Business & Technology
UK businesses urged to rethink productivity amid AI shift
UK businesses are being urged to rethink how they define and measure productivity during the country’s third annual National Productivity Week. Senior technology leaders warn that a narrow focus on doing “more with less” risks overlooking deeper structural issues that limit performance.
The government-backed awareness week has prompted commentary from industry executives who argue that traditional productivity levers no longer match the pressures companies face. They point to artificial intelligence, modern business applications and growing operational volatility as forces demanding a broader, more adaptive approach.
Many reject the idea of productivity as a simple output metric. Instead, they advocate continuous review of workflows, data use and skills, alongside careful deployment of automation. Several also stress the need for stronger partnerships with specialist providers as organisations confront complex technology choices and integration challenges.
Mark Wilson, Technology & Innovation Director at cloud and digital services provider Node4, said leaders first need a clear view of the constraints within their own operations.
“For businesses, improving productivity starts with understanding what’s holding them back. Everyone is trying to work harder or ‘do more with less’, but what does this really mean? The reality is that it looks different for every organisation. That’s why businesses need to take a step back, look across the entire company and identify where efficiencies can be unlocked. Crucially, this is not a one-off exercise. Productivity strategies need to evolve alongside the business and keep pace with technological advancements that enable businesses to automate simple tasks, enhance connectivity and unify systems,” Wilson said.
His comments reflect a broader shift in thinking that treats productivity as an ongoing programme rather than a single initiative. Organisations are reviewing their use of data, collaboration tools and back-office systems with a view to simplifying processes as well as increasing output.
Wilson linked that shift directly to the use of AI and other software platforms.
“By implementing tools such as AI, and modern business applications such as ERP and CRM, businesses can begin to streamline operations, strengthen collaboration and create a more connected ecosystem. While the integrations can be overwhelming and appear costly at first, the long-term benefits will soon outweigh any concerns. Giving people the right tools can reduce overall business costs, save time on tedious tasks and ease workloads, increasing motivation across the workforce,” he said.
He also argued that many organisations will need outside support as they modernise their environments and connect disparate systems.
“However, for many businesses this is a lot to take on, often in a short space of time. This is where choosing the right partner is key. Managed Service Providers can provide the technical expertise organisations need to introduce the tools and technologies that drive productivity gains, without the stress and complications they would face doing it alone. The key takeaway is this: when it comes to enhancing efficiency, productivity isn’t one solution – it’s an ecosystem,” Wilson said.
Manufacturing leaders are framing the challenge in similarly broad terms, but with a sharper focus on operational resilience and downtime. Factory operators face rising supply chain turbulence, skills gaps and pressure on margins, placing new demands on maintenance and information flows.
“For too long, manufacturing productivity has been framed as a maths equation: more output, lower cost, fewer people. Early AI reinforced that mindset. But that’s no longer where the biggest losses – or gains – are coming from.
“Today, productivity is defined by how well operations hold up under pressure. The real enemy isn’t throughput; it’s variability: unplanned downtime, supply chain disruption, inconsistent maintenance execution, hard-to-find information, and critical expertise walking out the door.
“The mistake isn’t moving too slowly on automation – it’s trying to automate everything at once. When technicians spend more time searching than solving, productivity breaks long before capacity does. AI should remove friction, turn asset data into instant answers, manuals into actionable guidance, and frontline input into repeatable execution.”
“This isn’t about doing more with less. In high-stakes environments, productivity comes from enabling skilled people to perform consistently on every shift, at every plant, every day,” said Paraic O’Lochlainn, VP, eMaint, a Fluke Corporation brand.
His comments highlight how manufacturers are starting to evaluate AI not only on cost savings but also on its effect on maintenance quality, knowledge retention and the consistency of decisions made on the shop floor. The focus is shifting from blanket automation to targeted interventions that reduce variability and cut the time technicians spend searching for information.
Across the wider UK business landscape, executives also see scope for AI to change the nature of work by reducing repetitive administrative tasks. This, in turn, raises questions about training, oversight and performance metrics.
“Productivity in UK businesses is often limited by how much time is spent on repetitive admin tasks, rather than finding solutions to more complex issues. AI is starting to change this by speeding up how quickly teams can move from a problem to a workable solution, whether in planning, analysis or day-to-day operations. In effect, it gives employees an additional layer of support, shortening workflows and enabling faster progress from intent to outcome,” said Josef Al-Sibaie, COO, Syspro.
He argued that the greatest value comes when staff use AI to expand the scope of their roles rather than simply complete existing tasks more quickly.
“The real opportunity here goes beyond efficiency. As routine work is automated, employees have more space to focus on critical thinking and more creative problem-solving. Unlocking that potential depends on leadership giving employees the freedom to experiment with AI, explore use cases relevant to their roles and build confidence through hands-on use. Curiosity and shared learning across teams sits at the heart of this, helping organisations move beyond seeing AI as just a tool for answering questions and instead view it as something that can actively carry out meaningful work, a means to automate manual workflows,” Al-Sibaie said.
Al-Sibaie also pointed to skills and governance as constraints that will determine whether early experiments with AI translate into sustainable gains. Organisations need clearer measures of success and stronger analytical literacy across staff groups, he said.
“However, there are still barriers to address. Alongside ensuring that employees across the business have the technical skills to use AI to its full potential, knowing when to trust, challenge or refine outputs is also critical. Given that knowledge now sits at everyone’s fingertips, it is the ability to synthesise actionable insights from this knowledge that will truly differentiate. Without those capabilities, productivity gains will be limited.
“Companies must define clear business objectives and measure the impact that AI has on achieving them, whether through reduced hours spent on a task, fewer human interventions in a process or lower error rates. These quantifiable proof points will serve as clear reminders of why AI is so powerful and drive continued excitement throughout organisations,” he said.
Women in Collaboration is holding a finance leadership gathering in London for senior female finance executives, focused on funding pressure, AI adoption and finance transformation.
More than 100 women in roles including Chief Financial Officer, Finance Director, FP&A and finance transformation leadership are expected to attend the closed-door session at Oracle NetSuite’s Helicon building in Moorgate.
The programme centres on the pressures finance teams face as leaders balance financial control with growth planning, board expectations, tighter reporting timetables and greater regulatory scrutiny.
Sessions will examine how finance leaders manage constrained funding environments, address fragmented systems and improve confidence in reporting and audit preparation. A separate breakout session will explore the use of AI and data within ERP systems, while another panel will discuss changes in finance technology.
One keynote interview will feature Catherine Turner, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SearchHive, discussing lessons from finance leadership and from building a technology business in a strained funding environment.
Women in Collaboration, formerly London Women’s Collaboration, is a cross-industry collective that brings together senior women’s networks across payments, fintech, automation and emerging technology. It was formed to encourage collaboration between communities that often operate separately and has previously run executive and policy-adjacent forums.
The gathering is being delivered by London Women Groups with Rsult, a NetSuite alliance partner, and backed by a wider group of industry networks including European Women in Payments Network, Women in Automation, Women in Open Banking and fintech community organisations.
Finance pressures
The agenda reflects the widening remit of senior finance executives, whose responsibilities increasingly extend beyond reporting and cost control into transformation, systems oversight and technology decisions.
One panel on funding pressures will explore how finance leaders can balance day-to-day stewardship with strategic growth and investment planning. The discussion will cover indicators to watch, common failure points and ways to make the case for finance functions under pressure.
Another session will focus on the risks created by disparate systems and weak data confidence. It will examine how finance departments can improve real-time reporting, strengthen audit readiness and reduce operational risk through better data architecture and integration.
A further panel on innovation in the office of finance is intended to move beyond broad claims about AI and focus instead on current tools and measurable efficiency gains.
The format will prioritise peer discussion over formal presentation, with structured networking designed to encourage exchanges between executives facing similar operational and strategic constraints.
Zhenya Winter, Co-founder of Women in Collaboration, outlined the rationale behind the agenda.
“The role of the CFO has expanded significantly, often without equivalent increases in time, resource or certainty,” Winter said.
She said the event would focus on practical examples rather than theory.
“This event is designed to give senior finance leaders practical perspectives on funding, data, systems and AI that is grounded in real experiences rather than theory,” Winter said.
AI and data
AI adoption and data integrity have become more prominent issues for finance functions as companies seek faster reporting, stronger controls and better visibility across operations.
The AI and data breakout is expected to centre on how an integrated ERP system with embedded AI may change forecasting, controls and operational visibility. That will sit alongside wider discussion of the challenge of maintaining confidence in financial data while modernising legacy systems.
Winter said those tensions are becoming more central to finance leadership.
“Finance leaders are increasingly expected to lead transformation while maintaining absolute confidence in the numbers,” she said.
“Hearing how peers are addressing these tensions, particularly around AI adoption and data integrity, is invaluable.”
The emphasis on peer exchange reflects a broader pattern in executive forums, where finance leaders often seek practical information from counterparts dealing with similar budget, staffing and systems constraints rather than general commentary on technology trends.
Winter described that peer-to-peer element as the main benefit for participants.
“For many CFOs, the most valuable insights come from peers facing similar constraints,” she said.
“Our goal is to create an environment where those conversations can happen openly and productively.”
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East between the US, Israel, and Iran has resulted in a recent spike in fuel prices.
Many airlines have felt the effects, and now Hertfordshire-based Ascend Airways has reportedly entered liquidation.
The UK company offered aircraft for other airline carriers, such as Tui Airways, Oman Air and Air Sierra Leone and operated at Southend Airport and Gatwick Airport.
UK airline Ascend Airways goes into liquidation
Ascend Airways is set to return its fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8s to lessors and surrender its air operator’s certificate (AOC), Flight Global reports.
The company was originally founded as Synergy Aviation as a small charter and management firm.
It was acquired by Avia Solutions Group in 2023 to serve as its primary UK-based operator.
It obtained its UK AOC two years ago and has been operating an all-737 Max 8 fleet.
Its inaugural commercial flight took place in April 2024, operating from London Southend Airport.
The ongoing Middle East conflict and the rise in fuel prices have resulted in a “challenging outlook” for the summer season, the carrier told Flight Global.
It said: “These external pressures have compounded the structural challenges of operating a UK AOC within the European [wet-lease] market.
“A lack of reciprocal wet-leasing rights for UK carriers, combined with a higher cost base, has made the UK certificate a more expensive and less agile option compared to EU AOCs.”
The airline describes its surrender of the AOC as “strategic” but said that it has met contractual obligations through the winter, or exited agreements in an “orderly” manner, and it is supporting employees ahead of its AOC return.
“By working closely with stakeholders, a managed wind-down of operations has been achieved to minimise disruption to customers, consumers and aircraft lessors,” it adds.
However, reports also suggest that the company has gone into liquidation, according to The Sun.
An insider said: “It’s gone bust today (April 28), we got the news this afternoon.
“We’ve all been given the letters that it’s all going into liquidation.”
They added: “It’s to do with the economy, we couldn’t get contracts, the UK is a lot more expensive than Europe.
“The fuel situation had a massive effect on it as well.”
Ascend Airways and Avia Solutions Group have been contacted for comment by Newsquest.
Several major airlines have already responded to this rise in fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.
This has been done by increasing fares, adding or increasing fuel surcharges, and cutting flights.
UK airline Skybus announced previously that it had ceased all flights between Cornwall and London due to “the huge rise in the global cost of fuel” and “a significant drop in new passenger bookings”.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has also warned Brits to book their summer holidays “as quickly as you can” to avoid rising costs.
Airlines that have entered liquidation or administration in 2026 (so far)
Several airlines entered liquidation in 2025, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority , including:
- Blue Islands Limited (UK) – November
- Air Kilroe Limited t/a Eastern Airways (UK) – November
- Play Airlines (Iceland) – September
Three airlines have entered administration or liquidation in 2026 (so far), resulting in the cancellation of more than 4,000 flights:
Airlines are not the only travel businesses affected, with four UK travel companies having also ceased trading in 2026, resulting in the cancellation of flights and holiday packages to destinations around the world.
The four UK travel companies that have closed down in 2026 (so far) are:
- Regen Central Ltd
- Gold Crest Holidays
- Asiara UK Ltd
- Simply Florida Travel Ltd
All four have ceased trading, according to Companies House, and have lost their Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL).
Have you been impacted by any flight cancellations or airfare price hikes caused by increased fuel prices? Let us know in the comments below.
TomTom has chosen HowNow to support its move to a skills-based organisation, with the partnership centred on TomTom Academy, an internal learning platform for its workforce.
TomTom Academy launched in December 2024, with its full skills functionality rolled out in July 2025. The platform is intended to link employee development to changing business requirements as part of a two-year people strategy.
Based in the Netherlands, TomTom provides geolocation technology, including maps, real-time traffic information and navigation services, to carmakers, businesses and governments. The group employs more than 3,300 people worldwide.
A key factor in selecting HowNow was its AI-based skills-mapping technology, which is designed to give TomTom a current view of workforce skills and gaps while directing employees to relevant learning opportunities.
The partnership also reflects TomTom’s effort to reshape learning across the business by giving employees skills-led development paths aligned with shifts in customer demand and market conditions.
Other factors behind the decision included product alignment, integration with other systems and ease of use. The partnership also fits TomTom’s wider internal approach to work and employee development.
One early aim has been to widen access to content creation inside the company. Employees in different markets can now create learning materials for colleagues, broadening the flow of knowledge across the business.
For HowNow, TomTom joins its list of technology sector customers. For TomTom, the project forms part of a broader effort to organise learning around business needs rather than fixed roles.
Aneta Milosierna-Santos, People Product Lead at TomTom, said, “[HowNow’s] AI skills mapping functionality was a big selling point for us, as was the strong sense of partnership we felt during those initial conversations. Like TomTom, HowNow is an agile, fast-growth company…because of that, we could see their potential to evolve with us, and that really resonated.”
Milosierna-Santos also highlighted the platform’s effect on internal knowledge sharing: “In just a few short months, HowNow has enabled us to democratise learning. Any one of our employees, in any of our geographic markets, can now become an internal content creator. This is already multiplying knowledge across and between our employees at speed – and in a way that is quick and easy for them.”
TomTom’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Arne‐Christian van der Tang, linked the project to the company’s broader workforce model: “At TomTom, our people strategy is built around what we call the now of work – creating the conditions for our teams to have impact today. Academy gives us real-time visibility into skills across our organisation and enables our people to learn, grow and deliver value with agility. In a world where the pace of change is relentless, this partnership helps us stay responsive, flexible and focused on empowering TomTom’ers to do their best work, every day.”
Nelson Sivalingam, co-founder and chief executive of HowNow, described TomTom as a business moving towards a different organisational model: “TomTom is a progressive organisation that continues to create world-class products and services. By becoming a skills-based organisation, the company has demonstrated a strong commitment to its people and future success – and we’re delighted to be supporting TomTom on that journey.”
-
Crime & Safety1 week agoBicester man denies sexually assaulting two young girls
-
UK News1 week agoStarmer says it ‘beggars belief’ he wasn’t told about Mandelson vetting failure as he faces Commons – UK politics live | Politics
-
UK News1 week agoTV tonight: Shetland meets CSI in a new drama about a disgraced cop | Television
-
Crime & Safety2 weeks agoLorry overturns on Oxfordshire A43 roundabout with driver trapped
-
Oxford News1 week agoBanbury cake company with 400 year history shut down
-
UK News2 weeks agoFears over rogue parking by sunrise-chasers at national park after overnight ban
-
UK News1 week agoPhones to be banned in schools by law in England under government plans
-
UK News1 week agoMasterChef review – the BBC’s disgraced cookery show is warmer, sharper and funnier than ever | MasterChef