Over the last 20 years, I’ve learned that the best businesses are the ones that move with the times.

Even if you’re at the helm of a traditional, family-run company that’s been around for decades, it’s important that you’re adaptable and able to meet the needs of today’s often very demanding consumers.

That doesn’t mean that the nature of your business has to change, but it could mean that you need to make more products in a shorter period of time, or find quicker ways of doing administrative tasks to free up time for production.

As consumer needs intensify over the next few months and years, many Scottish firms will be turning to artificial intelligence and bringing in automated systems to get jobs done.

It’s a logical step – but mention of it brings derision and concern. And information recently released by a high profile research body will add fuel to the fire.

The Institute for Public Policy Research Scotland has said that around 1.2 million jobs in Scotland were at high risk of automation in the period to 2030.

It reckons that in 13 years’ time, people will be working longer and will often have multiple jobs.

This makes it sound like it’s cut-and-dried and has no doubt already prompted cries of ‘Robots are going to steal our jobs!’

But I don’t believe it’s as one-dimensional as that and I think there are positives that we need to focus on.

Bringing in artificial intelligence will undoubtedly absorb some of the more menial roles in a workplace.

But what does that mean for the people in these jobs? That’s where training comes in.

Commentators reckon that as we move with the digital age, jobs will become much more complex and multifaceted, with employees juggling three or four roles in one job.

For the people whose roles will be replaced by automation, training is vital. With training, these staff members will get the chance to get involved in more creative roles, honing their skills in collaboration, communication and creative problem-solving.

Training should be at the core of every business. I’ve always believed that it should be something that’s with you all through your career. It shouldn’t be something that you just do when you’re starting out in the world of work because you have  to. You should always be learning.

A good business will make sure its employees are rewarded financially for taking on more responsibility too. It’s in the company’s interests, so a bit of investment on this front will show faith and confidence in staff that they will do a good job.

Bringing in artificial intelligence will also help us to identify the skills gaps that are present in the workforce at the moment.

Predicting the kinds of roles that robots will be taking on in decades to come will inform what we should be doing in education and training right now. We need to ‘future-proof’ the workforce by introducing courses that will help people navigate the complex roles that will be around in decades to come.

I also think that embracing the digital age is making businesses think more creatively.

We’re already starting to see companies across a range of different sectors bringing in ground-breaking technology and, as that intensifies we’ll see a lot more investment in the field.

Forward-thinking businesses won’t want to be left behind by their contemporaries, so they will take giant leaps if they think it’s going to give them the edge.

And of course, the companies who are at the forefront of making the artificial intelligence hardware and software will be quids in. There’s some amazing innovation being shown in that field.

I’m really excited about what’s ahead. I’ll wager there were conversations of this type going on around 1760 when the Industrial Revolution hit – and just look at us now.

 

SIDE

Energy is always high on the political and emotional agenda, particularly how much we pay for it and how well it works in terms of heating and lighting our homes.  

The ‘Big Six’ get a lot of airtime and people always have views. So I was intrigued to hear about another runner in the race – an East Lothian couple.

After reaching the peak of disillusionment with their current provider, David Pike and Karin Sode decided to take things into their own hands and create an energy company with a focus on giving customers control.

People’s Energy will give 75 per cent of its profits to customers, provide free shares, and profits will be returned to customers in the form of an annual rebate.

David and Karin raised more than £400,000 on Crowdfunder – the UK’s largest crowdfunding platform – to get the project off the ground.

And the enterprise has recently secured an Ofgem licence, meaning it can now legally enter the market and register customers to be supplied with gas and electricity.

David and Karin have taken a frustration and turned it into a business. I applaud their determination and their innovation – and I think it will be good for the big companies to have some competition.

We might see a raft of smaller Scottish energy companies like this springing up. While I think this shows great creativity, it’s concerning that David and Karin have become so fed up that they felt the need to take such a big step.

I’m sure they have a bright future ahead of them.

 

LAUGH

Scottish politicians took a break from their rigorous election campaigning to get bark to basics in a canine carry-on last week.

The Holyrood Dog of the Year contest saw pooches battle it out in a series of fun challenges, aimed at raising awareness of the work done by The Kennel Club and Dogs Trust.

Traditional border collie Maya – whose owner is SNP MSP Emma Harper – was crowned top dog on the day after seeing off some ruff competition.

I think this was a great move by Holyrood as it will grab attention and make people aware that politics can have a charity focus too.

The event served as a light-hearted antidote to all the political intensity and shows that being barking mad can pay off sometimes.

 

WEEP

We’re not even halfway through 2017 and we’ve already heard about a lot of job losses. 

I was shocked to hear about the Royal Bank of Scotland’s restructuring process, which will reportedly lead to 250 people losing their jobs.

Its aim is to become a ‘simpler, smaller, UK-focused bank’, and commentators have suggested that many roles will transfer overseas.

While I understand that in the current climate, restructuring is necessary for businesses to grow and move forward, the loss of this number of jobs does seem extreme.

The news has understandably unleashed a backlash on the banking sector – but I think it’s important that we focus on what can be done to help employees, rather than incite anger.

Whatever the final outcome, hopefully a compromise can be reached along the way.