Remote Contact Center Engagement: Beating the Industry by 11 Points and Crawling with AI

Why the most irrational thing you can do with AI is run, and how a “crawl” approach protects your human systems from execution drift.

Human beings are predictably irrational, especially when we are placed under immense pressure and handed shiny new tools. When senior contact center leaders are bombarded by C-suite demands and marketing hype to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption, their biological instinct is often to sprint.

This rush activates cognitive biases like overconfidence and fear of missing out, leading to scattergun technology deployments. We think the technology will magically solve our operational friction, but instead, it creates uncalibrated “AI slop” that fractures the very human culture we rely on.

Yet, there is another way AI must “crawl.” Jason Mercer-Pottinger, a healthcare executive leading a fully remote, multi-country dialysis support operation at Vantiv, achieves manager effectiveness scores a staggering 11 points above the industry average.

How does he preserve this performance anomaly under immense technological pressure? By acting rationally in an irrational market.

He avoids the scattergun approach, protecting his high-performing human system from execution drift by intentionally slowing down.

In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, we explore the behavioral economics and operational realities of sustaining engagement by carefully governing our tools rather than letting them govern us.

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What You’ll Learn in This Podcast

• The Behavioral Trap of “AI Slop”
• The Power of Systemic Servant Leadership
• The “Crawl, Walk, Run” Framework for AI Integration
• Building Psychological Safety in Remote Teams
• Developing AI Acumen to Navigate C-Suite Pressure

The Behavioral Trap of “AI Slop”

When leaders experience the pressure to innovate, they often layer new artificial intelligence tools directly on top of existing, broken workflows. In behavioral terms, this is execution blindness, focusing on the immediate implementation without considering the downstream human consequences.

This scattergun approach creates “AI slop,” a phenomenon where technology disrupts the customer and agent experience because it lacks alignment with the organization’s true operational reality.

The Power of Systemic Servant Leadership

Instead of traditional, ego-driven management, sustaining world-class engagement requires pushing autonomy to the front lines. Vantiv treats its frontline leaders as “mini CEOs,” empowering them to make the right decisions for patients in critical moments. This servant leadership methodology is not just a motivational poster; it is a systemic structure that flattens hierarchies and connects every remote worker directly to the overarching mission of saving lives.

The “Crawl, Walk, Run” Framework for AI Integration

To combat the irrational urge to move too fast, Mercer-Pottinger relies on a disciplined “crawl, walk, run” approach. By crawling first, organizations can test if an AI tool actually adds value to the patient journey and keeps the human in the loop. If a tool fails or hallucinations occur, a crawling pace allows leaders to pull it back without having exposed the entire organization to a catastrophic failure.

Building Psychological Safety in Remote Teams

In a fully remote environment, fear is the enemy of execution. When supervisors and agents are isolated, they must feel psychologically safe to report failures and share best practices without the threat of punishment. By stripping back traditional, rigid contact center metrics—like punishing an agent for taking an hour to properly support a vulnerable patient—the system reduces anxiety and allows intrinsic motivation and genuine care to thrive.

Developing AI Acumen to Navigate C-Suite Pressure

As AI forces a massive transformation across industries, leaders cannot afford to be passive observers. They must develop “AI acumen”—the technical and operational discernment required to understand what these tools can and cannot do. This acumen gives contact center leaders the evidence and confidence to push back against C-suite executives, ensuring that only ethical, value-driving technology is integrated into the workflow.

Preserving Manager Effectiveness Against Execution Drift

Our natural human tendency is to seek quick fixes for complex problems. The marketing hype surrounding AI plays directly into this cognitive vulnerability, promising instant transformation.

But as Jason Mercer-Pottinger’s 11-point engagement lead proves, sustainable excellence requires us to override our impulses. By intentionally slowing down, deploying a governed “crawl” strategy, and prioritizing psychological safety, you can protect your human systems from the entropy of AI slop.

To prevent execution drift from eroding manager effectiveness, listen to the complete operational breakdown in this episode of the Fast Leader Show.

• Connect with the Guest: Follow or Message Jason Mercer-Pottinger on LinkedIn.
• Evaluate Your Systems: Discover the science of closing the gap between technological intent and behavioral reality at the Leadership Execution Institute.
• Explore Ethical Healthcare Tech: Join JMP at the Contact Center AI Association (CCAIA) Phoenix Chapter.

Key Tips and Takeaways

• Prioritize the Human in the Loop: Never deploy AI that completely removes the human element, especially in complex or emotionally sensitive environments like healthcare.
• Embrace the “Crawl”: Implement AI in small, highly monitored workflows where you can easily roll back changes if they don’t produce a clear return on investment.
• Flatten the Hierarchy: Use servant leadership to remove ego and empower frontline leaders with the autonomy to act as mini-CEOs.
• Redefine Your Metrics: Traditional efficiency metrics (like Average Handle Time) can incentivize the wrong behaviors; strip them back if they conflict with your core mission of quality care.

Pros and Cons of AI Integration Velocities

The Scattergun Approach (Running)

• Pros: Satisfies immediate C-suite pressure; creates the appearance of rapid innovation and modernization.
• Cons: Layers technology over broken workflows; causes high rates of hallucinations and “AI slop”; risks fracturing high-performing cultures and causes unrecoverable execution drift.

The Crawl, Walk, Run Approach (Crawling)

• Pros: Protects existing culture and manager effectiveness; allows for ethical adoption and keeping the human in the loop; highly reversible if the ROI is not realized.
• Cons: Requires leaders to have difficult, evidence-based conversations to push back against executive impatience.

7 Memorable Quotes

1. “I’m pretty much here to serve our teams, to serve our customers, to serve our patients.”
2. “…we also empower our leaders, that they are mini CEOs of their organization…”
3. “If it takes an hour to deal with a patient’s interaction, it takes an hour.”
4. “I also think as well, it’s having an environment where it’s OK to fail…”
5. “…I see where organizations have just got this scattergun approach to bringing in these AI tools, not really understanding the value that they’re gonna drive.”
6. “I don’t want to be a dinosaur that’s looking at the firework display going, oh, that looks good. But actually, it’s a meteorite that’s going to come to take us out.”
7. “AI tools just like layered on top of existing workflows. Guess what? Workflows are broken, they’re going to be broken with the AI…”

Top 10 Proven Steps to Preserve Performance Under Technological Pressure

1. Define the Business Problem First: Do not adopt AI for the sake of AI; clearly articulate the specific workflow or customer friction you are trying to solve.
2. Audit Your Existing Workflows: AI cannot fix a broken process. Ensure your knowledge management and operational steps are pristine before introducing automation.
3. Deploy the “Crawl” Strategy: Introduce AI into a single, tightly controlled segment of the customer journey where it adds the most value, and monitor it closely.
4. Preserve the Human in the Loop: Intentionally map out the customer journey to identify exactly where human empathy and complex problem-solving must take over from the AI.
5. Build Psychological Safety: Create a culture where remote agents feel safe reporting failures and system errors without fear of punishment.
6. Align to a Core Mission: Ensure every remote employee understands how their specific daily actions tie directly back to the overarching organizational purpose.
7. Strip Back Conflicting Metrics: Remove traditional contact center KPIs that force agents to rush interactions, allowing them the time required to resolve complex issues.
8. Develop AI Acumen in Leadership: Train your supervisors to understand AI capabilities so they can confidently evaluate tools and identify risks.
9. Practice Systemic Servant Leadership: Ensure the C-suite and middle management view their primary role as removing friction for the frontline workers.
10. Embrace the Power to Say ‘No’: Use your AI acumen and ROI requirements to push back against scattergun technology mandates from higher-ups.

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ: What is the biggest risk of rapid AI deployment in contact centers? Answer: The primary risk is the “scattergun approach,” which leads to “AI slop.” When organizations rapidly deploy uncalibrated AI tools without understanding the value they drive, they often layer them over already broken workflows, leading to hallucinations, degraded customer experiences, and the fracturing of human culture.

FAQ: How can a fully remote contact center maintain high engagement scores? Answer: High engagement is sustained by connecting daily tasks to a vital mission, practicing servant leadership to remove egos, and establishing psychological safety so employees feel it is “OK to fail” and raise issues without fear.

SAQ: What should leaders be asking before they agree to implement a new AI tool? Answer: Leaders should ask: “Is our business currently set up in a way where this AI will actually add value, or are our workflows broken?”. They must also ask, “Where does the human need to remain in the loop within this specific customer journey?”. If you cannot clearly articulate the ROI and the human transition point, the tool should not be deployed.

SAQ: How do we prevent execution drift when integrating new technology? Answer: You prevent drift by utilizing a “crawl, walk, run” methodology. By embedding technology deeply and slowly into specific, well-managed parts of the workflow, you can monitor its impact and pull it back if it causes behavioral misalignment, rather than rushing a deployment that permanently alters your operational standards.

Citations and Research Statistics

• Q: What is the biggest risk of rapid AI deployment in contact centers? A: The primary risk is the “scattergun approach,” which leads to “AI slop” and fractures high-performing human systems. By deploying Culture-Calibrated AI through a governed “crawl, walk, run” methodology, you can rapidly eliminate unviable solutions and safely integrate technology without sacrificing your organizational culture to Execution Drift.
• Q: How can a fully remote contact center maintain high engagement scores? A: Remote operations often struggle with isolation and disjointed communication, which naturally leads to engagement decay. By shifting from traditional efficiency metrics to systemic servant leadership and embedding psychological safety into the daily workflow, leaders can prevent Supervisor Drift and push autonomy to the front lines, sustaining manager effectiveness scores well above the industry average.
• Q: How do we prevent new technology from ruining the customer experience? A: When new artificial intelligence tools are layered over broken workflows, they simply accelerate failure and frustrate both agents and customers. By establishing explicit Calibrated Human Oversight, contact centers ensure that complex, emotionally sensitive problem-solving remains with human supervisors, allowing the technology to resolve friction rather than creating it.
• Q: What should executives evaluate before approving a new AI tool? A: The common mistake is evaluating tools based solely on marketing hype and promised efficiency gains. A structural approach requires leaders to develop “AI acumen” to assess whether the technology actually solves a specific operational friction point. This systemic evaluation prevents Execution Blindness and identifies exactly where the human must remain in the loop to preserve service quality.

Watch the Full Episode: Sustaining Remote Contact Center Engagement

For the complete story behind this 11-point performance anomaly, tune in to the full interview on the Fast Leader Show. Host Jim Rembach sits down with Jason Mercer-Pottinger to unpack the daily realities of sustaining remote contact center engagement under immense technological pressure. The conversation dives straight into the exact methods used to protect high-performing human teams from uncalibrated “AI slop” and prevent execution drift. Hit play below to hear the full breakdown and discover why the safest way to scale manager effectiveness might be to intentionally slow down.