Businesses Face Productivity Loss Equal to 25 Working Days Every Year Due to Data Skills Gaps, Multiverse Report Reveals

A report from Multiverse, released on August 5, highlights that businesses are experiencing significant productivity losses due to widespread data skills gaps. On average, these gaps result in the equivalent of approximately 25 lost working days per employee each year, specifically related to data-related tasks.

The report found that while data has become a critical component of most job roles, many employees lack the essential skills needed to use it effectively. About half of the workforce struggles with tasks such as efficient data analysis, process automation, and forecasting.

Euan Blair, founder and CEO of Multiverse, noted that employees are spending considerable time each week working with spreadsheets, often without the necessary skills to do so efficiently.

An analysis of data from 12,000 employees across 18 industries in the U.S. and U.K. revealed that workers spend around 14.3 hours per week on data tasks, which accounts for 36% of their workweek. However, 4.3 of these hours are spent unproductively due to the skills gaps, with about 10% of the workweek lost to inefficiencies in data analysis, automation, and predictive modeling.

Despite the expectation that employees across all departments should be data literate, a report from Forrester and Tableau indicated that only 39% of employers provide data training to all employees. Furthermore, while 75% of leaders believe employees should learn about data on the job, by 2025, 70% of employees are expected to use data at some level in their roles.

Although there is a consensus among employers and employees on the need for skills development, continuous upskilling is not yet widespread, according to a report from D2L. Employees cited barriers such as time constraints, financial costs, and lack of motivation as reasons for limited participation in learning opportunities.

Looking forward, executives are prioritizing upskilling investments in areas like cybersecurity, AI, and data training, according to a Skillsoft report. These areas correspond with the positions where businesses are currently facing the most significant challenges in acquiring talent.

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