Closing the Workplace Technology Gap
*Updated 15 September 2026*
Most employees are already highly capable digital users.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology found in July 2026 that 76% of UK adults could complete most digital tasks without difficulty, while 56% had improved their digital skills during the previous year.
Yet workplace technology can still feel more difficult than the apps people use every day.
The problem is often not a lack of digital ability. It is disconnected systems, repetitive processes, poor user experience and technology that has been introduced without considering how work actually gets done.
That creates a useful starting point for digital transformation.
Do not assume employees need more technology. First identify where existing technology is making work harder.
Why Does Consumer Technology Often Feel Easier?
Consumer applications are generally designed around a clear task.
Book a journey. Send a message. Make a payment. Find information.
Workplace processes are often more complicated because employees may need to move between communications platforms, CRM systems, emails, spreadsheets and operational applications to complete one task.
Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index found that 48% of employees said their work felt chaotic and fragmented.
The challenge is therefore less about making business software look like a consumer app and more about reducing the number of unnecessary steps employees have to complete.
Is AI Closing The Workplace Technology Gap?
AI is beginning to change how employees interact with workplace systems.
ONS research published in July 2026 found that 55% of employees reported using AI for work or education, compared with around 35% of UK businesses with 10 or more employees reporting business-level AI adoption.
That difference is significant.
Employees may already be adopting AI tools faster than organisations are redesigning the processes around them.
Simply providing access to AI is therefore not enough. Businesses need to decide where it can genuinely reduce effort, improve decision-making or automate repetitive activity.
Britannic's approach to digital transformation starts with the business problem rather than the technology. This can involve improving existing systems, connecting and automating processes or replacing technology that is genuinely holding the organisation back.
What Makes Workplace Technology Easier To Use?
Britannic recommends focusing on four areas.
| Priority | What To Look For |
| Simplify | Remove unnecessary steps, duplicated work and outdated processes |
| Connect | Integrate communications, applications and data so employees do not repeatedly switch systems |
| Automate | Use AI and workflow automation for repetitive, high-volume tasks |
| Enable |
|
The aim is not to reproduce consumer technology inside the workplace.
It is to apply the same principles of clarity, simplicity and relevance.
Where Can Businesses Remove Digital Friction?
A useful starting point is to examine processes that employees complete repeatedly.
Britannic recently analysed 5,000 customer emails in one month for a facilities management organisation. The analysis found that most queries required more than 10 emails to resolve, while one department averaged 32 emails per resolution across three parties.
The issue was not employee digital skills. It was the process.
Britannic used the findings to help redesign email handling, identify actionable requests more effectively and begin automating customer updates.
This is the type of problem digital transformation should target.
Workplace Technology Checklist
Organisations should ask:
- Which processes require employees to switch repeatedly between systems?
- Where is information entered more than once?
- Which tasks are repetitive and predictable?
- Are communications and business applications integrated?
- Can employees easily find the information they need?
- Where could AI or automation remove manual work?
- Are new tools solving a defined problem?
- Is employee adoption being measured?
- Are existing systems being improved before new ones are added?
The biggest gains often come from fixing the workflow around the technology rather than replacing the technology itself.
Better Technology Should Make Work Less Visible
Employees do not need every workplace system to feel like a social media app.
They need technology that helps them complete tasks with fewer unnecessary steps.
That may mean integrating unified communications with business applications, automating repetitive workflows, using AI to surface information or redesigning processes that have simply accumulated complexity over time.
Britannic helps organisations connect people, processes, data and technology to remove operational friction and create measurable improvements in productivity, customer experience and employee experience.
Organisations looking to reduce workplace friction can book a complimentary meeting with Britannic to identify where integration, automation or process improvement could deliver the greatest value.
