4 in 5 Businesses Affirm That Workflow Automation Enhances Employees’ Work Rather Than Replace Them, But a Knowledge Gap Persists

• 81% of employers say
  that workflow automation will enhance employees’ work instead of replacing
  them, though 63% highlighted lack of background knowledge to utilise
  workflow automation being a major challenge. 
• They highlight the
  reasons for adopting Workflow Automation being ‘better utilisation of
  resources’ (74%), ‘carrying out mundane or tedious tasks’ (70%), ‘reducing
  operational risks’ (58%) and ‘improving company’s business performance’ (53%).
• 75% of Singapore
  employers say their organisations have experience with workflow automation
  while 25% of survey respondents plan to adopt workflow automation in the next
  12 months.

SINGAPORE
– Media OutReach – 5
March 2021 – Despite four in five
(81%) employers saying that workflow automation will enhance employees’ work
instead of replacing them, a number of challenges are still holding these
organisations back. About two in three of them highlighted obstacles related to
knowledge gaps such as ‘a lack of background knowledge to utilise workflow
automation technologies’ (63%), and ‘the inability to establish the correct
workflow’ (62%).

These are some of the key findings from the
recently launched NTUC LearningHub
(NTUC LHUB) Industry Insights Report on Workflow Automation in Singapore. The
report is based on in-depth interviews with industry experts, UiPath and NTUC
LHUB, and a survey involving 300 business decision-makers across industries in
Singapore.

In addition, while a majority of businesses
(75%) say their organisations have experience with workflow automation, almost
half (43%) of them say that they lack buy-in from employees to adopt these
technologies. In the job market, more than half (56%) of employers are willing
to offer a premium to hire talent in workflow automation, but three in
five (58%) employers highlight that there is inadequate interest among job
seekers.

The contrast between employers’ positive
attitudes towards workflow automation and employees’ ambivalent views highlights
the need to showcase to the public a different perspective about how such
technologies benefit both organisations and staff members, such as achieving
‘better utilisation of resources’ (74%), ‘carrying out mundane or tedious
tasks’ (70%), and ‘reducing operational risks’ (58%).

Anthony Chew, Director of ICT Product Division
at NTUC LHUB says, “In a turbulent COVID-19 environment, the imperative for a
company to invest in efficiency and productivity is as weighty as educating its
workforce. With that in mind, it is key that business leaders assuage any
anxiety their workers might have of new technologies so that they can truly
harness the power of automated systems. Employees must also see the adoption of
workflow automation as an opportunity to thrive in areas involving critical
thinking and decision-making — skills which are irreplaceable by machines. This
is why we urge workers to learn about workflow automation in order to fully
understand and best utilise it, rather than to fear it.”

 “The
pandemic has reinforced the importance of building agility and resilience and
Singaporean companies are seeing the cost benefits and versatility that
automation solutions such as RPA (Robotic Process Automation) provide,” says
Chris Loo, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, UiPath. “This will continue as
more companies digitise and Singapore attracts companies from high-growth
sectors such as fintech, biotechnology, renewable energy and others. Employees
who are skilled in deep tech areas such as RPA, AI/ML and cybersecurity will
add significant value, and be in high demand.”

To download the Industry Insights: Workflow Automation report,
visit https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/workflow-automation-2021.