Nintex Study Finds Manufacturing Employees Worry Less About Job Loss Than Losing Marketable Skills Due to Digital Transformation Initiatives

Manufacturing employees also desire deeper involvement in the transformative efforts of their organizations

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Oct 24, 2018, 10:02 ET

BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent study from Nintex, the global standard for process management and automation, 75 percent of manufacturing employees in the United States are not concerned about their job security even amid the rise of intelligent automation and artificial intelligence technologies. In fact, of those concerned, 33 percent say these tools make their jobs harder.

Nintex’s latest research, called “The State of Intelligent Process Automation Study”, finds that 75 percent of manufacturing employees in the United States are not concerned about their job security even amid the rise of intelligent automation and artificial intelligence technologies.

Nintex's latest research, called "The State of Intelligent Process Automation Study", finds 63 percent of workers employed in the manufacturing industry are very aware of digital transformation and its promised benefits. In fact, compared to all survey respondents across industries, those who identified themselves as part of the manufacturing industry were second only to technology industry workers in their overall awareness of digital transformation. That said, just 23 percent of manufacturing employees surveyed are currently involved in their organizations' digital transformation efforts and 73 percent want more involvement.

The study also provides insight on why manufacturing professionals may be skeptical of intelligent technologies. The data reveals 35 percent have been in their role for more than 10 years, and 98 percent say moderate to deep expertise is necessary to carry out their roles. While these employees understand the potential of digitization, they fear a negative impact to their expertise as a result of digital transformation. Seventy-seven percent of manufacturing employees think artificial intelligence (AI) will make them lazy and cause them to lose their marketable skills.

Nintex's study also surveyed manufacturing decision makers on their perceptions of digital transformation. Thirty-one percent have had a formal digital transformation plan in place for one to three years and about a third (30 percent) say their digital transformation efforts are significantly ahead of other industries. At the same time, just 15 percent say automation and AI will definitely eliminate jobs at their companies. Still, more than half (56 percent) of manufacturing leaders blame lack of in-house talent for transformation shortcomings. Another 35 percent say insufficient employee training on new technologies has hindered their digital transformation success.

"Manufacturing industry decision makers understand the value in digital transformation but, like in many industries, are struggling to find the right talent to make it a reality," said Nintex Chief Evangelist Ryan Duguid. "A very practical solution is to rethink the problem. Hiring hard-to-find talent isn't the fastest solution. Instead, invest in the people you have and give them the proper training and tools necessary to engage in more meaningful, transformative work. Begin by closely looking at how your business runs and visually map out your processes with a solution like Nintex Promapp. Engage the very people involved in your business processes every day and you'll drive continuous process improvements, including identifying processes that are ripe for automation."

The "State of Intelligent Process Automation Study" is based on survey data from more than 450 decision makers and 650 line of business employees at U.S. based companies with more than 250 employees. To learn more about this research, download the report at www.nintex.com/stateofIPAstudy.

Media Contact
Kristin Treat
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About Nintex
Nintex is the global standard for process management and automation. Today more than 8,000 public and private sector clients across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimizing business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA).

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Study Methodology
Nintex commissioned third-party research firm, Lucid, in April and May of 2018 to conduct two surveys. The first was completed by more than 450 U.S. decision makers directly involved in their organizations' digital transformation strategies at companies with 250+ employees and work in either manufacturing, healthcare or finance in an operations, IT or marketing role. The second surveyed 650 U.S. line of business employees at U.S. companies with 250+ employees.

SOURCE Nintex