In recent years, the UK has faced productivity challenges, and many businesses, regardless of their size, continue to have trouble.

Despite continuing investment in technology and infrastructure, recent ONS figures show that output per hour has remained almost unchanged since a drop in Q3 2023.

Many businesses still frame productivity problems as a hiring issue. If performance drops and output starts to fall, it can be easy to think that this can be fixed by bringing in new staff.

While acquiring talent remains important, this approach should not be relied on instead of addressing the underlying causes that can be causing lost productivity.

In larger organisations, the structure of the company and the way the daily workflow is handled can affect productivity. Fragmented systems, inconsistencies between teams, and multi-layered decision-making can damage efficiency just as much as individual capacity.

As businesses look to improve performance and productivity, it is essential to find where productivity is being lost and why these challenges affect large corporations in particular. Exploring these factors allows companies to take direct action that suits them.

Skills Mismatch and Underutilisation

One persistent productivity issue that organisations can face is not a lack of talent but instead a failure to properly utilise skills in work they already have. Many employees have the capability to contribute more, but instead spend a large portion of their time on low-impact or highly administrative tasks. CIPD's Good Work Index 2025 reported that a third of workers say they have the skills to handle more at work.

As these organisations grow, the problem can become hidden. Skills can be locked behind job titles instead of capabilities. Teams begin operating within fixed structures and complete only what is assigned, regardless of their capacity. Rather than a lack of talent, this creates a lack of visibility and flexibility in how existing talent is used.

To address this, large businesses need a structured approach to skill deployment across their business. Allowing staff to move past fixed job titles and recognising their capabilities will enable leaders to assign work effectively. Building and utilising systems that can redeploy existing resources and have flexible priorities helps prevent underutilisation.

Focusing on the alignment of existing skills with business demand can improve the productivity of existing staff without increasing a business's headcount.

Fragmented Technology and Weak Adoption

Many businesses have invested in multiple digital tools, often in reaction to a specific problem that came in isolation. The result of this is that these standalone systems can’t always communicate effectively or share key information easily.

In larger organisations that require multiple teams to work together, different platforms may be used and made to connect. This can create friction between teams when information needs to be shared repeatedly or when processes overlap and start to rely onmanual transferring of data.

To make effective use of technology, large businesses should focus on simplifying and consolidating technology in their workplace. Taking the steps to reduce system overlap and making use of platforms like Access PeopleXD Evo that can integrate multiple functions can lower friction and delays.

As well as this, organisations should conduct a structured rollout and provide staff with ongoing support to embed the technology within the workplace.

Effective use of technology means employees spend less time navigating or bypassing processes and can focus on outcomes.

Employee Wellbeing and Productivity Loss

It is common for businesses to think that employee well-being is a stand-alone focus, but productivity often drops when employees aren’t happy. High workloads, unclear work expectations, and a lack of engagement can all lead to a productivity drop and, in some cases, can lead to quiet quitting.

Large organisations can find themselves highly exposed to this risk. Layered management structures and dispersed teams mean that drops in engagement can be hard to identify. Due to the large scale of the workforce, employees can feel increasingly disconnected from the business.

Providing employees with clear priorities and managing workflow to give realistic workloads can reduce unnecessary friction. Monitoring task progress and managers being proactive in communication can also help identify growing concerns before they become a drop in productivity.

By supporting staff and enabling them to work effectively, productivity becomes more resilient.

The Role of Leadership

With their direct effect on day-to-day work, managers can directly affect a team’s productivity. Their effectiveness depends on expectations, how they are able to communicate, and the clarity of purpose.

When a management team needs to deal with a large number of people, poor technology or unclear and poorly communicated processes can lead to slower decision-making, duplicated work, and inefficient workload assignment.

In larger businesses, providing managers with clear organisational priorities and giving them access to reliable communication tools reduces administrative load and allows managers to focus on guiding their team. This increase in communication and collaboration helps restore trust in the manager.

By removing obstructions, productivity improves and remains sustainable across both teams and management tiers.

The UK’s productivity challenge is complex, and even more so for companies with large workforces. Creating the right conditions for people to work to their potential by utilising improved technology, supporting their well-being, and aligning employees' skills with their roles can help give sustainable and reliable boosts to productivity.