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We recently had the privilege of co-hosting a high-level discussion with NOVA and BDO, diving deep into the rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence, with a specific focus on the dynamic Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) sectors.
Led by our very own Directors, Rachel Webster, Bex Pearce and Ollie Jeffcoate, along with expert insights from Melissa Bruno, Partner at BDO and Tamzin Steenkamp, Digital Team at BDO. The event addressed the most critical challenges facing leaders today: data governance, ethical adoption, and talent strategy in an AI-driven world.
The event provided a focused look at the immediate people-centric challenges of the AI era. Here are the most pressing insights and direct action points for leaders facing this transition.
The prevailing sentiment, championed by Melissa Bruno's focus on Digitally Literate Leadership, was that AI adoption is a cultural transformation, not just a technical deployment.
Tone from the Top: The most compelling best practice shared came from the legal sector, where the AI transformation strategy was owned by the Managing Partner. This model proved that effective integration demands a top-down mandate, with the leader personally participating in training and ensuring cross-functional involvement (CFO, HR, Operations, and junior technologists).
Managing Anxiety with Clarity: The confusion is natural during change, but transparency builds confidence. Leaders must create a culture of communication where "It's OK to not know, but it isn't OK to not communicate." This direct engagement is the best defence against job security anxiety.
The discussion with Tamzin Steenkamp on data integrity provided a crucial focus on the security vulnerabilities presented by common employee behavior.
The Non-Malicious Breach: Tamzin and Melissa emphasised the risk of data leakage when employees use personal or free AI tools at home that are also utilised for work tasks. This risk is often "done with good intentions" simply trying to find a better result, but it constitutes a major ethical breach.
Setting the Environment: The company has an inherent responsibility to set up an environment where ethical behavior is the default. This requires not only ongoing education sessions to address security and privacy, but also a policy around data control and processing.
The Data Fail-Safe: The only way to achieve complete data integrity when working with sensitive information is through building your own proprietary AI solution contained entirely within your own secure data warehouse.
The final discussion revolved around how recruitment must evolve and what skills AI simply cannot replace.
The New Hiring Metric: While technical skills like Power BI and data analysis remain relevant, the market must pivot away from looking for static knowledge towards attitude, aptitude, and curiosity.
The Stark Skills Gap: The most attention-grabbing statistic shared was that while only 22% of employers are actively considering AI when hiring, a massive 87% of employees are already seeking new skills in response to AI. This highlights a clear corporate disconnect that requires immediate investment in workforce development.
The Unreplaceable Element: Rachel concluded by reinforcing the importance of human interaction. The future of work will feature augmented roles, but for junior staff, especially those working remotely, the development of soft skills (engaging, collaborating, being present) is paramount, because AI will not replace human interaction.
We recently had the privilege of co-hosting a high-level discussion with NOVA and BDO, diving deep into the rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence, with a specific focus on the dynamic Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) sectors.
