Deloitte survey: Business executives expect automation to increase workforce capacity by 27% over the next three years

Business executives expect automation solutions such as robotics, machine learning and natural language processing to increase workforce capacity by 27% over the next three years, shows the latest Deloitte Automation with Intelligence Survey, conducted on over 500 organisations in 26 countries worldwide, including Romania. This increase is equivalent to 2.4 million extra full time employees in the over 500 organisations that took part in Deloitte’s survey, presenting significant potential to boost productivity and to improve the human experience, as roles are redesigned.

More than half (58%) of organisations across the world have deployed at least one automation solution, shows the survey. Although still small, the number of organisations that have implemented automation at scale has doubled over the past year. According to the survey, 8% of executives have deployed over 50 automation solutions in their business, compared to 4%, in 2018.

Still, despite the uptick in adoption of automation technologies, a significant proportion of business leaders have not forecast the impact that these technologies will have on their employees, the report reveals. Thus, 60% of executives have not yet looked into whether automation will require their workers to retrain and 44% have not assessed whether automation will change the roles and tasks their workers do and the way they do them.

The level of employees’ support for these technologies tends to grow significantly as organisations move further along their automation journey. For example, 32% of executives whose organisations are piloting automation solutions say their workforce is unsupportive, compared to just 12% in organisations which are implementing or scaling such solutions.

“The business environment is now evolving from finding digitized ways of working – through robotics to automate repetitive rules-based processes – to making these solutions smarter by integrating AI capabilities. In Romania, players in telecoms and financial services are front runners in the implementation of new ways of working and new technologies, however at a slower pace compared to their western peers,” said Dinu Bumbacea, Consulting Partner-in-charge, Deloitte Romania.

Organisations see as primary benefits of intelligent automation technologies the increased productivity and cost reduction, greater accuracy and an improved customer experience, the survey shows.

Deloitte Automation with Intelligence Survey analyses the uptake of automation technologies and its impact on the workforce. It is conducted based on responses from 523 executives leading organisations in 26 countries with a combined annual turnover of USD 2.7 trillion. The full report is available here.

Deloitte provides worldwide audit, consulting, legal, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. Deloitte serves four out of five Fortune Global 500 companies through a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries and territories bringing world-class capabilities, insights, and high-quality service to address clients' most complex business challenges. Deloitte's goal is to make an impact that matters through its more than 312,000 professionals.

Deloitte Romania is one of the leading professional services organizations in the country providing, in cooperation with Reff & Associates, services in audit, tax, legal, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, business processes and technology services and other related services with more than 1,500 professionals.