AI-driven productivity: look at the process again

Erik Hartman
May 8
2 min read

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers tremendous opportunities for productivity improvement, but it requires more than just implementing new AI tools. Organisations must fundamentally look at how work is organised and deconstruct processes, reallocate process activities and develop new ways of performing tasks.

According to Ravin Jesuthasan, this requires a strategic shift for an organisation, where the focus is not on automating existing processes, but on fundamentally rethinking how processes should be designed and executed for consistent outcomes with greater customer value.

Deconstruction and redistribution: from tasks to results

Traditional organisations are often structured around departments, tasks and functions. AI offers the opportunity to break those structures and focus purely on the intended process outcomes with value to the customer.

This means dissecting tasks, evaluating them for value and then assigning them to the most appropriate resource: human or machine. AI can then be used, for example, to drive autonomous agents, who write and execute code, while humans oversee or focus on tasks where differentiation and human expertise are of value.

This is not simply a matter of efficiency; it's about creating a workflow that best matches the capabilities of both humans and machines. An organisation that successfully puts this into practice will have a huge advantage over competitors who have not yet reached this point.

Democratisation of knowledge and skills: the rise of the "Citizen developer

AI reduces the amount of resources needed to execute process steps and lowers the need for expensive, highly skilled professionals. AI 'democratises' the knowledge and skills needed, allowing less experienced talent to perform at a higher level.

This opens the door to the rise of the “citizen developer” - employees with a basic understanding of AI who are able to automate workflows and improve processes independently. It is crucial to create a culture in which this kind of experimentation and learning is central.

The challenge: organisational flexibility and continuous redesign

Redesigning work is not easy. It requires a strategic approach, an open mindset and a willingness to invest in new technologies and skills.

Ravin Jesuthasan emphasises that realising the potential of AI requires the efforts of the entire organisation. It is essential to make process improvement a core competency, to continuously evaluate and adapt processes to rapidly changing (AI) capabilities. This requires an agile and flexible (“Agile”) approach, where processes are continuously optimised.

Read the article Want AI-Driven Productivity? Redesign Work by Ravin Jesuthasan.

The next step: process optimisation for the AI era

AI is not just a technological revolution; it is an opportunity to reinvent work. And with the right processes and the right people, that revolution is within reach.

To be successful in the AI era, it is crucial to permanently optimise processes. This means not just automating existing steps, but fundamentally rethinking how work is done. This can be incremental and organic or disruptive and revolutionary. Or a combination of both.

Do you want to train your organisation or team in process optimisation for AI? Then TIMAF's 4-day in-company BPM Specialist Training is an excellent investment.

This training provides the knowledge and skills needed to analyse, model, automate and continuously improve processes so that your organisation can take full advantage of the opportunities offered by AI.