Research from Ricoh Europe finds that one-third of employees do not have access to automation despite wanting it, though leaders are primarily concerned with business continuity.
By Maggie Mancini
New research from Ricoh Europe reveals that both U.K. and Irish decision-makers and employees are keen to automate workflows to improve productivity and job fulfillment, but the implementation of these systems is being hampered by concerns about disrupting mission-critical operations “mid-flight.”
The research, conducted by Opinion Matters on behalf of Ricoh Europe, polled 2,000 employees and 300 decision-makers across the U.K. and Ireland. It finds significant employee appetite for process automation in the workplace, with nearly one-third (30%) reporting they do not currently have access to process automation technologies, despite wanting them.
Business leaders echo and acknowledge their employees’ enthusiasm for this automation, citing the slow adoption of process automation solutions as a key technical frustration to their employees.
“In an era of increasing employee apathy, process automation technologies can play a key role in helping employees feel fulfilled, by reducing the time spent on tedious tasks and enabling them to focus on more rewarding and creative work,” says Nicola Downing, CEO of Ricoh Europe. “However, I know firsthand that the C-suite is justified in being cautious about disrupting mission-critical systems, considering the ramifications if things go wrong. By partnering with a reliable digital expert who offers proven technical expertise and the right teams, businesses can confidently embrace automation and enjoy its benefits with minimal disruption.”
Concerns around business continuity are top of mind for leaders, with 31% saying they need guidance to better understand which systems can be integrated and extracted into workflows without disruption.
Nearly two-thirds of business leaders (64%) agree that IT investments are often made in isolation, without full consideration of their impact. This leads to C-suite unease about the prospect of implementing automation technologies and their potential impact on other essential processes.
Banishing tedious tasks is not just about boosting employee productivity, it’s also a key factor in nurturing employee fulfilment and job satisfaction. When asked what factors would improve their fulfilment at work, a quarter of employees (29%) cited having the right tech to free up their time for more rewarding work. A further 19% of employees also said having better software technology, including automation solutions, would make them less likely to consider leaving their current role in the next year, showing the real impact the technology could have for talent retention.
