New research shows that UK and Irish businesses are facing a productivity paradox: companies are spending more on digital technologies but not seeing the productivity boosts they hoped for.
A new report from Docusign finds that four in five (78%) companies have increased their technology investments in the past year.
Despite this, the average employee still spends nearly 13 hours per week on tasks that add little to no value.
Companies are struggling to increase the productivity of their employees
Widespread employee inefficiency could be costing UK businesses more than £275m a year, but it is unclear what is causing it.
Despite companies’ apparent efforts to modernize technology, employees are still faced with repetitive tasks and outdated ways of working, leading 41% to consider leaving their company, up from 33% last year.
Ronan Copeland, Group VP and General Manager at Docusign EMEA, explains: “42% want to spend more time training and experimenting with digital tools using AI and other new digital tools that can improve their daily work and save them time, but they can’t free up that time if they’re still held back by manual tasks.”
Elsewhere in the report, Docusign revealed the gap between AI readiness and AI impact. Leaders acknowledge the benefits, including cost efficiencies and improvements in employee productivity, but nine in 10 have yet to appoint a dedicated person responsible for AI, while many C-suite leaders are tasked with the role.
Looking ahead, Copeland noted that companies “need to urgently focus on upskilling and reskilling people, particularly in AI.”