By Farhaz Thobani, President of Kyndryl Canada
To empower workforces to use generative AI and other new technologies, organizations must first establish trust.
That is the essence of a recent Kyndryl Institute article by Julie Lévesque, a senior executive at our customer, the National Bank of Canada, and also resonates with what Kyndryl leaders have been saying. Empowerment begins with trust.
But what does that really mean? To me, it’s about being transparent about our goals, how we plan to realize them and how they will impact our overall mission to serve our customers effectively.
Our customers trust us to manage their most sensitive data and to help solve their greatest business and technology challenges. Kyndryl’s support of customers in critical infrastructure industries and services such as banking, government and healthcare helps enable them to enhance the lives of millions of people.
Fostering trust throughout our own organization enabled Kyndryl’s rapid transformation into an independent firm focused on delivering innovative, fit-for-purpose services to our customers. Our ability to modernize our internal systems while providing seamless customer support was critical to the success of that transformation. At each step, we relentlessly focused on change management to maintain the trust we had worked hard to build with our customers.
As part of our transformation, we also needed to ensure that our employees trusted in the progression of our efforts so they understood the reasoning behind our actions. We were open, honest and transparent about our objectives. The process was long, challenging and sometimes uncertain. However, our goals remained consistent throughout our journey.
Establishing trust is not just important when implementing transformative technologies like generative AI — which is changing the fundamentals of how people work — but essential. People need to trust in the capabilities of AI and other automation technologies to drive efficiencies and engage in higher-value work rather than fear replacement. Communication plays a critical role, especially when shepherding change. Effective, two-way communication helps to bridge gaps, build understanding and reinforce trust within the team.
No organization (or individual) can do everything perfectly from the start. Instead, work incrementally and be willing to adjust as projects evolve. Kyndryl acknowledged upfront that our transformation would not be perfect. Keeping employees informed of the latest developments fosters a fast feedback loop, allowing us to refine our efforts in real-time and maintain engagement.
Organizations often fear failure — sometimes with good reason. However, failure can be a valuable learning tool. The key is to regard each shortcoming in its proper perspective and communicate the benefits of each experience. We shared our failures and learnings throughout our transformation. This approach encourages collective problem-solving, helps manage setbacks more effectively and builds a stronger organization.
It is important to keep people motivated by highlighting quick wins. We had to move a lot of big rocks, so it was critical to ensure that our teams could see ongoing progress and visualize long-term success. Sharing quick wins can also build confidence in the new technology and the change process, which can help reduce resistance to change and enable employees to embrace it.
To quote Kyndryl’s Chief Information Officer, Kim Basile, “Trust is the linchpin of AI readiness. It’s about transparency, communication and empowering people to lean into change, not fear it.”
I couldn’t agree more. And I look forward to continued learning from our customers, my colleagues and other experts as we work to foster the trust that will be essential to unlocking this exhilarating era of innovation.
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