Indian organisations slow to adopt AI, automation: Survey

Even as Covid-19 pandemic triggered a seismic shift in how, when and where we work, organisations in India have been keen to adopt new leading-edge workforce technologies. But they have not been successful in implementing them rapidly, according to a survey.

The KellyOCG's 2021 Workforce Agility Report showed that 55 per cent of workforce in India lacks the skills to be able to adopt new technologies at pace.

About 50 per cent of executives in India said their organization is too slow to adopt technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and automation.

However, 49 per cent of executives in India said their organization is adopting new talent management technologies.

While business leaders in India said they will continue to offer hybrid work models and remote work opportunities to cater to the changing needs of employees who are balancing priorities at work and at home, the survey indicated that employees are struggling to adjust to working remote.

About 66 per cent of executives in India said their organisation will adopt a hybrid model. However, 57 per cent also said that remote work is mostly a disadvantage for their organisation.

"The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in India have forced employers to move towards remote work, and a hybrid work model will likely be the way forward," said Pete Hamilton, vice president and regional director, Asia-Pacific, at KellyOCG, in a statement.

"Organisations are still apprehensive about adopting the changing dynamics and thus a shift in both mindset and strategy is required. It's clear that business leaders have been trying to implement various policies to help employees, but full execution is needed to reap the intended benefits," Hamilton added.

The survey included more than 1,000 senior executives across 13 countries.

More than half (59 per cent) of executives said their businesses will adopt a hybrid working model post pandemic; yet one in four believe their leaders lack the skills to manage the workforce they want to build.

Only a minority of organisations are using leading-edge technologies to respond to critical issues around workforce planning and management, including monitoring productivity and efficiency (44 per cent), managing a remote workforce (38 per cent), and predicting skills requirements (32 per cent).

The majority (55 per cent) reported that talent from underrepresented groups has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic -- but fewer than half (43 per cent) said they are executing a fully developed diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy for their full-time staff, and only 19 per cent have one for contingent labour.