UK firms report technology skills gaps, focusing on quiet hiring and AI to fill gaps

British firms are increasing their investment in digital transformation despite challenging economic conditions, according to Docusign’s Digital Maturity Report 2024, but this hasn’t yet translated into improved productivity or digital maturity.

The research amongst 600 decision makers in the UK and Ireland, now in its second year, reveals a stark productivity and efficiency paradox for employers, but also a Catch-22 for workers. Technology investment is increasing, but workers are wasting more time on manual processes than this time last year – and more are considering leaving their roles due to a desire to abandon legacy ways of working. Furthermore, the disparity between worker and organisation digital maturity is widening: fewer than half of organisations (47%) see themselves as digitally mature vs 84% of workers.

Productivity problem deepens as low value work creates a £275m+ productivity black hole

Workers are wasting nearly two working days every week (12.6 hours) on low or no-value tasks – an increase since 2023 – despite businesses having increased digital investments in an effort to find efficiencies. This disproportionate amount of time spent on manual, low-value tasks could not only cost UK businesses £271,574m in lost productivity per year, but also presents a major threat to employee satisfaction and talent retention. The burden of repetitive tasks and a desire to abandon legacy ways of working is a major factor causing 41% (up from 33% in 2023) of UK respondents to consider leaving their companies.

Positively, improving efficiencies in day-to-day work is a top priority for companies, expected to have the biggest impact on company performance and productivity in the next 12 months. 

Silent hiring and AI: a focus for firms looking to overcome widening skills gap

72% of business decision-makers report having a skills gap when it comes to technology – up from 69% in 2023. Skills gaps around AI (63%), data analytics (62%) and security (61%) are the most common issues.

Of those that have skills gaps in their organisation, 53% say that talent shortages are materially impacting their business and claim they are not able to deliver against operational imperatives because of a lack of talent. A greater impact than in 2023. This affects delivery against strategic plans for 55% and stops 54% of respondents from experimenting with innovative technologies.

“Workers today are in a catch 22” explains Ronan Copeland, Group VP and General Manager at Docusign EMEA. “42% want to allocate more time to training on and experimenting with digital tools with AI and other new digital tools that could improve their day-to-day work and save them time, but they can’t find that time while they are still being held back by manual tasks.”

To address these issues, companies are increasingly focusing on ‘quiet hiring’ and AI technology, finding ways to address the skills gap without increasing headcount or replacing people. 44% are allowing staff to upskill and 34% are offering workers the chance to retrain. There’s also been a large 42% increase in the number of businesses focusing on using tools such as Chat GPT to increase efficiencies in order to close skills gaps (34% of those who have skills gaps in 2024, up from 24% in 2023).

Translating AI readiness to AI impact

In the next twelve months, 35% of companies plan to invest more in AI and machine learning. But while organisations recognise the potential for AI to improve cost efficiencies (33%) and employee productivity (29%), only 43% of organisations actually feel a high level of AI readiness. Only 11% have appointed a specific individual responsible for AI; in many cases, responsibility lies with CTOs/CIOs (32%) or CEOs (29%). Many companies are more concerned about AI-related risks, such as security (35%) and data protection concerns (34%), than the opportunities. 

Furthermore, only 19% report ‘constantly’ experimenting with new disruptive technology innovations such as generative AI tools despite 46% of respondents stating they want to dedicate more time to training on and experimenting with digital tools. Companies in the UK and Ireland are in a paradoxical situation: they expect AI to provide relief but are still plagued by inefficient manual processes and lack sufficient resources to build expertise.

Ronan Copeland, Group VP and General Manager, EMEA, at Docusign, comments:

“AI has quickly become a key component of digital transformation, arriving at a crucial time to help organisations address two major issues: the skills shortage and the loss of productivity caused by repetitive tasks, leading to increasing workplace disengagement. To capitalise on AI’s potential and bridge the gap between what staff want from work and the realities of their roles which is currently making people consider leaving, companies must urgently focus on upskilling and reskilling, particularly in AI. Doing so can help tackle the disconnect between technology investment, digital maturity, productivity and people.”

Julia Hobsbawm, future of work expert and author comments:

“One thing is clear in this digitally necessary but cluttered environment: simplicity of execution and adoption when it comes to digital tools is critical. Docusign’s new report underscores this evidence. Growing numbers of employers and employees crave a cut-through which offers time-saving accessible ways of doing good work.”