Findings from The Future of Work: A Pandemic Spotlight
UiPath released findings from Forrester on how the pandemic has impacted automation and the future of work. In this article, we’ll delve into some of the findings from the research.
It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed business as we know it and has propelled us into a future state of work we’ve had to scramble to make work. It has also shown how necessary and crucial automation technologies are in a post-pandemic world.
This year, UiPath commissioned Forrester to research and assess the impact that pandemic has had on the future of work and automation. Forrester surveyed 160 decision-makers from multiple areas of business in multiple countries. The report, The Future of Work: A Pandemic Spotlight, has presented some interesting findings that show the projection of business processes and investments.
Shifts in IT Investments are Being Expedited
Investments in automation have increased as the pandemic forces organizations to ramp up digital transformation. Companies have had to overcome hurdles that make work from home (WFH) difficult for their business, and as a result, have uncovered outdated business processes and realized the need for new business models that include more innovative technologies.
of respondents said innovation will be a key priority in the next year
of decisions makers said their firms have increased RPA spending in the last 3 months
of respondents said they’re increasing RPA spending in the next year
The Employee Experience is Evolving
The need to reinvent workforce skills training is increasing with a post-pandemic world. As organizations utilize new technologies to implement remote certification and training programs, decision-makers hope this will help employees cope with the inevitability of automation and advancing technologies.
Forrester recommends that companies take emerging digital anxieties seriously and address them to better the employee experience and reduce workforce stress. Doubt and fear of automation seem to result when employees don’t see how it can help them. By showing them data that reflects automation’s value specifically to them can decrease anxiety and lead to easier acceptance.
said their companies are working to equip their workforces with the right skills to keep up with the evolving nature of technology
of decision makers believe new formal work certifications/vocations for different levels of automation are likely to have major or at least some beneficial effect in dealing with automation anxiety
of decision makers think monitoring employees’ anxiety should be required, compared to 29% in 2019
The Future of Work Has Been Accelerated
Employers have been forced to figure out how to make remote business work, eliminating any previous barriers that prevented them from allowing employees to work from home before. According to the report, these “flexible ways of working will remain in place” as we head into the future of work.
Organizations need to prepare for a new organizational structure and a more progressive WFH program. They should increase investments in collaborative and intelligent automation technology to improve business continuity, revamp business processes, and allow for scale with a more spread out workforce.
of respondents said using RPA to support remote business is a critical or high priority
of respondents said they want to address extraordinary cost pressures through rapid automation of back-office and operational tasks
As we move forward into 2021, we’ll see a lot of changes to the way businesses will be ran, from improving the employee experience to increasing automation usage to even organizational structure development. We look forward to this new future of work and what is to come from these post-pandemic innovations.
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