Global productivity grows only 1.4% annually despite technological advances

 

A new Accenture study reveals that global productivity, measured as inflation-adjusted EBIT per employee, has grown by just 1.4% annually since 2000, despite significant technology investments over the past two decades.

Carolina Botero, President of Accenture Colombia, explains:

“This is because productivity initiatives have primarily focused on cost reduction and efficiency improvements. Now, the impact of generative AI and other technologies is compelling companies to redefine productivity, fundamentally requiring new ways of working. Our study found that 25% of companies worldwide have succeeded in increasing their productivity by 8%. These organizations are not merely cutting costs; they are investing in growth and leveraging technologies like generative AI as a multiplier to drive innovation and enhance both the speed and quality of their work.”

The report notes that nearly half of executives globally still associate productivity with cost management, while only 20% link it to growth.

In this regard, Botero emphasizes:

“CEOs of high-productivity-growth companies are increasingly framing productivity discussions around revenue growth, innovation, and technology. For them, productivity reflects how effectively a company uses all its resources—capital, workforce, technology, and knowledge—to improve efficiency, speed, quality, and innovation. Based on historical company-level productivity trends and evidence of the potential impact of generative AI, our analysis indicates that adopting a holistic approach to productivity could boost corporate productivity by up to 16% annually.”

The report identifies five key areas to drive productivity:

1. Redefine productivity:

High-growth companies simplify their business models, optimize processes, leverage partners in the value chain, and develop technological capabilities.

Botero details:

“As companies increasingly face hundreds of decisions regarding processes, systems, and their impact on people and value, they need a more comprehensive data foundation to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities. This helps organizations understand and quantify the relationships among people, efficiency, effectiveness, involved systems, and value creation.”

2. Invest in growth:

Since 2015, productivity leaders have increased their costs per employee by over 6% annually and achieved similar revenue growth.

Meanwhile, less productive competitors mainly cut costs without increasing revenues.

Botero explains:

“Resource allocation strategies of productivity leaders prioritize long-term investments. For example, regarding technology investments, they spend twice as much on IT per employee as their less productive competitors and increase this spending three times faster. This investment is reinforced by investments in skill-building, technology fluency, and expanding the productivity potential of knowledge work.”

3. Enhance productivity with generative AI:

This technology can save more than 12% of work hours and improve result quality by 8.5%.

Botero states:

“Generative AI goes beyond automating routine tasks to empower complex activities, simplifying processes from design to customer service while pushing performance boundaries further. Additionally, according to our research, companies leading in generative AI adoption can increase their productivity by 20%.”

The study identifies two main ways generative AI is transforming productivity: improving knowledge work and optimizing processes.

Knowledge productivity refers to the quality of outcomes, ensuring work is more accurate, insightful, or creative.

Process productivity refers to time savings — how much faster tasks can be completed.

4. Empower talent:

A strategy is required that enhances, rather than replaces, human talent, fostering a culture of continuous learning and trust.

Botero affirms:

“Technological advances present incredible opportunities, especially the ability to unlock people’s full potential. The benefits for companies that get this right are significant: according to our analysis, organizations that adopt responsible, people-centered approaches to large-scale generative AI deployment could generate an additional $10.3 trillion in economic value by 2038.”

5. Embrace change:

Constant change is the new reality: 80% of organizations incorporate it into their long-term vision, and all anticipate major workforce transformations.

However, only 30% feel confident in their ability to manage these changes. Key barriers include cultural resistance, technological misalignment, insufficient training, and lack of effective feedback mechanisms.

Botero concludes:

“Leaders of high-productivity companies recognize the need for a cohesive strategy that not only identifies and addresses each challenge individually but treats them as interconnected components of a broader system. A comprehensive approach ensures efforts are not temporary fixes but transformative changes that turn current barriers into enablers of productivity growth and competitive advantage.”