Does AI Always Mean Fewer People? How CEOs Move Teams Into Higher-Value Work

I approved a $160K backfill last year without mapping the work first.

Someone resigned on a Tuesday. Finance approved the replacement within 48 hours. Four months later, an AI agent was doing half the tasks we had used to justify the salary.

We had paid full price for a bundled role without asking what work still needed a person.

Emma Fawcett shared a similar example from Compare Club. A customer service rep named Cathy retired. At her farewell lunch, someone asked who would replace her.

"Cathy Bot."

Listen to the full episode - www.appliedaiaustralia.com.au/listen

The team had built an AI agent to handle Cathy's tasks. Her retirement created the moment to ask whether the role itself still needed to be replaced.

Since my $160K mistake, I use one rule before any replacement request goes to finance:

Split the role three ways. ➡️ Stop: Work that exists because it always has. ➡️ Automate: Structured, repeatable tasks. ➡️ Keep: Judgement and relationships that still need a person.

A resignation should not automatically trigger a replacement. It should trigger a review of the work.

Catch this and much more in the newest episode of Applied AI Australia.

Listen to the full episode - www.appliedaiaustralia.com.au/listen