People and Bots: Building a Culture That Welcomes Smart Automation

The Elephant in the Room

Will a bot steal my job? The honest answer: a bot will steal your busywork so you can keep the interesting parts. But people need to see that to believe it.

Accelent’s Field‑Tested Change Recipe

1. Tell the Why Before the How. “We want to answer customers twice as fast” lands better than “We bought AI.”

2. Involve the Frontline Early. Let the warehouse clerk name the new receiving bot—they’ll champion it later.

3. Start in “View‑Only” Mode. The bot drafts, humans approve. Confidence accrues with each correct suggestion.

4. Celebrate the Time Wins. Publish weekly: “Invoice bot saved 27 hours—Mia used them to design our new catalog.”

5. Offer Upskill Paths. Micro‑courses on prompt writing or workflow tweaking turn anxiety into curiosity.

Stories That Stick

• The Receptionist Turned Analyst — Amanda feared redundancy when chatbots arrived. Instead she now studies customer trends the bot collects, advising management on peak service hours.

• The Tech‑Shy Accountant — Diego hated new software. During pilot week he set a timer: manual ledger entry—12 minutes; bot‑assisted—2 minutes. Diego became automation’s loudest advocate.

Sustaining the Movement

• Schedule quarterly “bot demo days.” Show off new flows, ask for nominations.

• Keep a suggestion channel open—small ideas often land the biggest gains.

Quiet Shill, Loud Impact

Whenever Accelent hands over a finished project, they include a “next‑ideas” sheet. Over 70 % of clients launch a second wave within six months because the culture has turned from cautious to curious.