Adolfo Hernandez
Group CEO, Capita PLC
As organisations move from experimenting with AI to deploying it at scale, success will depend on how well people work with — and oversee — the technology.
The AI skills gap (the mismatch between rapid artificial intelligence adoption in the workplace and workforce readiness) is usually talked about in terms of technical talent. At AI-enabled business services partner, Capita PLC, tech ability is just one part of the equation.
“For us, the best value is a combination of AI literacy and process skill,” explains Adolfo Hernandez, Group CEO. “After the experimentation phase comes deployment — for that, we need deep understanding of a customer’s processes.” This knowledge allows AI to be successfully integrated into real workflows.
Process-first approach beats tech-first
Hernandez cites the work the company does with Transport for London (TfL). “Our team understands every element of the process of road user charging, from cameras, image recognition and edge inference all the way down to the call centre and payments, exclusions and validation,” he says. “We look at each specific process and the capabilities we can inject to make delivery of that process easier. AI is one more ingredient in the delivery mix.”
It gives us the tools to reshape the future of the
company and reimagine the art of service provision
Ultimately, working in this ‘process down’ way, rather than a ‘technology up’ way, makes AI adoption more organic and effective. It’s not bolted on as a meaningless afterthought.
Translating AI experiments into sustained operational value
Hernandez has advice for any organisation struggling to translate its AI experiments into sustained operational value. “Get your workforce strategy right,” he says. “Enable your staff with skills training so they are curious about the technology, not fearful of it.” Alongside technical know-how, they will need to challenge AI outputs, manage exceptions, redesign processes and remain accountable for outcomes. This is particularly important as systems are given greater autonomy with agentic AI.
Also, figure out which parts of a process will be AI-driven, which parts will be human-driven and which parts will be hybrid. Of course, while organisations will want staff to experiment with AI tools, it’s critical to have the right guardrails in place.
This is why Capita has deployed a control plane called Agent Fabric across all its operations for total human oversight, control and audit of its hundreds of AI agents. Finally, AI deployment must be driven from the top, or it runs the risk of being seen as just another tech initiative. With thoughtful and safe adoption, AI can be transformational. “It gives us the tools to reshape the future of the company and reimagine the art of service provision,” concludes Hernandez.
