deliver insights that drive better customer engagement and loyalty.

7. What challenges do businesses typically face during the implementation of omnichannel strategies, and what effective solutions and best practices has Techwave adopted?

Implementing an omni-channel strategy comes with its set of challenges, including data silos, platform integration, and maintaining a consistent brand experience. At Techwave, we tackle these challenges head-on by employing a holistic approach that includes robust data management practices, leveraging cloud-native technologies for flexibility and scalability, and adopting a customer-centric mindset that informs all our strategic decisions.

8. Can you provide insights into how Techwave navigates the complex landscape of Cross Border Payments and its approach to ensuring success in this area?

The complexity of cross-border payments requires a nuanced approach that balances efficiency, compliance, and security. At Techwave, we employ the latest in fintech innovations, including blockchain, to streamline the process while ensuring adherence to global regulatory standards. Our expertise in financial technologies enables us to design payment solutions that are not only secure but also enhance the customer experience by reducing transaction times and costs.

9. In terms of Enterprise Digital Services, how does Techwave drive innovation in a competitive climate, combining technical knowledge and breakthrough analytics?

Innovation is at the heart of Techwave’s strategy for enterprise digital services. We combine our deep technical knowledge with insights from data analytics to develop solutions that anticipate market trends and meet our clients’ evolving needs. Our commitment to R&D, along with a culture that encourages experimentation and learning, allows us to stay ahead of the curve and deliver cutting-edge solutions that drive value for our clients.

10. What emerging trends and innovations do you anticipate in the digital customer experience and omnichannel integration, and how is Techwave preparing to adopt them proactively?

The future of digital customer experience is likely to be shaped by advances in AI, augmented reality, IoT, and other emerging technologies. At Techwave, we are actively exploring these technologies to understand how they can enhance the omni-channel experience. We are particularly focused on how AI and machine learning can further personalize customer interactions, making them more engaging and effective. Our proactive approach to adopting these technologies ensures that we are ready to integrate them into our solutions, keeping our clients ahead in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

In conclusion, as we navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape, our commitment at Techwave remains unwavering: to deliver innovative solutions that drive growth, enhance customer experiences, and contribute positively to our communities. Our achievements and our approach to the future reflect our dedication to being a leader in digital transformation, poised to meet the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. With focus on employee well-being, community service, and continuous learning underscores my vision for Techwave to be a leader not just in technology, but in creating a sustainable and inclusive future.

Raj Gummadapu

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Techwave

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Techwave Raj Gummadapu is a visionary enterprise transformation leader with over 20 years of experience in the IT & engineering solutions business. With his inherent dynamism and deep people-first approach to work, Raj has been instrumental in leading Techwave’s expansion and diversifying its strength across multiple growth avenues.

He has been instrumental in inculcating a strong client focus and developing various business solutions that would enable organizations to harness the potential of a data-driven, digital future. He is strongly motivated by his desire to make digitalization accessible to enterprises across the world and empower them with powerful, secure and affordable tech solutions.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Techwave, Raj has been enabling Techwave to rise as a leading global digital transformation partner by expanding its robust service offerings, delivery strength and customer-focused innovation. He has played an instrumental role in laying the foundation of Techwave’s client-driven approach to business and fostered a culture of diversity and learning in the company. Previously, he has held key leadership positions in companies like Sysco & Deloitte and has led the charge for Business Intelligence and Performance Management Practices. Raj has earned his Bachelor of Commerce from the prestigious Osmania University in Hyderabad, India. He then went on to become a Chartered Accountant with the premier Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and holds the title of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). With his strong finance background, Raj seamlessly infuses his business acumen and multidisciplinary thinking to develop holistic solutions for customers and partners at large.

The post AITech Interview with Raj Gummadapu, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Techwave first appeared on AI-Tech Park.

Sean, can you introduce yourself to our audience and share the inspiration behind founding Blink?

I’m Sean and I am the co-founder and CEO of Blink, the super-app for frontline workers. Blink brings all the benefits of digital connection to the frontline worker – bringing everyone and everything together, closing the connection gap that exists between desk-based and frontline colleagues. Our app gives employees a single entry point to everything they need to support their working life – communications, productivity tools, people and processes, all through one app on their phones.

Blink was born out of challenges I experienced at a former company of mine. A large proportion of our workforce was remote and met only occasionally for quick company updates. I noticed that so many team members were struggling to feel connected to each other and their team leaders, and the entire culture suffered as a result.

I made it my aim to change that experience and, after listening to what my colleagues said would genuinely have the most impact, set about creating technology that would deliver meaningful, positive change to workers’ roles.

This turned out to be the very first iteration of Blink. And while there were a few bumps in the road getting our tech to hit the mark, we eventually nailed our proposition and target market, and quickly won our first major client, launching to 24,000 workers at Stagecoach, in 2019. 

Blink extends the digital revolution to every worker – so everyone feels connected, but also allows companies to digitise their entire end-to-end operations – lowering costs and increasing staff satisfaction. It’s true win-win.

Today, we serve more than 300 leading frontline-first companies like Domino’s, Tonkotsu, Saint Luke’s Hospital, Elara Caring and Falck Ambulance.

What’s the overarching vision that drives Blink’s mission and development?

Our mission is to create connected workforces in which everyone thrives. Put simply, that means helping frontline-centric companies to become better and more effective places to work, which is precisely what they need to do to become a more successful company overall.

Culture and productivity are the top priorities for most CEOs – Blink directly transforms both for the largest part of the workforce.

Technology is the driving force behind making this possible – and by harnessing tech that is specifically designed with frontline workers in mind, we can continue to improve the working lives of individuals the world over. That is the vision that gets me out of bed every morning. 

What benefits do companies gain from utilizing Blink’s product?

Frontline workers face numerous different challenges on a daily basis: isolation, working in silos, a lack of connectivity and collaboration, no direct channel of communication with their superiors, limited access to flexible working, no meaningful way to share feedback or ask for support, outdated reporting and forms – the list goes on. Blink puts all this – and a lot more – in the palm of their hands. Taking away huge amounts of friction, frustration and cost by simplifying how people work.

For example, by offering single sign-on, mobile-enabled access to all critical tech applications, we greatly improve accessibility and uptake. We allow employers to build easy-to-access content hubs so workers can access important information and resources whenever they need it. We replace paper trails with simple and intuitive mobile forms, helping employees improve efficiency, and we eradicate convoluted IT support tickets so that time-poor workers are not put off asking for assistance. Secure mobile-first chats facilitate better communication, while mandatory reads can ensure employees don’t inadvertently delete important updates. 

All of these tools – which are available through our super-app – help ensure frontline employees’ needs are being met and that they are valued and respected by their employers, something which can have a transformative impact on company culture, leading to greater productivity, higher retention rates and overall business growth. 

Can you highlight some distinctive features that define Blink’s platform? How does Blink distinguish itself from competitors in the market?

First, this is about simplicity. You won’t find a better mobile-experience in the enterprise. We’re the only platform to bring together all the elements workers need, and securely make them available through one app.

Another thing that makes Blink unique is our ability to collate a vast array of data points on a company’s workforce – such as how its existing technology, systems and tools are used by frontline workers – and how staff are feeling and behaving. We bring all this together with turnover data, cohort analysis and even new-joiner surveys, to tell leaders exactly what they can do to improve their operations.

What are some prevalent pain points customers approach Blink with?

It’s interesting because so often customers come to us and say they have an ‘engagement’ problem – but they struggle to put their finger on what that problem actually is or how they can address it. All they know is that their teams feel disjointed and dissatisfied, which is ultimately impacting their overall culture and performance. 

And yet, when I talk to frontline workers, no one tells me they want to feel more ‘engaged’ at work. What I do hear them say is that they want to feel more involved, have more transparency and more autonomy. They want to feel that their employer understands their needs and has their back – even if they’re not physically seeing them on a day-to-day basis. 

But they also want more convenience – by providing convenient and easy to use technology people feel more valued and empowered.

It seems to be that ‘employee engagement’, at least for frontline workers, has been misunderstood to be mainly about culture initiatives, when actually it’s largely about how people interact day-to-day with the company.

And in most cases, there’s no single issue to blame. It’s a combination of factors – poor communication, outdated processes, a lack of 360 feedback – that lead to an overall sense of frontline disconnection and discontent. So what Blink does is take all the challenges and pain points felt by frontline workers, and provides technology-driven solutions that ease these points of tension.

How do you anticipate AI influencing employee engagement in the future? Which areas do you foresee being most affected?

Perhaps one day we’ll all be working for an AI boss – one that knows how we like to be managed, how we like to work and is able to get the best from us? In the short term, every part of the employee lifecycle will be improved with AI – from better hiring, smoother on-boarding, easier access to information, better performance analysis, training, fairer pay – you’ll see every software company improve their products and services using AI.

Matching supply and demand of work is another area we’re already seeing AI make a big impact – so companies have the people they need, and workers get access to working patterns that suit them.

We’re already able to target communication – time, channel, language – to the right person at the right time. We’re already seeing AI-generated video that is able to read news updates in any language. This will become an extension of the employer brand and you’ll see companies invest in their ‘avatar’ with just the right tone of voice.

For us individually, the most noticeable short-term benefit will probably be around information retrieval, summarisation and assistants – that enable everyone to be more effective at their jobs.

For me, I’d really like to see an AI coach – who can monitor my work, interactions, colleague feedback, and help me become a better CEO. If everyone had a coach who could teach us things and help us be more effective, that would be pretty impressive.

What are your predictions for how work will shift over the next few years?”

We’re going to continue to see a rise in the status, pay and demand for frontline workers. As a society, over the past 50 years we’ve over-rotated towards academic qualifications and desk-based work. The AI-powered productivity gains for desk-based workers, at the same time as a shortage of frontline workers – nurses, hospitality, electricians – will mean many people will be better off financially if they learn a trade or new qualification in a frontline industry.

This power-shift will also drive a culture change in frontline organisations – with a focus more on the workers, and the organisation existing to serve those who serve its customers. This means more transparency, more empowerment and more inclusivity.

For desk-based workers, I’m a fan of the adage that AI won’t take your job – someone who knows how to leverage AI will take your job. So we’ll see an acceleration of those who are most adept at using technology getting ahead at work.

Lastly, could you offer a preview of upcoming product upgrades that your customers can anticipate?

We’re injecting AI into every aspect of our system – from content creation through to predictive analytics that will be able to foresee when and why workers might leave, and even suggest training for managers to help prevent this happening. We’re looking at using AI to create personalized video, summarise data, answer questions and end the need for lengthy forms. We’re delivering content in people’s native language and personalising the experience based on people’s working hours, location, role, and much more. We’re looking at how we can match people to shifts intelligently, and how we can be the CEO-coach that helps leaders improve their operations based on our unique view of the entire employee experience. Our position with a view over the end-to-end employee lifecycle has given us a unique perspective and unique data set that we are now leveraging.

Sean Nolan

CEO and co-founder, Blink

Driven by his early encounters with remote work challenges, Boston-based CEO Sean Nolan co-founded Blink in 2014. This all-in-one “super-app” empowers frontline workers with the digital tools, connections, and resources they need on their personal phones. Blink bridges the gap between management and millions of individuals across industries, from bus drivers to healthcare workers, fostering engagement, belonging, and a 26% reduction in staff turnover. With over 300 clients, and used seven times daily by 300,000+ workers, Blink is revolutionizing the frontline experience, one tap at a time.

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Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Role of AI in the Workplace for Employees Mental Wellbeing
2. Building an AI-powered Employee Mental Well-being Workplace
Final Words

Introduction 

In this demanding work environment, employee mental health is gradually becoming an important subject of focus for organizations. Therefore, it is essential to create a positive environment beyond personal satisfaction, which directly influences overall productivity, success, and engagement in the workplace. 

Looking at the current scenario, addressing mental health assistance for employees is not merely an ethical duty for employers but also a fundamental factor in designing a happy and productive team. This is where AI-powered answers all your questions by playing the virtual assistant role regarding mental health. 

In today’s exclusive AI Tech Park article, we will show how AI can be an influential supporter in promoting a healthier and more supportive work environment. 

1. Role of AI in the Workplace for Employees Mental Wellbeing

According to a government-backed Labour Force Survey, it was observed that the total number of issues of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety was registered by around 602,000 employees, resulting in a loss of 12.8 million working days. This disengagement among employees resulted in companies losing more than $1 trillion in revenue each year. 

Read more: Embracing Digital Solutions for Workplace Mental Wellness 

Therefore, with AI, employers can open new paths for improving mental health and well-being in the workplace. When used wisely, AI offers valuable tools and aids to sustain employees by controlling stress and anxiety and preserving a positive work-life balance.

Read more: The Evolution of AI-Powered Wearables in the Reshaping Healthcare Sector 

For instance, the new-age AI-powered assistants can be used to communicate with employees, offering support and guidance whenever needed, as these can detect signs of mental health distress and proactively reach out to assist those dealing with mental block or depression.

Read more: Changing Workplace Dynamics With Occupational Safety and Health Software Programs 

2. Building an AI-powered Employee Mental Well-being Workplace 

In the middle of an overtime epidemic and excessive workloads, AI can help individuals prioritize their work schedules. This technology can learn about a person’s job role and will be able to recommend the order in which they should tackle tasks and projects, with a central focus on their well-being. 

For instance, a lack of employee engagement causes work-related mental health issues that occur often due to tedious and demoralizing work, rising stress levels, and work overload. However, by implementing AI in the workplace, employers can customize employees’ roles and needs, as this technology can take on employees’ daily tasks, removing unnecessary distractions and mundane, unfulfilling work.

Read more: Revolutionizing Mental Healthcare with Artificial Intelligence – AI-TechPark 

By implementing AI-powered wearables for employees, employers can detect the early signs of mental health challenges such as depression, burnout, and stress. Further contributing to employees’s mental health, AI algorithms can suggest personalized training and skill improvement sessions. 

Final Words 

There is no doubt that AI in the workplace is here to stay, and if implemented adequately and with a positive intention, it could play a huge role in employees’ mental health. In the coming years, there might be obstacles related to privacy concerns, but AI will also ensure that workers are comfortable at their workplace and will accept various monitoring levels. Therefore, for a seamless AI interaction, it is important to adhere to workplace protocols to ensure that this technology is safe and relevant for employees with a proper understanding of its dos and don’ts. 

Explore AITechPark for top AI, IoT, Cybersecurity advancements, And amplify your reach through guest posts and link collaboration.

The post Confronting Workplace Anxiety with AI-powered Mental Health Strategies first appeared on AI-Tech Park.

Table of contents

Introduction

1. Role of Generative AI in Event Planning

2. Implementing Generative AI in Party Planning

2.1. Identifying Party Goals

2.2. Gathering Essential Party Details

2.3. Guest Management

2.4. Venue Selection and Decoration

2.5. AI-Powered Food and Drink Suggestions

Conclusion

Introduction

The holiday season is approaching, and companies are eager to organize events for employees that provide opportunities to celebrate their achievements and foster a sense of friendship. However, with the help of generative AI, event planning companies can easily arrange next-level holiday parties that will create an unforgettable employee experience for their clients in years to come.

Before we dive into how generative AI has the potential to revolutionize company holiday parties, let’s get a brief understanding of this cutting-edge technology. Generative AI uses machine learning (ML) algorithms to generate creative and new content like art, text, or music, which enables the event planner’s computer to automatically produce content based on existing patterns and make perfect tools to enhance party planning and experiences.

In this article, we will explore the role of generative AI in event planning and how you can implement it properly this virtual holiday season.

1. Role of Generative AI in Event Planning

While artificial intelligence (AI) has already established itself in numerous industries, it has potential in event planning and management as well. Thus, generative AI in event planning and management came as a savior to understanding patterns and preferences to make unique and creative design experiences that cater to the needs and desires of customers. So, with generative AI, event organizers can ensure that from food to entertainment to music suggestions, every aspect is tailored.

Generative AI can also analyze past event data, including feedback, engagement, patterns and trends, and attendee preferences. Based on this data, the AI model can recommend various aspects of the party, like venues, interactive activities, popular drinks and food choices, and personalized social activities for different attendees.

2. Implementing Generative AI in Party Planning

Hosting a holiday party can have a significant impact on your client’s satisfaction and their company culture. For companies hosting parties, this is an ideal opportunity for employee engagement, boosting their morale, and celebrating functions like Christmas and the New Year together in a stress-free environment.

So, with the help of generative AI, event planners can plan and set the right tone for the party. Here are a few key aspects to look for when implementing generative AI in party planning:

2.1. Identifying Party Goals

To boost the morale of employees and strengthen team unity, event planners must identify party goals to make important decisions; for this, you can depend on generative AI to meet these objectives.

Generative AI can create a positive and joyful atmosphere where clients can relax and have fun. To strengthen team unity, generative AI suggests team-building activities and interactive games during these holiday parties. By using generative AI, you can leverage technology to enhance the overall Christmas theme party experience.

2.2. Gathering Essential Party Details

While generative AI can assist with many aspects of party planning, it is essential to have a solid foundation before diving into artificial intelligence (AI)-powered event management tools and applications.

Once the goal of the party is established, event planners can move ahead in gathering essential party details, which include party date, budget, venues, and the use of fun technologies like AI chatbots for interactive conversations or VR and AR technologies for virtual tours of the party or gaming sessions.

These objectives can be accomplished effortlessly with the help of generative AI, which not only assists in finding venues according to your criteria but also helps in making the whole process efficient and streamlined.

2.3. Guest Management

One of the most time-consuming aspects of planning a party is managing the guest list and RSVPs. Generative AI can automate the process by analyzing the attendance data of previous parties and generating personalized invitations and reminders for each valuable employee.

AI is one step ahead when it comes to handling tedious tasks like sending invitations and following up with RSVPs. This technology not only saves time and effort but also helps in focusing on other essential tasks.

2.4. Venue Selection and Decoration

The choice of decor and venue play a pivotal role in setting an energetic and comfortable environment for a company’s virtual holiday party. Generative AI comes as a savior in selecting the right venue based on numerous factors like capacity, budget, and ambiance.

Talking about decorations, by inputting your clients’ preferences and the desired theme, AI algorithms can generate innovative ideas for different design concepts. The AI algorithm can also create a virtual simulation of how the venue may look with various decorations and themes, allowing them to make informed decisions.

2.5. AI-Powered Food and Drink Suggestions

Holiday parties are incomplete without delicious food and refreshing drinks; however, using generative AI, you can take your menu to new heights. The AI algorithms can analyze the preferences and attitudes of the clients, along with allergies, personal preferences, and cultural backgrounds, to create a menu that will satisfy and impress all the attendees.

Conclusion

To embrace AI-driven virtual holiday parties in the future, it is important to foster innovation and learning within event planning organizations. This encourages your employees to explore new technologies and share their ideas for incorporating AI into different aspects in the future.

As AI technology advances, we can expect to see even more innovative applications in event planning and management. With generative AI, you can generate event themes or create AR experiences; the possibilities are endless.

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The post Make Your 2023 Holiday Party Extraordinary With Generative AI first appeared on AI-Tech Park.

Kindly brief us about yourself and your role as the Co-Founder & CEO at Leena AI.

Ever since I was a child, I found immense pleasure in creating new things with my own hands, from Legos with friends to electrical circuits for school projects. I loved how things would come to life and add value to everyone around me. I’ve always had a creative mindset, and that played heavily into my wanting to be an entrepreneur. Throughout my IIT-Delhi days, I had been building and creating, whether in tech fests, competitions, or computer algorithm assignments and trying to figure out ways to make people’s lives easier and better. 

Over time, I realized that I wanted to utilize my creative mindset to find solutions and establish the next best thing that the world needed. That is one specific thing that has kept me going and even led me to build Leena AI. 

I have seen Leena AI scale through from a three-person team working from each other’s apartments to more than 300 people globally today. It has been an extremely enriching journey, replete with learning and growth. The one thing that has stayed constant for all of us at Leena AI is our hunger for growth – both individually and as a team. Our passion continues to be wanting to add value to people’s lives and helping our own team grow personally, as well as professionally. 

Can you provide an overview of Leena AI and its core offerings in the field of artificial intelligence?

Leena AI is an AI work assistant designed for modern enterprises. We recently launched our own large language model, WorkLM, which empowers enterprises worldwide to redefine how employees engage with work, delivering a transformative impact on productivity and efficiency.

WorkLM, built on our breakthrough language model architecture, possesses an unparalleled predictive text generation capability, producing human-like responses in context. This further empowers employees with a versatile toolset to accomplish tasks with exceptional precision and speed, unlocking unprecedented levels of productivity and efficiency.

We also seamlessly integrate with 1,000+ applications, including SAP, Salesforce, ServiceNow, ADP, Oracle, Workday, and Microsoft Office 365. Our solutions have been successfully deployed across 90+ countries, serving over 400+ customers, including leading enterprises such as Nestlé, Puma, Coca-Cola, Sony, and Etihad Airways, to name a few.

What specific applications of AI does Leena AI focus on, and how do they benefit businesses and organizations?

Our solutions are powered by Generative AI, and our proprietary large language model, WorkLM, has been built especially for enterprise employee experience. It harnesses our breakthrough language model architecture to provide an unparalleled predictive text generation capability, resulting in human-like responses. 

The specific applications include:

• Intelligent Virtual Assistant: WorkLM can underpin a smart virtual assistant capable of understanding and executing complex tasks, managing multi-turn conversations, and providing real-time information.
• Handling Complex Commands Across Multiple Systems: WorkLM can interpret and execute complex commands across multiple systems and knowledge sources, intelligently building workflows on the fly to streamline operations.
• Identifying Knowledge Gaps and Creating Knowledge: WorkLM can identify knowledge gaps within an organization and generate knowledge from existing non-standard sources such as ticket resolutions and emails.
• Intelligent Robotic Process Automation (RPA): WorkLM, integrated with RPA, can enhance efficiency and effectiveness by understanding and automating routine tasks.
• Business Intelligence from Enterprise Data: WorkLM can analyze extensive enterprise data to provide actionable business intelligence, facilitating data-driven decisions.
• Helpdesk Intelligence: WorkLM can enhance the capabilities of a helpdesk by providing accurate responses and solutions to a wide array of queries and issues, thereby reducing resolution times and improving customer satisfaction.
• Text Analysis: WorkLM can mine insights from large volumes of text data, performing tasks such as identifying trends, sentiment analysis, or extracting specific information.
• Email Auto-completion: WorkLM can provide contextually relevant suggestions for email drafting, improving communication efficiency.
• Document Generation: WorkLM can generate reports, meeting minutes, and other types of documents based on specific requirements, translating complex instructions into high-quality, human-like text.
• Human-like Autonomous Agents: WorkLM can drive autonomous agents that handle a variety of low-value tasks within an enterprise, freeing human resources for more strategic endeavors.

How does Leena AI ensure data privacy and security in its AI-powered products and services?

Since our solutions are powered by our own large language model, WorkLM, it allows us to protect our clients’ data as we are not required to share it with any third party. We are also SOC2-certified and GDPR-compliant. 

Can you share any examples or case studies where Leena AI has successfully implemented its AI solutions to solve real-world business challenges?

While there are many examples, I would like to point out one with UHA Health Insurance. One of the primary challenges they faced was the lack of a robust platform to drive real-time engagement and collect employee feedback. It was also difficult for them to get employees’ pulse, especially when remote working became the norm during the pandemic.

At the time, employee engagement became more daunting with extended lockdowns, forcing employees to work remotely. UHA saw remote work as the ideal time to take an agile engagement approach to get a holistic view of employee engagement. While there were many online surveys to choose from, Leena AI’s innovative and interactive survey caught UHA’s attention. Our customizable avatar, easy integration prowess for easy deployment, bank of questions to choose from, a team of subject matter experts to consult with, and analytics to understand their employee pulse better made for a great solution for UHA.

After partnering with Leena AI, UHA noticed that more than 75% of UHA’s associates participated in the pulse survey, along with thousands of qualitative comments and feedback, making it a successful engagement partnership.

Additionally, our smart sentiment analysis technology analyzed thousands of associates’ comments to help identify what’s actually working well and what needs improvement. UHA was able to identify the problem areas and add them to its business plan for the coming year. 

In your opinion, what are the key challenges and opportunities in the AI industry today, and how is Leena AI positioned to address them?

The biggest opportunities we see today are, how can we use virtual assistants in enterprises to elevate employees from doing repetitive, mundane work, and free their time so they can add strategic value to the business. 

For example, our client Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam, with a workforce of over 4,000 employees meant that on any given day, the HR executives would receive numerous employee queries within the organization ranging from leave status, medical insurance, payroll, etc. This took valuable time for the HR team to sign off multiple employee approvals. Moreover, as per company policy, approval from the CEO or the Director was necessary to clear high-value travel requests. Since most of these requests were urgent in nature, the CEO and the Director had to allocate a significant amount of time for approvals. Needless to say, the task was repetitive and monotonous.

Essentially, they needed a platform that could help them automate the resolution of queries and employee processes at the same time. Additionally, the platform had to act as the linchpin for the current systems that were operating in isolation. Leena AI’s conversational platform fit the bill perfectly and worked as an effective single platform for accessing all the information while interacting with the employees seamlessly.

We created a single communication interface for employees by integrating the existing systems of SAP, Salesforce, the local attendance system, and other internal software. We also integrated with Workplace by Facebook, which was already in use by the company, to prevent the set-up and training of a new application. We witnessed over a 40% reduction in time for approving employee requests as well as a 50% reduction in the employees’ time to access relevant company information.

What are the key factors that organizations should consider when implementing AI solutions, and how does Leena AI support its clients throughout the implementation process?

A lot of the time CXOs want to implement AI because it seems like the next cool thing to do. But that actually is not a good enough reason. Instead, Organizations should identify specific problems and accordingly seek an AI-powered solution. Once they reach that stage, they should ideally do a trial basis or a pilot with their vendor of choice, post which they can scale it across the organization.

At Leena AI we follow a similar process. We customize our solutions based on our client’s needs. So we begin by auditing their existing processes and analyzing their tickets and building solutions accordingly. We typically start with one solution and then scale it along the way. After approximately nine months we do another deep dive and conduct another audit to identify whether any changes need to be made.

How does Leena AI ensure continuous improvement and adaptation of its AI models to stay up-to-date with evolving technology and business needs?

Most of our AI development and improvement is based on the specific requirements of our customers. Therefore, we take these factors into consideration, which further forms our product roadmap. 

Are there any ethical considerations that Leena AI takes into account when developing and deploying AI solutions?

There are three crucial factors we consider: The first is ensuring that our Generative-AI powered solutions deliver correct responses, i.e. those that are ethical and moral. In order to ensure this, we run two models simultaneously so we can fact-check every response to every prompt. There is WorkLM, which has a learning capacity of seven billion parameters, and a smaller model of 2.5 billion parameters. We test every response across both parameters and once they deliver the same response, we have the guarantee that they are both correct and in alignment. 

The second factor we take into consideration is drawing a line on the kind of decisions AI should and should not be able to make. 

Finally, the third factor is protecting employees and their jobs. Some of our solutions can potentially take over people’s jobs, and so, before deploying such products, we have a discussion with our clients on the learning and development of their respective employees. This can be through upskilling, reskilling, inter-departmental functions, and so on. We are working on creating a practice around this, to advise all our customers and the industry at large to manage the socio-economic impact. 

What advice would you give the budding entrepreneur aspiring to venture into the AI space?

It is an ever-changing space! Their focus should be on fundamentals such as understanding algorithmic design or learning languages such as Python, which is important in this industry. Essentially one can learn best practices through hands-on experience, so I would advise them to try new things as much as possible since most of the frameworks are open-source today. 

That said, building something is only one aspect, but production is another ball game altogether. For example, having a seven billion parameter model is easy, but running it successfully in production is a challenge. Therefore, I would recommend that organizations focus on building constantly while simultaneously figuring out the production aspect i.e. taking their respective products to the market.

Adit Jain

Co-founder, and CEO at Leena AI

Adit, an IIT-Delhi grad, and Y-Combinator alumni, brings a deep understanding of HR needs for an exceptional employee experience. With experience at EY and IIM Lucknow, Adit embarked on his entrepreneurial journey with Chatteron in 2015. Transitioning to Leena AI, inspired by a study on Chatteron’s profitability, he never looked back.

Adit draws inspiration from books like “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel, “Founders at Work” by Jessica Livingston, and “Good to Great” by James C. Collins. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? “Just do it.” Taking action and persevering increases your chances of success, despite failures and necessary pivots along the way.

Adit’s accomplishments include being featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 US and Canada list for Enterprise Technology.

The post AITech Interview with Adit Jain, Co-Founder & CEO at Leena AI first appeared on AI-Tech Park.