Plugging the productivity gap

The words ‘Plugging the productivity gap’ with the words ‘productivity gap’ in yellow and the rest in white. They are set against an image of a blue, purple, and white Rubix cube floating in a void. The mid-section of the Rubix cube is mid-swivel. The ITPro podcast logo is in the bottom right corner.
(Image credit: Future / Unsplash - Aaron Boris)

Many businesses in the tech sector are currently facing economic headwinds, with rising costs and enduring skill shortages stymying growth plans. In response, some companies – including a number of notable large firms – have announced sweeping staff cuts.

This is one way to cut costs, but it can end up placing an undue burden on the remaining staff. Small businesses in particular may struggle to reduce their employee numbers without forcing their staff to assume extra responsibilities, or having to say goodbye to some crucial tasks altogether.

In this episode, Rory is joined by Sune Engsig, VP of Product Development at the test automation platform Leapwork, to discuss the strategic changes tech companies can embrace to achieve their productivity goals.

Highlights

“You'd be amazed by the lack of attention from C-level towards QA. That analogy of “it's running down the hall, please go down there” is very representative of the focus for QA and testing at C-level. It's something that they've delegated completely and entirely, and again if you ask me because they're underestimating both the complexity of the domain but also the potential of it.”

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“You can become super productive and very inefficient, at the same time, with zero effort really. That's the easiest thing in the world. So understand that key difference between those two, those two components, they're often mixed up with each other.”

“What happens if you automate blindly, so if you automate processes that are not running well, or if you're automating processes that are not efficient? Guess what happens: when you automate them, they will still be inefficient, and they will still not be working well. So they will just be accelerating the pain. RPA has, I think, enhanced a lot of organizations’ business processes, and that's a crucial enabler for having this predictability.”

Footnotes

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Rory Bathgate
Features and Multimedia Editor

Rory Bathgate is Features and Multimedia Editor at ITPro, overseeing all in-depth content and case studies. He can also be found co-hosting the ITPro Podcast with Jane McCallion, swapping a keyboard for a microphone to discuss the latest learnings with thought leaders from across the tech sector.

In his free time, Rory enjoys photography, video editing, and good science fiction. After graduating from the University of Kent with a BA in English and American Literature, Rory undertook an MA in Eighteenth-Century Studies at King’s College London. He joined ITPro in 2022 as a graduate, following four years in student journalism. You can contact Rory at rory.bathgate@futurenet.com or on LinkedIn.