The most soul-crushing part of any job isn't the hard work; it's the work that goes nowhere. While AI is often seen as a tool for pure efficiency, a more human-centric approach is emerging, using technology to make work impactful, not just productive. For leaders in demanding fields like healthcare, this means deploying AI to make employees feel like their work is making a difference.

With over 13 years of experience in healthcare, Renee Malone, Head of Customer Success at Siftwell Analytics, approaches AI integration not as a tech problem, but as a human-centered change management challenge. It’s a perspective rooted in her company’s identity as a “healthcare company first that is empowered by analytics.” In her view, when implemented correctly, AI becomes less about automation and more about augmentation for the better.

An antidote to defeat: For Malone, true human-AI collaboration provides decision support that makes employees feel empowered, not obsolete. “If a care manager calls 50 people and no one answers, they feel defeated,” she explains. “But if a tool can guide them to the three people who will actually pick up the phone and get into care faster, you’ve made them feel powerful.” For Malone, the technology must support the core reason people join healthcare in the first place: "helping other people."

Flipping the script: The approach requires a huge change management piece, Malone notes, and it starts with setting clear expectations. “First and foremost in change management, you have to set the stage that this is not a replacement. Instead, it’s about showing the performance trends that you can actually see from A to B, with and without a tool. That is the best way that I've been able to get teams on board.”