Survey Reveals Businesses Are Doubling Down on Automation to Balance Against the Global Labor Shortage

85% of U.S. business executives believe automation will help them retain employees and hire new talent amid The Great Resignation, according to UiPath study

NEW YORK, NY, January 19, 2022 – A survey commissioned by UiPath, Inc. (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation software company, found that 62% of executives at large U.S. companies are struggling with the current labor shortage. As a result, 78% of them are likely to invest or increase their investment in automation to manage through the impact of higher-than-normal turnover rates.

The third annual UiPath survey of U.S. business executives in C-level and senior management roles found that:

Automation is helping companies succeed during the labor shortage: While 83% of executives say their companies currently invest in and/or use automation or AI tools, 78% are very or somewhat likely to invest more in automation to offset the impact of the labor shortage. About 7 in 10 executives plan to increase their investment in automation tools in 2022 compared to 2021.

Eighty-six percent of executives surveyed believe automation will enable their employees to focus on more creative work—and spend less time on mundane, repetitive, time-consuming tasks. As a result, 85% say that incorporating automation and automation training into their organization will help them retain employees and attract new talent. Surveyed executives also believe automation is helping their companies perform better by saving time (71%), improving productivity (63%), and saving money (59%).

Many large organizations are trying to solve for The Great Resignation: 62% percent of executives say their companies are struggling with the current labor shortage. The challenges their companies are experiencing due to the labor shortage include struggling to attract new talent to take on necessary tasks (74%), losing skilled people to manage necessary tasks (69%), and disrupting workflows due to higher rates of onboarding and offboarding (58%).

While there are myriad reasons people leave their jobs, executives surveyed believe that the greatest contributing factors are: pressures on work/life balance (58%); low compensation (54%); and lack of advancement opportunities (42%). Most executives surveyed believe employee job performance—and therefore job retention—can be improved through a better work-life balance (73%), opportunities to learn new skills on the job (60%), and opportunities to improve existing skills on the job (53%).

Offering automation training is necessary for companies to keep and hire new talent: The survey also revealed 1 in 3 executives cite lack of skills training as another reason why people leave their jobs. Currently, 51% of organizations offer automation training, according to this survey. Sixty-three percent offer on-the-job training of automation skills during work hours, while 29% train outside of work but costs are subsidized by the company. These findings are further evidence that organizations are expanding access to automation technology to provide employees with automation skillsets. A previous UiPath study of 4,500 global office workers found that 91% believe their employers should be more willing to invest in digital and technology training skills for their employees to be successful in the future of work.

The dynamics of work and the workplace continue to evolve, creating multi-faceted pressures on employers to retain employees and attract new talent. Business and technology leaders recognize automation is both a long-term strategy that maximizes the impact of their existing technology stack and a solution that helps each individual employee grow and succeed. The skills these workers gain in automation-first environments provide rich career opportunities in inventive workplaces.

Bettina Koblick, Chief People Officer at UiPath

The third annual UiPath survey polled 500 U.S. business executives in C-level and senior management roles at companies with more than 1,000 employees in December 2021 to understand their organizations’ investments in automation to attract and retain talent amid the Great Resignation.