Nine in Ten Say Businesses are Failing to Put People First in Employee Experience Transformation

Sep. 03, 2026

Nine in ten design and experience professionals believe employee experience transformation is being undermined by organisations failing to put people first, according to a new poll from Wipro's experience innovation company, Designit.

The poll found that 58% identified ‘overlooked employee input’ as the biggest blind spot in employee experience (EX) transformation, while a further 33% see businesses ‘prioritising technology over people’ as a significant factor. Together, 91% pointed to a failure to sufficiently understand or involve employees, compared with just 8% who selected ‘poor hybrid experience design’ and 1% ‘personalisation fatigue’.

The findings suggest that the biggest barrier to successful transformation is not necessarily the capability of the technology itself, but whether it has been designed around how employees actually work.

This is becoming increasingly important as organisations invest in AI to remove repetitive work and improve productivity. But there is a clear disconnect, with recent reports suggesting that workers are in fact experiencing longer hours and increased pressure since the introduction of AI. Rather than reducing workloads, the time saved through automation is absorbed by the need to check outputs, correct mistakes, or work around systems that do not fit the realities of the job.

Niklas Mortensen, Chief Design Officer at Designit, said:

"Businesses are turning to AI, as they chase those productivity gains. So there is no lack of investment or ambition when it comes to employee experience transformation. So why are they failing? Because employees are an afterthought. Organisations need to understand that deployment is not the same as adoption. It is the employees who understand the realities of their work more than anyone, so their experiences and insights need to shape transformation from the beginning. Their input could determine whether organisations realise actual, meaningful value from the investment in AI, or other technologies."