Eighty-five percent of employees save one to seven hours per week using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, but organizations often fail to translate time savings into real business value, new data shows.
According to a global report from Workday, only 14% of employees say they consistently achieve clear, positive results from the use of AI. This productivity paradox means that organizations must shift from investing in technology to investing in workforce to harness the capabilities of these tools.
The report, Beyond Productivity: Measuring the Real Value of AIsurveyed more than 3,000 employees (half in management positions) across Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America in November.
“AI increases speed, but nearly 40% of the value is lost to rework and misalignment,” the report summary states. “Instead of allowing people to focus on higher-impact work, much of the reclaimed time is spent fixing poor-quality AI results and aligning conflicting advice. »
For organizations looking to achieve true ROI, time savings come from investing in people (skills, roles and decision-making) as much as technology, the report says. But training for the people who need it most is inconsistent at best. While 66% of leaders cite professional training as a top priority, only 37% of employees facing the biggest shake-up say they take training.
“Executives recognize the need to reinvest AI gains in people: Four in five executives say it is crucial to reinvest AI gains in workforce development,” the report summary states. “Yet organizations are devoting a greater share of AI cost savings to technology (39%) than to labor (30%), while AI time savings are more often absorbed by increased workload (31%) than employee development and upskilling (26%). »
At the same time, business demands are failing to keep up with how AI is transforming the business world. Less than half of positions have been updated to reflect AI capabilities. “Employees are using 2025 tools in 2015 job structures, and they must balance faster production with unchanged expectations for accuracy, judgment, and risk,” the report’s summary states.
The report summary recommends three actions organizations can take to optimize AI functions and create lasting value from these tools:
Measure productivity based on results, not hours saved. “Hours saved hide the true cost of rework. Track decision quality, accuracy and speed as well as time savings,” the summary states.
Make sure positions are AI-enabled. Rethink roles for AI – not integrating AI into work structures, the summary says. Organizations can achieve this by clarifying when AI is useful, when humans decide, and how success is measured.
Reinvest the time saved in people. Use the time saved for activities that improve collaboration, learning and strategic thinking, not just to increase the volume of tasks. “Companies should train managers to recognize high friction points and empower employees to reinvest time in connecting and resolving issues,” the report summary states.
— To comment on this article or suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stéphanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.