Foresight
on
Written by Jen Graziano, Attorney/Licensed Funeral Director/Owner
It can be argued that the funeral industry is the last bastion of humanity. Of the many great conundrums in our field is it’s inability to be swallowed up by AI. While the rapidly growing “funeral-tech” industry has eagerly taken up space in our unchartered waters, AI may have found its first glass ceiling in our realm. Tech disruption is real but how much can they truly disrupt? While the latest tech can assist us in writing obituaries, scheduling appointments, and general administrative tasks, it can not replace the one facet of funeral service that has long set us apart…the human factor. The funeral industry’s reliance on human capital can not be replaced by artificial intelligence. When a trembling, choked up voice makes the dreaded call to a funeral home, they need the warmth of a human voice on the other line. Truth be told, as a funeral director with boots heavily on the ground, I have heard multiple complaints from families when they call the funeral home after hours and our answering service has an AI bot initially taking the call. Perhaps death is the only remaining space where the warmth of a human is preferred over the convenience of technology.
The “death tech” industry is valued at approximately $126 billion by recent estimates. The tech invasion into the death care space has introduced many new players in our field and they seem to all enter via a similar pathway, their desire to give families control over honoring their loved one. (Spoiler alert, the families have always been in control). The outsiders recognized a sleeping giant with death care, an untapped market with endless possibilities. After all, death is the only constant in this ever changing world. They’ll all need us at some point. And while the market has been flooded with companies looking to webcast, modernize obituary platforms, answer our phones, etc, tech can’t replace the human voice let alone the human touch. Despite the options for websites, video montages and other memorial tributes that death tech can provide, they can’t stand on the front lines of death alongside a grieving family, as we, the directors do.
Death tech can’t save our industry. No amount of innovation can makeup for the shortfall of labor that we are facing. As the tech side is growing, the operational side is suffering. Funeral homes are labor intensive and cannot exist without human capital. You need a strong, able bodied labor force to operate a funeral home, there are no shortcuts. From removals to embalming, restoration, arrangements and directing a funeral, no robot can replace us. (Although I’m sure it’s a thought that’s crossed all our minds). So despite all the technological innovations intended to revolutionize us, without staff in the building, what is the point?
Statistics on funeral homes and their workforce are alarming. The NFDA reports that the number of funeral homes in the U.S. declined from about 19,900 in 2010 to 18,800 in 2021, The decline is attributed in part to a shrinking workforce. Further, employment of funeral service workers is projected to grow only 3% from 2022 to 2032 – slower than the average for all other occupations.* We are not attracting talent for a multitude of reasons, including but not limited to, low compensation, undesirable hours and emotional intensity. Let’s face it, the funeral industry is a stranger to the concept of “work life balance”, the mantra of all generations after “Gen X”. There is also a decline in generational succession in our industry. The funeral service was the hallmark of the “pass down” model, as generations of a family stepped up to answer the sacred call. Our children and grandchildren have seen what we do and quite frankly, they want out!
While tech disruption brings innovation and better operational infrastructure, its benefits to the funeral industry are limited. We need people and we need them now. Leaders of our industry must recognize that it’s imperative to disseminate the message that hospitality minded candidates need apply. Our image needs a rebranding. We should be seeking candidates that prefer a handshake and a hug over a computer. We should be opening doors for people who may never have considered the funeral industry as an option, especially those looking to formulate connections and forge bonds. College graduates are often quick to dive into pools of nursing and social work, believing them to be places where they can make a difference. I’d reckon that funeral service rarely crosses their minds. Also, we should be tapping into the event planners, those who pay attention to detail and seek to make life events memorable. We should be making a collective effort to raise awareness of our industry in our local high schools and colleges. Or better yet, finding that special young kid in our community and introducing he or she to funeral service. We need to be a part of the mentoring and molding process and encourage a quality candidate when we see one. I’m a staunch advocate of a dual licensed model of funeral directing in states, primarily as a means to attract this hospitality-minded candidate.
While technology is necessary and should be embraced, it will never best serve the needs of the funeral industry. We are the last sacred space where the value of human touch holds paramount. And while tech disrupters are jumping for joy that they found us, we, the funeral home owners, directors and staff, know ourselves best. AI can never replace us. The benefits of technology on our industry are limited. Survival for us means adding to and strengthening our human chains.
So until the day when a human heart and soul can be implanted in a robot, it’s safe to say the funeral industry can be “marked safe from AI”. Let’s embrace death tech while respectively keeping it in its place and recognizing its limitations. The foreshadowing words of Albert Einstein perhaps echo most loudly in our industry, “The human spirit must prevail over technology.”