72% of UK companies report technology skill gaps. They are focusing on AI and quiet hiring to fill the gaps.

According to Docusign’s Digital Maturity Report, 2024, British companies are investing more in digital transformation, despite the challenging economic climate. However, this hasn’t translated into increased productivity or digital maturity.

The second-year research of 600 decision makers from the UK and Ireland reveals that employers face a paradoxical productivity and efficiency dilemma, while workers are caught in a Catch-22. The technology investment is growing, but the manual processes are taking more time than they did last year. More workers are also considering quitting their jobs because of a desire for a more modern way of working. The gap between digital maturity of the worker and organisation is also widening. Less than half (47%) of organisations see themselves as being digitally mature, compared to 84% of employees.

Productivity Problem Deepens As Low Value Work Creates A PS275m+ Productivity Black Hole

Workers waste nearly two days of work per week (12,6 hours) on tasks that are low-value or non-existent. This is a rise since 2023. Businesses have increased their digital investments to improve efficiency. The UK’s businesses could lose PS271,574m per year in productivity due to the disproportionate time they spend on low-value manual tasks. This also poses a threat to employee retention and satisfaction. 41% of UK respondents (up from 33% of those surveyed in 2023) are considering leaving their company because of the burden of repetitive work and a desire for a new way of working.

Positively, companies are focusing on improving efficiency in their day-to-day tasks. This is expected to have a major impact on the performance and productivity of the company in the coming 12 months.

Silent Hiring and AI: A focus for firms seeking to close the skills gap

72% of decision-makers in business report a technology skills gap – up from 69% by 2023. Skills gaps in AI (63%), analytics (62%), and security (61%) were the most prevalent issues.

In organisations with skills gaps, 53% of those surveyed say that the shortage of talent is having a material impact on their business. They also claim that they are unable to meet operational requirements due to a lack in talent. Impact is greater than 2023. It affects the delivery of strategic plans for 55%, and prevents 54% from experimenting with new technologies.

Ronan Copeland explains that workers today are caught in a Catch 22. “42% of workers want to spend more time learning and experimenting with new digital tools, such as AI and other digital tools which could improve their work and save time. But they cannot find the time because they are still held back by manual processes.”

In order to solve these problems, companies are increasingly turning to ‘quiet hire’ and AI technologies, looking for ways to fill the skills gap, without having employees increase their headcount or replace them. In addition, 34% of companies offer workers the opportunity to retrain. Businesses are also focusing more on tools like Chat GPT in order to improve efficiencies and close skills gaps.

AI Impact: Translating AI readiness into AI impact

35% of companies intend to increase their investment in AI and machine-learning over the next 12 months. While organisations recognize the potential of AI to improve employee productivity (29%) and cost efficiency (33%), only 43% actually feel that they are AI ready. Only 11% of organisations have designated a specific person responsible for AI. In many cases, the responsibility falls to CTOs/CIOs (32%), or CEOs (29%). AI is a concern for many companies, but they are more worried about the risks than the potential.

Only 19% of companies report “constantly” experimenting with disruptive technologies such as generative AI, despite the fact that 46% said they wanted to spend more time training and experimenting on digital tools. The UK and Ireland companies are facing a paradoxical situation. They expect AI to bring relief, but they are still plagued with inefficient manual processes.

Ronan Copeland is the Group Vice President and General Manager of Docusign in EMEA. He says: “AI has rapidly become a critical component of digitalization, and it arrives at a crucial moment to help organisations tackle two major issues: a skills shortage, and the loss of efficiency caused by repetitive tasks that leads to an increase of workplace disengagement. Companies must focus urgently on upskilling or reskilling in AI to capitalise on AI’s potential and bridge the current gap between what employees want from their work and the reality of their role, which makes people consider leaving. This can help to bridge the gap between digital maturity, technology investment and productivity.

Julia Hobsbawm is a future of work expert, author and futurist. She says: “In this digitally essential but cluttered world, simplicity in execution and adoption of digital tools are critical. Docusign’s latest report confirms this. “A growing number of employers and workers are looking for a shortcut that offers time-saving, accessible ways to do good work.”

The first time HR news published the post 72% UK firms report technology skill gaps. Focus on quiet hiring and AI for filling gaps.