Embracing Technology and Empowering Humanity with Kindness

Shereen Williams, Director People and Culture Technology & Innovation, Standard Chartered Bank

Living organisms adapt to the pressure of their environment. More so for humans, even though the pace at which we are innovating and growing with change is sometimes beyond what the human mind can grasp. Yet here we are advancing in technology – inviting robots, gadgets, gizmos, and apps into the intimacy of our everyday lives.

As we transform into the New World of doing things – unlearning, relearning, and gaining more insights into how we evolve technically, the question remains – are we undermining the power of human emotions, the ability to empathise with each other and communicate via physical touch? Possibly. Yet, we feel disconnected from the world and even our loved ones without technology.

The conclusion: we need both Technology and Humans to be intertwined in a balanced way. A perfect balance of the two would create a workforce with “Expert Humans”, a term coined by Michael Jenkins, CEO (2018– 2020) of HCLI. Expert Humans are digitally savvy, technically knowledgeable and at the same time, kind, warm, compassionate, and humane.

A Kinder World of Work

Marrying human connection, kindness and technology should start with your biggest brand ambassadors – your Expert Human workforce, before rolling it out externally to customers. By taking the time to do the heart work and testing the experience among your employees first, you’ll be able to determine whether products and services will be kind to your customers, creating a winning strategy for growing your business. 

But when it comes to lost connection, the pandemic has caused another noticeable divide: the ever-increasing disconnect among employees and teams working from home. We have been deprived of serendipitous encounters, water cooler interactions, casual lunches, and check in coffee breaks which we previously utilised to establish firm connections with our co-workers. Now, it can be much harder to get what we need without questioning if the person you’re virtually talking to is listening. And with the lines between work and home increasingly blurry, working hours could lead to physical burnout.

But what can organisations do to create a balance in the Kinder New World of Working?

• Self-care is key to how we show up every day, be it virtual or physical, and having a wellness programme is fundamental to how your organisation operates

• Take the time to listen to and understand people at all levels in the organisation – make an effort to comprehend their challenges and always validate their concerns, we are all in this together

• Forgive people when mistakes are made and offer them the opportunity to grow

• Give and receive compassion and empathise with each other

• Make work a place of peace, not a place of toxicity

Does Kindness have a place in business?

In the framework below is a depiction of the key values and attributes that need to be embedded in any organisation. Creating a place of physiological safety, bravery and courage intertwined with sustainable practices, as well as how to approach governance, will be key differentiators for organisations. Beyond that, embracing technology and empowering humanity with kindness will not only add value to profits, finding the right balance between these will be key in recreating or reigniting the human connection businesses have lost during the pandemic.