Proposed lead: Brad Cleveland, with a BPO transformation leader and the client’s commercial owner.
Why it matters: Cleveland’s ICMI analysis describes a shift towards human work involving exceptions, judgement and more consequential interactions. That supports asking about the remaining workload rather than assuming an unchanged human operating model. (icmi.com)
Question to put to the expert:
How should an outsourcer introduce AI voice agents without counting the same saving twice, concealing human rescue or weakening the client’s service commitments?
A strong answer should cover:
- Client authorisation for the proposed workflow, systems and data use.
- A revised division of work, with training and escalation capacity.
- Separate measurement of autonomous completion and human-assisted completion.
- Pricing definitions for accepted outcomes, excluded work and repeated contacts.
- Transition costs, retained supervision and the allocation of economic benefits.
- A comparison based on like-for-like tasks, rather than a blended average after routine work has moved elsewhere.
Ask how the client can inspect the evidence independently of the outsourcer’s reporting. Require operational review of any staffing changes before treating them as savings.
Evidence to request: A revised statement of work, client-approved control schedule and separate economics for AI and retained human work.
Follow-up: If human calls become harder, how will you distinguish an expected workload change from deteriorating performance?
Expert quote: [Reserved for an approved interview quotation.]