3 ways to improve workforce productivity
HR leaders are being asked to meet seemingly contradictory goals, with even fewer resources than their historical counterparts had. Chief human resources officers (CHROs) are under pressure to boost workforce productivity and business profitability while reducing overall costs. HR managers have the daunting task of improving employee retention and career satisfaction while fostering business growth.
The good news is reaching all those goals is achievable. By embracing digital transformation that includes automation and AI technology, HR leaders can liberate themselves from routine tasks. With this newfound freedom, leaders can focus on high-value business evolution, workforce productivity, and retention goals.
HR groundbreakers are already reaping the benefits of their digital transformation journeys. They suggest three ways to achieve similar results.
1. Create a centralized HR/career hub
Many companies try to solve their HR operations and talent development issues by investing in new tools. In fact, Okta found the average company uses 89 different employee-facing apps.1
Employees often lose time and patience trying to navigate this maze of “solutions” in search of career guidance and answers to questions. Subsequently, businesses lose money through inefficiency and employee attrition.
Innovative HR leaders have learned that additional technology doesn’t always lead to better business value. Digital transformation is the key to economic business growth.
The best path to successful strategic digital transformation is seamlessly integrating disparate systems and departments into one unified employee experience. This can enable employees to efficiently find answers to their questions in a single place, boost productivity, and positively affect business results. More specifically, it:
- Enables employees to solve their own problems using AI chatbots and other automation tools
- Lightens HR agents’ workloads by eliminating mundane tasks
- Gives managers and business leaders insights into what their employees need to be more productive and engaged
2. Optimize employee experiences
A Pew Research Center study found that one of the top reasons employees leave a company is lack of career development opportunities. According to Gartner, “based on the average cost of replacing one employee and average attrition rates, an organization with 10,000 employees could spend $16 million per year to replace employees who quit due to burnout.”2
An HR platform that supports employees’ growth and development can:
- Make it easy for employees to self-drive career development from a single place
- Help organizations retain, grow, and develop highly skilled individuals aligned to business goals
- Enable smarter talent decisions by providing visibility into workers' capabilities
3. Embrace automation and AI
Automating traditionally paper-based tasks and manual knowledge-sharing processes can help employees at all levels be more efficient, freeing them to focus on higher-value tasks and projects. When paired with AI, automation offers even greater opportunities for businesses to cut costs, save time, reduce errors, and flourish.
Successful HR leaders and analysts recognize AI and strategic automation as catalysts for increased profits and productivity. Beyond bottom-line benefits, AI and automation can help improve human capabilities.
IDC predicts that by 2026, 90% of the world’s largest organizations will augment operational roles with automation, increasing worker efficiency by 30%.3
HR leaders who’ve embraced digital transformation, automation, and AI are blazing a trail to success. In doing so, they’re proving that digital transformation is the key to building a more satisfied and productive workforce and surviving and thriving into the future.
Find out how your organization can realize similar workforce productivity benefits in our ebook: 3 steps to drive employee retention and business growth.
1 Okta, Businesses at Work, February 2023
2 Gartner, HR Leaders Monthly, May 2023
3 IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing 2024 Predictions, #US51276023, October 2023
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