Innovation Heroes: How one company is using AI to improve employee experience

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Is AI taking jobs? Yup. It certainly is. But that’s not the whole story.

How can a tool that’s eliminating jobs also be good for your employees? Because it’s also empowering workers.

Today, we’re exploring the often-overlooked half of the AI debate: how it supports your employees, your most important resource.

In this episode of Innovation Heroes, host Ed McNamara speaks with Geoff Wright, Global Solutions Owner at Mondelēz International. Mondelēz is a global snack food brand that uses AI to enhance the production of some of the world’s most tasty treats – and to improve its employee experience.

Automation and psychological safety

One of AI’s key benefits is its ability to automate routine tasks. Geoff notes, “AI tools help streamline workflows and save time, allowing employees to work smarter, faster, and more confidently than ever before. You can get 40 hours’ worth of work done in 10, 15 [minutes], by empowering those people to use Gen AI.” This means that those employees now have the time to work on more strategic and creative tasks.

Geoff believes it also gives them a feeling of psychological safety. “We want people who were probably already maxed out or close to it, like most of us are, and give them a little bit more breathing space so that they’re happier employees.”

This is even more important for a business’s younger workforce. “You know, Gen Z,  Gen Alpha… they want to be able to come to a job where they feel that they’re being taken care of to get done with what they need to do so they can do their own thing,” he explains, emphasizing that these workers are less interested in traditional work structures and more focused on flexible, fulfilling roles and work-life balance.

Boosting learning, development, and inclusion

AI also plays a crucial role in learning and development by providing personalized training resources. At Mondelēz, Geoff uses AI-powered tools like Synthesia to create custom content in multiple languages. These efforts make development resources more accessible and relevant for their global workforce.

“They can do one article, they can do it live, they can edit it a little bit and just press a button and now it advertises and posts in like…122 languages now. I mean, that would have taken…months, a year to have people verify languages and find people that speak all these different languages.”

AI also tailors learning experiences to the unique needs of employees. Geoff says it “allows them to feel more supported and engaged in their own growth.” This focus on development is critical for building a resilient and adaptive workforce.

Unlocking untapped potential

Generative AI tools are also helping unlock ideas and boost creativity in a really novel and valuable way. Recently, Geoff used an image generation tool during a product brainstorming session with employees from different departments.

“It didn’t matter if you were in marketing or finance or like facilities. People were starting to unlock their ideas, and, whether they’re visual or not, AI fills in those gaps,” he explains. “You have one person come up with a great idea that they can’t necessarily paint or envision… And that is an untapped space. That is an untapped part of people’s minds that never we had access to until this platform.”

The result? Employees are empowered to contribute innovative ideas, which foster a collaborative environment unlike any the business world has ever seen.

Employee sentiment

For companies willing to listen to employee feedback and respond thoughtfully, AI offers more than just productivity gains. As Geoff puts it, “Investing in AI is an investment in your employees.” When AI is implemented with employee sentiment in mind, it can foster a workplace culture that values both technological advancement and employee well-being—building a stronger, more engaged team.

Listen to the full conversation here. You can also find episodes on SHI’s Resource Hub, Spotify, and other major podcast platforms, and on YouTube in video format.

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