Finding the Balance:: Technology and the Human Touch

MANY INDUSTRIES use artificial intelligence and chatbots to offer advice to customers or answer questions. While these tools are helpful, they can quickly become frustrating for customer needs that are not routine. How many times have you had to say “representative” or push zero only to be disappointed in the outcome? 

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and self-service capabilities as clients and businesses adapt to this new way of life that relies less on face-to-face interaction. However, while these technologies are valuable tools, we cannot lose sight of the value of the human touch and its importance to our clients and our industry.

So, how can we strike this delicate balance between adopting technologies that replace human interactions and providing the human touch that clients desire?

I believe that technology is the enabler, but the human touch is a significant differentiator in retaining and acquiring clients. Our clients still want to experience that human connection with their equipment finance experts while leveraging best-in-class technologies and services. That human interaction is augmented by enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotic process automation, which, in turn, foster an improved employee and customer experience. Artificial intelligence and robotic process automation remove non-value add work from our employees’ “to do” lists, which is reinvested in providing the human touch to meet our clients’ needs and provide stronger customer and employee satisfaction. 

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and self-service capabilities.

For instance, TD Equipment Finance has recently seen stronger adoption of e-signature capabilities. While this certainly helps to speed up the process in a more remote and distant working environment, consummating the signature electronically isn’t the differentiator for our clients. For many of our clients, there are internal process steps leading up to the signature that can be automated in the e-signature workflow, which improves the overall signing experience. The human touch is needed to build out customized process workflows based on knowledge of the client’s business. This requires a combination of both e-signature technology and deep knowledge of the business that comes from cultivating relationships with our clients. 

If we return to the example of the chatbot and the frustration that ensues, the human touch is what can turn a bad experience into a good one—by offering the ability to transfer the customer from a chatbot to a live agent via the medium (chat, phone, video call) of the customer’s choice.  To be successful, the live agent that engages the customer must be provided with the relevant information to ensure the first human interaction with the client is an informed one, where the live agent can answer questions in real-time that the chatbot was not able to address. This requires the implementation of technology to augment, not replace, human interaction and where finding the balance between the technology and the human touch is so important.

We will continue to see major innovations in the equipment finance industry as leaders implement new technologies and services. Companies implementing technology and automation that augments the value of their employees’ work while maintaining the human touch with their clients will provide the most positive client experience and differentiate themselves in the industry.

If you are interested in discussing this topic further, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. I look forward to the conversation.