Less than half of IT leaders feel their current digital workplace solutions adequately support employee productivity, engagement, and innovation, with most organisations believing they must overhaul their current digital workplace to unlock the potential of emerging technologies.

That’s according to Lenovo’s latest report, Reinventing Workplace Productivity, which found that despite 79% of tech leaders agreeing AI will allow employees to focus on more impactful work, only 36% believe their systems support employee engagement “very effectively”.   

In a global survey of 600 IT leaders, the multinational tech company found a staggering 89% believe that to fully utilise AI, companies have to dramatically rethink their approach to digital workplaces, which Lenovo claims highlights an urgent need for digital workplace transformation if the technology is to be successfully adopted.

GenAI, in particular, is expected to yield significant benefits once properly integrated. Over 80% of leaders agreed that more genAI tools would positively impact employee collaboration, creativity, engagement, and focus, with 61% saying that automating IT processes using AI is critical for the employee experience.

According to the report, organisations’ desire to enhance the employee experience is the key driver behind current AI strategies.

Nearly half (49%) of IT leaders said that creating a productive and engaging employee experience (EX) is their top priority for the year ahead, while 81% agreed that EX is an important objective, figures which echo research published last month by IDC and Lenovo that found improving employee productivity is this year’s top business priority.

IT leaders hope that their investment in AI to improve EX could bring a raft of benefits, including increased productivity, more innovation, and a greater sense of satisfaction for employees.

However, Lenovo’s report also identified the most common roadblocks hindering firms from transforming their digital workplaces around AI.

For example, while 63% of IT leaders agreed that a highly personalised digital workplace is essential, a lack of configurable devices and applications remains a top barrier, with the current ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach leaving employees underserved.

Meanwhile, security precautions that impair user experience (46%), poorly integrated IT support systems (37%), ageing devices (34%), and an overabundance of manual IT support processes (34%) were all noted as stumbling blocks.

Added to that is the issue of trust, with 42% of employees worried that AI will reduce the value of their contribution to the business, while 35% are concerned over the privacy, security and ethical risks of AI.

Recommended reading

• PM Champions AI in UK “Digital Revolution”
• Are AI PCs a Game-changer or a Gimmick?
• Is AI Pushing Data Centres to Their Limits?

“Transforming your workplace is essential to using AI effectively,” said Rakshit Ghura, VP and general manager of digital workplace solutions at Lenovo.

“AI changes the rules of productivity, but to realise its potential, IT leaders must work alongside their executive teams to rethink how AI can augment their organisation’s value-creation levers and competitive differentiation.

“AI must be seamlessly integrated into core operations, creating a personalised and efficient digital workplace that enhances the employee experience and drives long-term productivity.”