Redefining Workforce Productivity: How AI and Data Are Driving the Future

Workforce productivity is an ongoing business imperative that is consistently challenged and shaped by external forces, from technological advancements to a shifting economic landscape.  At the heart of every organization’s productivity challenge is its workforce. People, after all, are the source of competitive advantage, workplace productivity, and business growth.

Traditionally, productivity improvements have come through cost-cutting, workforce restructuring, and operational efficiency. While still important, these efforts aren’t enough in an environment marked by economic uncertainty, rising customer expectations, growing competition on a global scale, and rapidly advancing technologies.

Those technologies, of course, can be part of the solution. When used effectively, tools like generative AI (genAI) and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI) help companies enhance business productivity, reduce inefficiencies, and unlock data-driven insights that lead to measurable business impact.

What is workforce productivity?

Workforce productivity is a measure of how effectively and efficiently an organization is accomplishing its business goals. This is often calculated based on a measurement of the goods and services employees can produce and deliver in a certain period of time. But it’s not just a measure of time; productivity metrics must also take into account the quality of the goods and services produced.

Understanding productivity metrics can help to identify gaps and areas of opportunity for improvement.

Boosting data visibility for better business outcomes

Business leaders often lack access to the reliable, relevant metrics they need to drive productivity and performance. With AI-powered workforce analytics and insights, that’s changing.

Organizations that can tap into insights from their people and work data are outperforming their peers. We call that a Workforce AI Edge.

Organizations can gain a Workforce AI Edge by:

• Using foundational people analytics to identify workforce trends, skills gaps, and engagement levels.

• Integrating work data with people data to understand how tasks, collaboration, and workflows influence productivity.

• Engage in strategic workforce planning to optimize output by having the right people in the right roles at the right time.

• Use automation of insights to achieve productivity at scale to drive better decision-making.

Visier People® Extend can help support these efforts through prebuilt connectors that provide seamless data integration, helping companies unlock immediate, continuous insights without heavy IT involvement. Connectors allow companies to quickly evaluate productivity impacts ranging from employee engagement, to the impact of learning and development (L&D) efforts, to variations in sales performance, and more. 

AI-enabled insights can help companies identify top talent, optimize staffing, and ensure fair and equitable compensation. The bottom line: a better bottom line.

How organizations are using people and work data to drive impact

Workforce productivity goes beyond simply measuring output to understand how people and the work they do drive business results. Every organization defines productivity differently, depending on its workforce and business model. But the goal is the same: uncover how people impact performance and turn those insights into business value.

Here’s how three companies took different approaches to get there.

Printpack, a packaging firm, was experiencing significant turnover among its heavily hourly workers. COVID-19 exacerbated the issue leading the company to take steps to protect manufacturing productivity and meet customer demand. Using data and the power of AI, Printpack was able to reduce turnover and the amount of time required to get new employees fully up to speed. 

Standard Bank Group, the largest financial institution in Africa, wanted to boost productivity by consolidating 80 separate data systems into just 10 systems across 28 countries. Visier’s workforce analytics helped them achieve significant cost savings, improved compliance, and enhanced business agility. 

A global retailer was able to elevate workforce productivity and increase sales by linking employee productivity to sales performance. An AI fueled and data-driven approach helped them to optimize staffing, improve sales conversion rates, and reduce turnover—all measurable outcomes that strengthen their bottom line.

While the areas of focus and approach were different in each of these cases, the outcome was the same—using the power of people, and data-driven insights, to drive desired business results.

These are the kinds of results that are made possible by today’s advanced AI capabilities.

3 ways to increase workforce productivity

Integrating people data into your strategic decision-making process will boost your productivity. These three best practices will help you achieve this.

1. Break down data silos to achieve seamless integration that provides a comprehensive, real-time view of your workforce. Integration also minimizes the risk of outdated or incomplete information in decision-making.

2. Partner with your CHRO to align people analytics with enterprise objectives. Your CHRO has deep expertise in workforce strategy; armed with the right data they can apply that expertise to align people with organizational priorities.

3. Equip the executive team with easy access to workforce insights. Vee Boards, AI-augmented insight boards, offer a seamless and data-driven approach to get quick answers to workforce-related questions. Vee is a powerful genAI assistant for instant workforce insights.

Are you looking for a Workforce AI Edge? We can help. Learn more or take part in a two-minute, self-guided tour to discover how unified access to critical employee and workforce metrics can help boost productivity through better and more data-informed decisions. 

More about workforce productivity

• Employee productivity is critical to a business's success. When your employees don’t work as well as they used to, the entire organization suffers. Learn how to measure employee productivity here.

• Discover the key strategies that drive workforce productivity, eliminate common inefficiencies, and create a thriving, high-performing organization.

• New research confirms traditional employee engagement surveys fall short in measuring worker well-being, harming productivity. Read more here.