UK Businesses Lose £12K Per Employee Annually Due to Outdated AI…

Event summary

Smartsheet's research reveals 80% of UK leaders believe AI boosts productivity, but 63% still rely on outdated metrics like hours worked.
Teams lose ~10 weeks/year to low-value work due to 'task masking' culture, costing £12K per employee annually.
74% of public sector leaders equate hours worked with productivity, lagging private sectors.
52% of leaders expect AI to be the biggest productivity driver in 3-5 years, but adoption without metric changes captures only fractional value.

The big picture

Smartsheet's findings highlight a critical disconnect between AI optimism and outdated measurement systems across UK businesses. The research underscores how traditional productivity metrics create 'task masking' cultures that erode engagement and revenue potential. This trend reflects broader challenges in digital transformation, where technology adoption often outpaces organizational readiness to measure its true impact.

What we're watching

Metric Evolution: How quickly UK businesses shift from hours-based to outcome-driven productivity metrics.
AI Integration: Whether AI adoption without cultural changes will sustain long-term productivity gains.
Sector Disparity: The pace at which public sector lags behind private sectors in adopting modern productivity frameworks.