Indian employees AI-ready, but enterprise workflows holding them back: Report
Mumbai, July 30
While a majority of Indian employees say artificial intelligence has improved their day-to-day work experience, only 32 per cent believe AI is embedded into the core systems where work happens, highlighting a gap between employee readiness and enterprise adoption, according to a new report by Workday.
The report found that 89 per cent of Indian employees say AI has improved their day-to-day work experience. However, organisations are yet to fully integrate AI into their core business systems and workflows, limiting the technology's overall impact.
It stated, "Employees here believe in the power of AI to improve their work.......... AI has the potential to address the copy/paste time waste, and employees are ready for it. However, only 32 per cent of employees say their organization has AI deeply embedded in their core systems, leaving it on the periphery"
According to the report, AI is helping employees complete individual tasks more efficiently, but disconnected systems and workflows continue to consume a significant amount of employee time.
More than one-third of employees lose over seven hours each week moving information between systems, while 56 per cent spend at least half of their effort coordinating across different systems and teams instead of creating value for their organisations.
Despite these operational challenges, the report presents an optimistic picture of India's workforce. Nearly all employees reported a positive day-to-day work experience, while more than nine in ten said they make meaningful progress at work, feel a strong sense of ownership over their responsibilities and understand how their contributions support broader organisational goals.
The findings suggest that organisations have an opportunity to move beyond standalone AI tools by embedding AI into the core systems and workflows where work takes place.
According to the report, this could reduce operational friction and enable employees to spend more time on strategic and higher-value work.
Commenting on the findings, Sunil Jose, President, Workday India, said, "Our research shows that Indian employees are ready to embrace AI and are already experiencing its benefits in their day-to-day work. The next phase of enterprise AI will depend on how effectively organizations integrate AI into the way work gets done."
He added, "As long as employees continue to navigate disconnected systems and workflows, organizations will only realize a fraction of AI's potential. Those that embed AI into the core of their business operations will be better positioned to simplify work, improve decision-making and create meaningful value across the enterprise."
The report also found that trust in enterprise systems plays an important role in AI adoption. Nearly all employees, or 95 per cent, said AI increases their confidence in decision-making when they trust the underlying systems and data.
According to Workday, the next phase of enterprise AI is not about adding more AI tools but about embedding AI into trusted enterprise systems and workflows.
The report said organisations that do so can simplify operations, reduce friction and create greater capacity for employees to focus on strategic, high-value work that delivers stronger business outcomes.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As someone who works remotely for a US company, I see this gap firsthand. Indian employees are quick to adopt new tech, but the problem is always legacy workflows. The report mentions trust - 95% feel confident when systems are reliable. That's huge for India where data security fears often slow adoption. The real win will be when AI automates the boring stuff like expense reports and timesheets. 🙌
Good observations but let's be honest - Indian companies always talk about AI adoption but ground reality is different. The article says 'embedding AI into core systems' - bro, half our firms still use Windows 7 and old ERPs. 😐 The 56% spending half effort coordinating across teams isn't shocking. We need simpler solutions first, not fancy reports. Workday wants to sell their platform, obviously they'll highlight this.
I totally relate to this! In my previous job at a BPO in Pune, we had amazing AI tools for chat, but the workflow to connect it to our CRM was broken. So much time wasted copy-pasting. The 56% coordinating across systems is so real. Kudos to the report for highlighting employee readiness - we Indians love upskilling. Now companies need to match that energy. Also, trust factor is key - no one wants AI making decisions on shaky data. 🚀
This is a global problem, not just India, but the stats here are striking. 89% saying AI improved daily work is impressive - shows Indian workforce is hungry for tech. But the disconnect between tools and actual workflows is the bottleneck. The 7 hours wasted per week moving data across systems is exactly what kills productivity. Companies need to stop layering AI on top of broken processes. Use AI to fix the process itself. Just my two cents from working in tech for a decade. 🌟
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.