AI's Human Augmentation: The New Frontline in Healthcare

NEW YORK, NY – December 02, 2025 – As artificial intelligence continues its rapid integration into every industry, a prevailing narrative of automation and replacement has dominated the conversation. Yet, a more nuanced and powerful trend is emerging, one focused not on replacing humans, but on augmenting their capabilities. Nowhere is this shift more critical than on the frontline, where employee engagement directly shapes customer—and patient—experience. Recent accolades from Centrical, a leader in the Performance Intelligence space, offer a compelling look into how global brands are leveraging this new paradigm, providing a crucial blueprint for the healthcare ecosystem.

On Tuesday, Centrical announced the winners of its 2025 Customer SELECT Awards, recognizing organizations that have achieved significant business impact by placing their frontline employees at the center of their strategy. The winners, spanning retail, finance, and telecommunications, demonstrate that investing in AI-driven tools for coaching, learning, and engagement isn't just a forward-thinking HR initiative; it's a core driver of financial performance and operational resilience.

“AI is exposing how quickly organizations must evolve the way they support and develop their people,” said Gal Rimon, Founder and CEO of Centrical, in the announcement. “This year’s SELECT Awards winners are leading the way. They’re using intelligent coaching, training, and performance management to develop teams that can adapt, grow, and excel in a time of rapid change.”

The Quantifiable ROI of a People-First Strategy

For healthcare leaders grappling with razor-thin margins and persistent staffing challenges, the financial and operational results reported by Centrical's award winners present a powerful business case. The common thread is the direct correlation between a superior, tech-enabled employee experience and bottom-line growth. This moves the conversation about employee well-being from a “soft” benefit to a hard-line financial metric.

Take adidas, which won “The Nurturer” award for its people-first approach to onboarding BPO partners. By implementing a hybrid onboarding experience featuring interactive learning and practice sessions, the company saved over 30,000 training hours, translating to more than $215,000 in annual savings. For any large healthcare system, the parallel is clear: streamlining the onboarding and continuous training of clinical and administrative staff can unlock massive efficiency gains, reduce ramp-up time, and ensure consistent quality of care from day one.

Similarly, Ascensos, a customer experience outsourcer, leveraged the platform for its client Selfridges during a high-stress retail peak. The result was a 20% reduction in employee attrition and a 10% decrease in average handle time. In healthcare, high turnover among patient access representatives or billing specialists leads to service disruptions and significant rehiring costs. Reducing attrition by even a fraction of that amount not only saves money but also preserves institutional knowledge, leading to a more seamless patient financial experience. Meanwhile, UK retailer Currys directly attributed “hundreds of thousands of pounds in additional revenue” to empowering its managers and agents with better performance visibility and coaching tools. This demonstrates that an engaged, well-informed frontline doesn't just save money—it actively generates value.

Building Resilient Teams Through Continuous Learning

Beyond immediate financial returns, the long-term strategic advantage lies in building a resilient and adaptive workforce. The healthcare landscape is defined by constant change—new regulations, evolving treatment protocols, and rapid technological adoption. An organization's ability to thrive depends on its capacity for continuous learning.

This year’s awards highlight innovative approaches to fostering this culture. Morgan & Morgan, a major law firm, earned “The Scholar” award by embedding game-based learning and weekly knowledge checks into daily workflows. This created a culture of continuous development, supported by clear pathways for career advancement. Sun Life Global Solutions, a talent and innovation hub for the global insurer, created the G.A.M.E. (Gamified Achievement, Microlearning, and Engagement) Club, a community of team leaders who design game-based missions. This initiative doubled weekly user sessions and boosted mission completion rates by 51%, proving that learning can be both effective and highly engaging.

The direct link to healthcare innovation is exemplified by individual award winner Lindsey Andrews, Sales Engagement Manager at Lincare, a leading medical device manufacturer. Andrews was named “EX Champion of the Year” for transforming the sales representative experience by providing real-time transparency into performance data. With clear insights, reps could track their performance and earnings, boosting motivation and creating a strong foundation for success. In a sector where patient outcomes are tied to the effective use of medical technology, ensuring that sales and support teams are highly proficient, motivated, and knowledgeable is not just a business goal—it's a critical component of the care continuum.

The Human-AI Partnership in Practice

These results are not achieved by simply deploying software. Success hinges on creating a symbiotic relationship between technology and people. The Centrical platform acts as a central nervous system for performance, connecting disparate systems and creating a single source of truth for employees and their managers. It’s a shift from top-down oversight to democratized, data-driven self-management.

Deutsche Telekom, which won “The Innovator” award, faced the challenge of engaging thousands of independent retail partner salespeople. By creating a unified engagement hub, it bridged communication gaps and provided direct recognition, leading to a 10-20% increase in sales. Daniel García Catalán, a channel expert at the company, noted the key to this success: “They use it every day, not because their managers tell them to, but because they feel motivated, better informed, and valued.”

This sentiment is echoed by leaders at Currys, where the platform empowered managers to have more confident and impactful conversations. “These changes have fostered deeper, more impactful conversations and eliminated inefficiencies in the coaching process,” said Melissa Eaglestone, a gamification champion at the retailer. The platform’s AI doesn't replace the manager; it equips them with the insights needed to be a more effective coach, mentor, and leader. It handles the data analysis so managers can focus on the human connection—a model urgently needed in healthcare, where clinical leaders are often stretched thin between administrative duties and team development.

Implications for the Healthcare Ecosystem

The lessons from these diverse industries are directly applicable to the evolving healthcare ecosystem. The frontline of healthcare extends far beyond clinicians; it includes patient schedulers, financial counselors, contact center agents, and medical device support teams. The engagement and proficiency of every one of these individuals has a direct impact on patient access, satisfaction, and outcomes.

Imagine a hospital system deploying a similar platform in its patient access center. Agents could receive real-time feedback on their call quality, engage in microlearning modules about complex insurance plans, and be recognized for successfully navigating a patient to the right point of care. This would not only improve operational metrics like call handle time but would fundamentally enhance the patient experience, reducing frustration and ensuring timely access to care.

For health systems managing remote patient monitoring programs or chronic care management, such tools can ensure that care coordinators are consistently following protocols and effectively engaging patients. The gamification and performance visibility seen at companies like Sun Life and Lincare could drive higher patient outreach rates and better adherence to care plans. However, as healthcare adopts these powerful AI tools, the ethical considerations of data privacy and algorithmic bias become even more pronounced. Transparency with employees about how data is used for their development—not for punitive surveillance—will be the bedrock of trust and successful adoption.

Ultimately, the trend highlighted by the Centrical awards signals a crucial evolution in management philosophy. The future of delivering exceptional service, whether in retail or in patient care, relies on an empowered, engaged, and continuously developing human workforce. The role of technology is not to diminish the human element, but to unlock its full potential by providing the intelligence, support, and motivation needed to excel in an increasingly complex world. Investing in these systems is an investment in the human core of an organization, a strategy that is quickly becoming a competitive necessity for building the resilient, patient-centric healthcare organizations of tomorrow.