It’s the last episode in Season 10 of the Transforming Insight podcast, and chance for James, Emma and Lisa to reflect on the IMA’s latest best practice research, the challenges recently shared by Insight leaders, and our emerging thoughts about the future of Insight roles.
We start with AI: where have Insight teams moved to in their adoption of AI tools? How do they feel about that adoption? How can we learn from each other as we all explore new tools?
Then we look at the roles which we think are going to be increasingly important for Insight people in the future, starting with the role of ‘foresight pioneer’. Most Insight teams include some foresight work in their Insight product mix, but we don’t always name it, give it sufficient attention or know how to get our organisations to act on it.
And how critical is it at this moment to embrace change? The recent Client Sight 2025 research in the UK showed that most corporate Insight professionals intend to stay in the sector, but job satisfaction could be higher and there is a widespread desire to feel more valued.
But the problem as James sees it is that there is no value in Insight unless it is utilised and recognised by senior management. That’s a challenge we need to address as individuals and teams within our companies.
We can’t necessarily predict the organisational roles, the job titles or reporting lines of the future, but we can think about the behavioural roles which it’s becoming increasingly evident we need to embrace. As well as foresight pioneers we discuss the roles of growth consultants, Insight influencers and knowledge stewards. The need for the latter will grow and grow as the range of data and sources accessible through AI expands.
Finally, we look at what’s coming up at the next Insight forums. In September we’ll discuss the evolution of Insight comm’s, in October at the career path of Insight leaders, and in November we’ll delve into more detail on those Insight roles of the future.