We’ve spent a lot of time talking about AI, just like the rest of the market. It’s the big, bright, shiny object that has everyone’s attention. AI and digital transformation are reshaping the customer experience space, promising efficiency and cost savings. But as business leaders, we can’t afford to lose sight of the fundamentals—our people.
The labor market is shifting rapidly, and the reality is that labor remains the largest expense on the P&L for businesses. AI alone isn’t solving that. In fact, while AI has helped automate routine tasks, it has also amplified workforce challenges, from rising labor costs and offshoring decisions to remote work complications and leadership gaps. We need to be having the right conversations not just about AI itself, but about how AI, labor trends, and business strategy must work together to drive sustainable success.
Companies are aggressively offshoring roles in response to rising labor costs, but that strategy isn’t without risk. While offshoring can provide short-term cost relief, we’ve seen businesses struggle with service consistency, compliance issues, and increased customer frustration when outsourcing isn’t carefully planned. At the same time, some organizations are trying to optimize domestic operations through AI, but many are finding that automation alone isn’t enough. The real opportunity lies in blending AI with skilled human oversight, ensuring that technology enhances, rather than replaces, workforce capabilities.
AI can be a powerful tool for navigating these workforce challenges, but only when implemented strategically. Many companies are eager to integrate AI into their operations, yet without a clear roadmap, they risk making costly missteps. That’s why a balanced approach is essential, one that prioritizes leadership development, culture, and training alongside AI investments to ensure long-term success. In partnership with Cloud Tech Gurus and HMC3 , we’ve developed our proprietary AI Readiness Assessment, a strategic service designed to help companies evaluate their AI capabilities and develop a structured approach for adoption.
I’ll also be speaking at ICMI Contact Center Expo: A Digital Experience on April 23, 2025, alongside CH Consulting Group team member Liliana Cortes. We’ll be discussing how speech and text analytics can unlock powerful customer insights, improve agent performance, and drive business intelligence using natural language processing and sentiment analysis. If you’re attending, I’d love for you to join our session and explore how analytics can enhance customer engagement strategies.
These industry shifts aren’t slowing down, and companies that fail to adapt their AI strategies, workforce planning, and leadership development will struggle to keep up.
Christa Heibel is an industry insider, thought leader, change maker, and the Founder and CEO at CH Consulting Group. She began her
