Data skills gap leads to 26 days a year in lost productivity

Published: 6 August 2024 | by: Personnel Today

A data skills gap among workforces is causing businesses to lose 26 days a year in productivity, new research has found.

The Multiverse Skills Intelligence Report found that employees in the UK and US are spending an average of around 14.31 hours each week — equating to 36% of their working week — on data-related tasks. However, 4.34 of these hours are unproductive because they lack the skills needed to do their job.

The study, which examined data from Multiverse’s skills assessment and development platform, reviewed levels of skills and productivity among 12,000 workers in 18 major industries. It discovered that more than 10% of their total working time was spent ineffectively because of skill shortages in areas such as predictive modelling, automation and data analysis.

According to Multiverse, the report indicates a paradox in modern workplaces, since data has become integral in most jobs yet many people lack the basic skills required to effectively use it.

The study found that half of those surveyed find it challenging to make data analysis more efficient or automate processes, while nearly the same number struggle to use data for forecasting.

Among respondents, nearly six in 10 (57%) admitted to having no or only basic Excel skills, while a similar percentage (55%) lack skills in using visualisation tools.

The data skills gap and its impact varies in different industries, with the education sector having the highest proportion of time spent unproductively on data-related tasks at 38%. Manufacturing and engineering came second, at 36%, followed by banking and finance, which reported 35% of unproductive time spent on data tasks.

Euan Blair, founder and CEO, said: “Companies recognise the value of big data, and many are collecting vast amounts of it. But their employees are spending hours each week, struggling in spreadsheets, because they’ve never been trained in these areas that they’re now expected to know.

“The economic cost of the time spent unproductively grappling with data tasks is in the billions: it’s something companies need to take seriously. Companies have spent billions on software, but hardly anything on the skills needed to get the most from that software.”

The report highlights that despite the loss in productivity caused by the data skills gap, there is a silver lining for employers since 90% of survey respondents expressed a desire to improve these skills. This aligns with business goals, with more than three in four (76%) planning to upskill current staff and almost the same number (73%) intending to reskill workers into new positions.