The number of ‘intelligent workers’ (iWorkers) in European businesses is expected to rise sharply over the next five years, new research commissioned by Ricoh has suggested.
Currently, 4% of business leaders would describe the majority of their staff as iWorkers: reliable and skilled employees who have 24/7 access to all the necessary information to meet the needs of the business and its clients. However, business leaders predict significant change over the next five years, with 37% believing that by 2018 the majority of their workforce will be iWorkers.
Acceleration of the iWorker may be connected to the growing consequences of ineffective information sharing. When asked to rank the areas that have been impacted the most, business leaders cited lost revenues in first place (49%) followed by lost customers (43%) in second and a lack of customer insight (27%) in third.
The study also shows there are challenges to overcome prior to increasing the presence of the iWorker in European businesses. While almost three quarters are investing in new technologies to improve employee productivity inside and outside of the office, the majority highlight the need to review existing processes so that employees can access business critical information more easily.
Over 70% believe the inability to access documents from a mobile device is holding their business back, while two-thirds say that unsuitable search functions are preventing employees from finding the information they need to help the business move forward. In addition 62% say that disjointed information silos are hindering the sharing of information.
Phil Keoghan, CEO at Ricoh UK, said: "The population of iWorkers is forecast to rise significantly. The question is, are businesses ready? Business leaders are more aware than ever before of the need to further optimise the way they use technology and eliminate the information silos occurring across the business. There is an urgency to review and change traditional ways of working and keep up with technology-led change, which will continue to bring new challenges."
Business leaders highlight the most important next steps to enable the acceleration of the iWorker. The activities most effective in enhancing employee knowledge are (ranked first) making use of collaboration tools: enabling collaboration and knowledge sharing in multiple locations. This is followed by optimising business processes: reviewing the way employees work and ensuring technology is being used for maximum benefit, alongside making the transition to the cloud.
Research from McKinsey highlights that companies with higher concentrations of knowledge workers (above 35% of the workforce) create, on average, returns per employee three times higher than those of companies with fewer knowledge workers (20% or less of the workforce).
Keoghan continued: "Now is the time for organisations across the country to optimise critical business and document processes to prepare more effectively for the future. With greater innovations and technology led-change on the way, the establishment of the iWorker as a more informed workforce is essential to realising business growth, improved business agility, efficiency, productivity and responsiveness to client needs."
