The tech boom in recent decades has benefitted many industries, but it’s also had its downsides. The online replacement and automation of many tasks has led to significant job loss in some sectors, reduced social interaction, the spread of misinformation, cybersecurity threats, and a lack of privacy due to increased surveillance and data harvesting from companies.
This has triggered a rebellion in some industries – a move away from reliance on tech to a more human-focused approach that values empathy, authenticity and human skill. Which industries are making this move? Below are 5 industries leading the charge.
Recruitment
Recruitment has been turning into a battle of AI in recent years – AI-powered screening tools have been coming up against AI-written resumes. Studies show that neither side finds this method valuable with 84% of jobseekers wanting hiring decisions to remain in human hands and 81% of employers preferring to assess actual capabilities over traditional CV credentials. As a result, we’ve started to see some recruitment agencies moving away from these tech-heavy methods and putting the human factor back into human resources. There’s been an increase in recruitment agencies providing coaching services for employees, while also helping arrange interviews and soft-skill-based tests to benefit employers.
Debt relief
Many companies have traditionally taken a calculated approach to debt relief that focuses on interest rates, payment schedules and figures. However, as experts like Alex Kleyner have been addressing, ‘every financial journey is personal’. At the root of financial struggles are personal issues that need to be accounted for. This has led to some debt relief agencies taking on more of a counselling role rather than just focusing on the numbers. This can often have a greater impact in helping people to get out of debt by educating and motivating them.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing has been starting to ditch the ‘robots take over narrative’ in recent years in exchange for ‘industry 5.0’ – a move towards human and tech collaboration. This involves continuing to delegate repetitive tasks to robots, while employing humans to continue to handle problem solving and personalization. As publications like MHI Solutions have found, such models have been receiving increased investment over machine-focused industry 4.0 models.
Hospitality
Hospitality has always been a human-centered industry, however increasing automation has started to reduce this human element, with some hotel chains reducing staff and offering a much more cookie-cutter approach. Other hotels have been fighting back by moving towards hyperpersonalization – allowing guests to customize their stay in greater detail, and designing hotel lobbies that feel more like living rooms. The homestay and vacation rental industry boom has also contributed to this.
Marketing
Finally, marketing has been moving towards a more human-focused approach. The hard-selling promotional tactics of 20 years ago no longer work with many of today’s consumers. Instead, customers react better to authentic storytelling, behind-the-scenes content and active listening. Transparency and customer interaction are more key to today’s marketing with reviews and user-generated content often helping to build trust. Studies meanwhile show that obvious AI-generated content can often harm a brand’s reputation.
Leave a Reply