- Deloitte is utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to potentially allocate existing employees to new roles, rather than resorting to mass layoffs.
- This initiative may also help balance hiring growth.
- Deloitte has notably increased its staff numbers post-pandemic, with 130,000 new hires this fiscal year.
- The firm has already begun using generative AI tools to eliminate redundant tasks and improve productivity.
Amidst the ongoing challenges of the uncertain global economy, Deloitte is leveraging advances in AI to reposition its workforce in a way that could help to avoid mass layoffs. The firm is using AI technology to assess the skills of current employees and determine how to move them into more promising areas of the business. This move not only plays a role in staff retention, but also controls the company’s hiring growth.
These initiatives come at a time when the firm has significantly grown its workforce in the wake of the pandemic. According to data reported by Bloomberg, Deloitte has welcomed 130,000 new hires during this fiscal year, experiencing the highest rate of growth in the past decade. Despite such impressive hiring statistics, the company’s revenue growth has not matched this pace.
To address the changing needs of the company and maximize employees’ potential, Deloitte has started to implement generative AI tools to streamline the workflow, thereby eliminating repetitive tasks and increasing productivity. Realigning staff roles and capabilities with the evolving business objectives could turn out to be a stronger plan than resorting to layoffs or additional hiring. In fact, this strategy of skill-based reshuffling might result in a productivity boost that could potentially increase S&P 500 profits by 30% or more, as anticipated by a Goldman Sachs strategist.
Other consultancies, such as Bain, Boston Consulting Group, and McKinsey, are also reportedly grappling with how to manage their new hires, especially in slow-business periods. By capitalizing on the opportunities offered by AI, Deloitte is demonstrating a forward-thinking approach to maximizing resources and skills, while mitigating unfavorable human resource disruptions.
To sum up, the proactive use of AI to analyze and reallocate staff resources is a strategy that Deloitte hopes will equate to fewer layoffs and controlled hiring growth. This approach could provide a sustainable model for other firms to follow in times of economic uncertainty.