ABBYY Survey Identifies Behaviors Driving Intelligent Automation Successes and Failures

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – June 22, 2022 – New research has revealed how personality traits are impacting digital transformation projects in the enterprise.
The survey looked at differences between automation leaders who described themselves as either introvert or extrovert. And it revealed their character not only influenced why and how projects were implemented, but actions post deployment when things went wrong.

It turns out that introverts are more likely to instigate upgrades because of human factors – such as pressure from employees, staff burnout or to support the neediest teams, while extroverts focus more on replacing old software, pressure from the market and ROI.

The survey also revealed that introverts are twice as likely to spot a failure in the early days of deployment – 50% v 25%, while personality also played a huge part in resolving the issue – with 100% of introverts saying they’d replace it with new technology, compared to only 38% of extroverts.

“The results of the research shed a whole new light on approaches to digital transformation and how the personality of the person leading the project can determine success or failure, and also appropriate remedies for overcoming challenges,” said Bruce Orcutt, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Marketing at intelligent automation company ABBYY, who sponsored the survey carried out by Sapio Research.

“This type of factor has not been analyzed before and it may be helpful for companies to recognize the effect personality traits are having on their investment in digital transformation.”

The study also showed different levels of expectations among the opposing personalities. For example, introducing AI improved business efficiency according to 53% of extroverts, while only 29% of introverts agreed.

The reasons for failure also created opposing views – 50% of introverts blamed too hasty a deployment, compared to only 25% of extroverts. In addition, introverts were more likely to blame skilled employees leaving the business as another reason for failure (100%), while just 38% of extroverts thought it was staff related.

However, despite the drawbacks, most digital transformation projects went well – with 96% saying they had been ‘very or somewhat’ successful, and ‘easy to use’ tech being the main reason for success (44%).

Other stats from the research include:
·        60% of decision makers now expect 2x ROI on their investment and 48% claimed 2x ROI was delivered. 97% said it improved performance.
·        The most popular tech introduced was document-centric process automation (54%) process automation (54%) machine learning (48%) while the least implemented is RPA (39%).
·        The departments seeing the most success were IT (69%), Accounts/Finance (44%) Operations (32%)

·        Top reasons for automating were to prepare for hybrid and remote working (62%) pressure from the market (44%) and employee burnout (39%)

Added Orcutt: “With employee burnout being a driver for automation, it is clear that a people-first approach, such as understanding how staff interact with processes and making sure business outcomes are clearly identified, is necessary for broad success. We will inevitably witness more companies continuing to automate throughout their organization as a result of process discovery and putting people first.”