Capital One Canada is using artificial intelligence to assist with administrative tasks and appointing champions for good AI use in different parts of its business, but certain skills will always require a human touch, says Susan Zettergren, the company’s chief people officer.
“Like many organizations, we want to get the most we can out of AI. We’re a financial services organization so we’re dealing with people’s money, and we take that very seriously. So we have a well-managed, structured approach when considering how and where we use AI for customers, for the different roles we have within our team [and around talent management].”
The financial services organization is working to showcase good-use cases within different departments, because the way HR uses AI would presumably be different than someone who’s in a software engineering role, notes Zettergren.
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“Within different areas we have people that are champions for thinking about AI use, trying out new cases, perfecting those things and then scaling it to the people that can use it and learn from it. We’re encouraging a growth mindset and a learning environment where there’s some central structure [and] some central risk management built in, and then people have the ability to experiment within those bounds, so they can get comfortable with it and then apply it to more [aspects] of the work they do.”
However, human skills like judgment, adaptability and collaboration are becoming more valuable as AI takes on the routine tasks, she adds. “Those are skills you absolutely need a human for. If you’re taking out things that are administrative or repetitive, what’s left are the more complex, problem-solving related tasks. Also with leadership, leading or influencing others for the best possible outcomes, [a human needs to do that].”
Zettergren notes early-career talent seems to be especially vulnerable to anxiety around AI because it’s often being used to replace basic tasks in most entry-level roles. Employers can help resolve this anxiety by teaching them more complex skills from the beginning.
“We do hire a lot of early-career talent at Capital One, and . . . we double down on those soft skills, but we also start working on more complex problem-solving skills right away to help them grow quickly. They need to get in the door and have experiences that let them contribute and develop those valuable human skills. That’s going to put them in a position where they can use AI for better outcomes, but in conjunction with the things they bring as a critical thinker.”
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