How the world’s largest call center operator is blending artificial intelligence with emotional intelligence
It’s a nervous time to be a frontline worker in a call center or back office center. Startups are advertising “AI employees” and the likes of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are talking about “producing and cannibalizing” AI for the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector that carries out core functions for companies around the world. Customer service, HR and IT workers in the industry are no doubt wondering how their employers will respond and whether their livelihoods are at risk.
At first glance, it is surprising to see the world’s largest business process outsourcing company, Paris-based Teleperformance, ranked 16th on this year’s list. luck100 Best Companies to Work For – Europe List.
The €10.2 billion ($12 billion) revenue company, widely known as TP, has managed to keep its 500,000 employees happy in the age of artificial intelligence by maintaining a human-centric culture even as it applies AI to internal and customer-facing operations.
Some employees worry about AI replacing them, but the key is to be transparent about what you’re using AI for and why, says Alan Winters, global head of privacy and data ethics at TP, who until very recently was chief human resources officer. “People need to understand what is happening,” he explains. “They will make the decision they need to make on their own, but the more they understand, the less they will fear change.”
Winters also advocates brutal honesty, including what you don’t know, which may be too much in the case of emerging technology like artificial intelligence. Allay fears immediately, if possible.
“AI will not replace all of our jobs,” says Winter. “It will allow us to put resources where the impact of human interaction will be greatest.” Sometimes this means automating tasks for efficiency, but not core activities that involve empathy and interpersonal communication. In those cases, AI is there to help or add.
“People need to understand what is happening. They will make the decisions they need to make on their own, but the more they understand, the less they will fear change.”Alan Winters, Global Head of Privacy and Data Ethics at TP
He points to recruitment as an example: At TP, the AI doesn’t conduct a video interview; Instead, it “listens” to calls between the candidate and the recruiter to help the latter conduct the assessment. “I can automate my hiring process 100%. But is this what I want new employees’ first experience to be like if I tell them we’re a people-focused organization and that we value emotional intelligence?”
Humanity as a competitive advantage
The business case forms the basis of the TP principle that technology cannot replace person-to-person interaction. Winters explains that TP sees the combination of human emotional intelligence (EI) and artificial intelligence as a key differentiator in a market where competitors are more focused on using technology to reduce overhead.
“since then [founder and CEO] “Daniel Julian started the company nearly 50 years ago, and we had a motto that if you have happy employees, you’ll have happy end customers, and therefore happy customers,” says Winters. Artificial intelligence has not changed this view. “Who will our customers want to work with? Companies that invest in their people, or ones that say I can do this for less, but I’ve taken the humanity out of human interaction?
To double down on its commitment to human-centered operations — and to reassure employees that it is serious about their strategic value — TP began a culture change program to integrate emotional intelligence into its AI implementation and train its workforce in emotional intelligence in the AI era.
(The training includes a collection of AI-generated songs to help people remember key messages, with titles like “Heart Compass” and “I Know How I Feel.”)
As with any change program, measurement is important. Beyond more difficult metrics like employee attrition, TP is actively studying the impact of training on the workforce and on AI itself. For example, as part of a new “Emotional Intelligence Index” metric with Great Places To Work, the company is assessing employees’ understanding of and fear of AI, how much they trust what management is saying about it, and whether they think communication has been sufficiently transparent.
Brilliant execution
Winters has many lessons to share with other companies wanting to incorporate emotional intelligence into AI. First, think about how the technology will be implemented; Don’t rush. TP uses the Lean Six Sigma approach to plan processes and analyze where teams encounter process problems or where there is an opportunity to do things differently. It then tests how AI can help support the process – and how people respond – before rolling it out.
“If you’re not precise about where you put AI, we think it’s going to have a big impact [negative] “Influence your culture,” says Winters.
Second, make sure the entire executive team fully buys into the idea and holds others accountable for implementation. “If you don’t get 100% support from the executive team, it’s not going to happen, especially with a global company with 500,000 employees in 100 countries — that’s a lot of people who have to be on the same page,” he adds.
Finally, Winters says it’s essential to approach AI and AI with a humble educational mindset. “Honestly, you’re going to make mistakes, but we’re human, and we all make mistakes. The key is how you learn from it.”
2025-10-09 06:16:00
