Less than a quarter of firms are investing in tech, finds study

Less than a quarter of companies in the UK are investing in technology to improve productivity and efficiency a new study by a US tech giant has shown.

Slack’s State of Work research focused on productivity and the use of technology to improve it and, stated the company, identified missed opportunities “to unlock new levels of employee productivity” with hybrid work, and talent development.

Based on a global survey of more than 18,000 desk workers – including 2,000 in the UK – it found only 23% of companies (21% in the UK) were investing in technology while only 27% of companies were using AI tools to help improve productivity.

The authors said many organisations were “stuck in old ways of working and antiquated approaches” to driving productivity.

Employees said they were spending an average of 32% (30% in UK) of their time on performative work that did not contribute to company and team goals but was “done to appear productive”.

The trends that needed particular attention in order to drive productivity were: the use of AI and automation, which was not being implemented; a lack of understanding of how office work and design was being redefined in the age of hybrid work; and the extent to which employee engagement and talent development impacted productivity.

Slack’s research pointed out that AI and automation capabilities had the potential to streamline and optimise repetitive, time-consuming tasks, allowing employees to focus on higher-value, strategic work.

The findings showed that those who had adopted AI at their company were 90% more likely to report higher levels of productivity than those who had not adopted AI.

UK workers who adopted AI, compared with those who had not adopted AI, were 51% more likely to report higher levels of productivity and 78% in the UK stated that being able to automate routine tasks, such as getting expense report approvals, would improve their productivity. These workers estimated the use of automation saved them 3.3 hours a week.

Most (60%) employees said their company had not incorporated AI tools to support their productivity. And 43% said their team had not created automations to make their work processes easier or more efficient.

Slack vice president EMEA Pip White, said most organisations appeared “unable to leverage the full potential of these technologies to rekindle their stagnant productivity levels.”

She added that accelerating work through automation could save employees up to an entire working month per year, “which is time they can spend on deeper, more meaningful work instead.”

The research also found that employees agreed that nearly half (43%) of their meetings could be eliminated with no real adverse consequences.

Daniel Walsh, global head of business strategy and operations at Spotify told researchers that by increasing investment in technology to improve communication between teams “the Spotify advertising team had been able to build automated workflows and strengthen collaboration, leading to a 40% increase in productivity across the team by cutting down on meetings and email traffic.”

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