Tag: Workplace

Australia – Australian companies are increasingly prioritising AI literacy, with 9 out of 10 organisations actively investing in developing this critical skill across their teams, a study by Seismic revealed. 

This trend is driven by the fact that 83% of go-to-market (GTM) leaders believe AI will revolutionise their industry within the next five years. Additionally, an impressive 91% of GTM leaders predict that integrating AI into their strategies will lead to a 21% revenue increase during the same period.

In response, companies are intensifying efforts to build AI literacy across their teams. Notably, Australian businesses are leading the charge, prioritising AI education more than their counterparts in the US, UK, France, and Germany.

The study found that a significant number of GTM leaders have already rolled out AI-focused training initiatives, with 77% targeting current employees and 76% extending these programs to new hires. Australian chief revenue and sales officers are particularly ahead, with 86% actively upskilling their existing workforce in AI competencies.

Additionally, most respondents have introduced custom AI training programs tailored to generational learning styles, underscoring that education will be as vital to success as the AI technology itself.

The rollout of AI-focused initiatives comes as GTM leaders plan to boost technology investments by nearly 20% by 2025, despite ongoing scepticism around AI. In fact, the study found that 94% of respondents identified AI advancements as a key driver of increased investment. This surge is largely fuelled by new AI features that provide deeper insights into ROI, with 87% citing the ability to clearly demonstrate the impact of enablement as a major factor behind this push.

However, despite growing interest in AI investment, adoption challenges remain. The study revealed that less than half (41%) of respondents cited financial constraints, likely influenced by current economic conditions, as a major barrier to implementing AI-powered solutions.

Generational differences in leadership also present significant challenges, with half of the respondents indicating that these disparities hinder efforts to secure buy-in for new technologies. Additionally, 50% noted that the term “AI” carries a stigma, causing nearly 43% to refrain from using it in official communications, even when AI solutions are being implemented.

Despite challenges, the study revealed a prevailing sense of optimism, with 88% of respondents anticipating greater acceptance of AI across all generations within the next five years. Furthermore, 69% expect this reliance on AI to continue growing over the coming year.

Romain Brun, director of business operations at CybelAngel, said, “This data certainly confirms the vision of enablement becoming a more strategic function. AI decreases time on tactical and time-consuming tasks for enablement professionals to focus more on being strategic partners for the business. With technology evolving and blending different functions of enablement, enablement investments are now seen by leadership as a comprehensive and strategic driver for results across the entire organisation.” 

“Enablement teams have become increasingly influential, driving strategic change and leveraging AI to optimise their processes and initiatives within their organisations—earning them a seat at the table with their GTM leadership and C-suite,” said Paige O’Neill, chief marketing officer at Seismic. 

“The data is clear: if businesses are not looking to enablement technology to shorten the buying cycle and keep pace with customer expectations, they will be left behind. Thriving in today’s dynamic market requires agility and adaptability, which enablement leaders are delivering in spades thanks to AI-powered technology like Seismic,” O’Neill added. 

Singapore – The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) has launched an integrated campaign that shows a basic truth: workplace discrimination exists and must not be tolerated. It is up to everyone to eradicate workplace discrimination by changing their mindsets and seeing people for their potential.

A film that explores the applicability of prejudice in the workplace and in society at large is part of the “Update Our Mindset” initiative. The film refutes this idea by showing prejudice in the workplace in a variety of contexts and forms, and it advises viewers to change their perspectives in order to overcome their prejudices.

The mnemonic, which was inspired by the “update” image for software upgrades, stands for the necessity of changing attitudes in order to create inclusive and equitable workplaces. This catchphrase can be seen in a variety of contexts, including social media, lift lobbies, brand films, and out-of-home (OOH) advertisements.

Speaking about the campaign, Lorraine Audrey Paul, assistant director, marketing communications, TAFEP, said, “Workplace discrimination really impacts our morale and productivity, but I believe we can change that. Let’s start by addressing our biases, updating our mindsets, and start seeing each other for our merits. We began with the campaign ‘Know It to End It,’ this follow-up campaign will continue to build on that foundation.”

Meanwhile, Tay Guan Hin, creative chairman, BBDO Singapore, stated, “We wanted to create something memorable that resonates with Singaporeans. Addressing a sensitive topic, we strategically used the “update” icon to encourage employees and employers to read more about workplace discrimination and take action on their part.”

Singapore – Around 82% of brands using AI to streamline workflows and automate content generation have experienced increased operational efficiency, market research by CleverTap revealed. 

CleverTap’s market research found that more than half, or 64%, of respondents use AI to build personalised experiences and content resonating with individual preferences at scale with real-time experimentation for optimal engagement. 

Meanwhile, 39% have leveraged AI for automated decision-making and taking more informed decisions by analysing large volumes of data, predicting outcomes, and strategizing for the next best action. 

The research further revealed that 54% of respondents have actually achieved faster content generation and campaign rollout with AI. 

In terms of adoption of AI by teams within a brand, 71.4% of respondents highlighted that AI capabilities are most extensively utilised by content teams, underscoring the pivotal role AI plays in content generation. 

Growth marketing teams follow at 57.1%, demonstrating a strong use of AI in strategizing and expanding marketing efforts. Central marketing and product teams also integrate AI into their operations, though to a lesser extent.

CleverTap found that brands today miss out on 4x higher conversions and improved business value due to inefficient AI adoption. This is why the all-in-one engagement platform recommends that brands in the early stages of AI adoption should strive to advance to more advanced levels. This progression involves transitioning from utilising AI solely for operational efficiency to harnessing it for personalisation, experimentation, and ultimately, strategic planning and decision-making.

Commenting on the report, Jacob Joseph, VP of data science at CleverTap, said, “AI is the catalyst reshaping every facet of today’s brands—from optimising operations and enriching customer engagement to revolutionising decision-making. The insights highlighted in our 2024 market research report offer a great strategic approach for brands at the initial stages of AI adoption. They should aim to progress, gain maturity, and achieve significant improvements in conversion rates and business value. After all, AI in customer engagement or in a tech stack is no longer just an enhancement but a necessity for a competitive advantage while addressing evolving customer expectations.”

Philippines – Chowking, the Chinese-themed restaurant chain under Jollibee Group, has issued a statement responding to the recent viral TikTok video showing one of its staff roaming outside of the restaurant branch just to meet her quota for the day. 

According to the uploader of the viral video, the staff is from Chowking SM Ecoland in Davao City, and is taking orders outside of the restaurant to meet her quota since the sales of the branch was “going slow.”

The staff also stated that during these trips, she would often shell out money for transport from her own expenses, often commuting back and forth to deliver the orders that she gets. 

In response to this, Chowking said that they are taking this matter seriously by instructing the store to place activities such as outside-of-store order taking on hold, as well as reviewing store guidelines to ensure that ethical standards are met.

Moreover, Chowking also said that the staff who was featured in the viral video remains as a valued employee of the store. 

“At Chowking, upholding ethical standards in conducting business is a core commitment, and the safety and well-being of our team members remain our top priority,” concluded Chowking in their statement.

Currently, the viral video has garnered over 3 million views as well as multiple sentiments from netizens online, calling it exploitation with claims of these employees being overworked and underpaid as well as expressing concern over the safety of these employees who go out of their way to take orders and deliver food themselves. 

San Francisco – Job and company insight agency Glassdoor has refreshed its brand identity and product experience to emphasize the power of workplace conversations as well as fostering transparency within the workplace.

Developed in partnership with brand agency Koto, Glassdoor’s new rebrand showcases app and site updates that capture the core of the platform as a space for authentic and meaningful conversations about work experiences.

Glassdoor’s new visual identity and product design also coincides with its new brand focus of highlighting the relationships and community formed throughout one’s career, with vibrant and interactive visuals all throughout the platform depicting a healthy workplace.

Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong introduced the new features of Glassdoor in a video, focusing on ‘bowls’ which are sectors of interest and on new conversational options such as talking specifically between co-workers of a company, or conversing anonymously. 

Commenting on the rebrand, Deanna German, creative director at Koto, said “Our logo, typography, illustration, icons and unique brand tone reflect Glassdoor’s commitment to creating a healthier and more transparent workplace community”.

Sydney, Australia – Global visual communications platform Canva has unveiled new suite of workplace products to empower anyone to communicate visually, on any device, from anywhere in the world. The new products were announced during Canva’s latest global event, ‘Canva Create Conference’.

The new workplace product suite includes ‘Docs’, which makes traditional text documents more visually appealing, while also including key collaboration features like comments and real time collaboration; ‘Websites’, which has responsive professional-level website templates, customizable domains and adjustable page heights; ‘Whiteboards’, which comes with a range of features designed for brainstorming and team collaboration, from sticky notes to images and diagrams; and ‘Flourish’, which makes it possible to turn dense data and statistics into simple, clear and easy to understand interactive data visualisations.

Other products include ‘Video Background Remover’, ‘Remote Control for Presentations’ and an expansion of its ‘Print’ feature, which allows anyone can print more than 35 products through Canva Print and have it delivered to their doorstep in record time. This includes everything from invitations to flyers, photo books and hoodies, mugs posters, and much more.

Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO at Canva, said, “Visual communication is becoming an increasingly critical skill for teams of every size across almost every industry. It has been incredible to see the continued growth of Canva over the last few years, as more and more people embrace the power of visual communication to unlock their creativity and achieve their goals.” 

She added, “With the launch of our new Visual Worksuite, we’re bringing simple design products to the workplace to empower every employee, at every organisation and on every device.”

Canva’s new visual worksuite comes as the company marks the milestone of more than 85 million global users. As enterprise usage soars throughout a variety of professions and industries, Canva is rapidly becoming the design platform of choice in the workplace.

Singapore – Almost two thirds of workers in Singapore, or 65% of them expect that their industry will change for the better after COVID-19 due to the changes being implemented amid pandemic response, according to a research by customer experience tech Qualtrics.

The Qualtrics study surveyed 800 Singaporeans, and more than half, or 57% rated their employer’s response to the pandemic as “above average.”

With many people working from home during the pandemic, a large portion, 42% of respondents, said their employee experience has improved during the pandemic, while the same number said it has remained the same. 

The most effective actions employers have taken to make their teams feel more valued throughout this period leaned more on workplace flexibility with 51% of companies, followed by gratitude from the direct manager, and improved benefits, both with 21% of companies undertaking such measures.

“As a result of their employers’ quick thinking and actions, the majority of workers across Singapore say they feel a lot more valued at their company, and a lot more proud  to work for them,” Qualtrics SEA Head Mao Gen Foo said.

“While many have made steps in the right direction, businesses cannot afford to take their foot off the gas. Employees want to be listened to, and there is more change on the road ahead as people return and industries adapt,” added Mao Gen.

The new normal in the workplace

While employees have imparted the present measures their companies are undertaking, they  also gave insight into what actions they want to see more of from employers.

For 77% of Singaporeans, it’s important that their employer asks for feedback on what action can be taken to make them feel more confident about returning. 

Within such desired feedback, the study revealed that a flexible work schedule is the most coveted change that workers want to see in the workplace with 69% of them expressing it as a top concern.

This was followed by wanting companies to have a higher focus on personal hygiene with 44%, while about 39% said that actions should be taken to have greater focus on employee mental health. Meanwhile, almost the same number said that freedom to choose their work location is a factor.

Mao Gen said that while employees can agree prioritising safety and hygiene is essential moving forward, there is a slight gap between the actions they want to see, and which they expect to see outside of this. 

“Singaporeans want to see their employers continue to focus on offering more workplace flexibility – such as less time spent commuting, and wearing more comfortable clothing to work,” said Mao Gen.