Task-Level Analysis Finds 20–40% of Role Activities Are Redesign Candidates

Between 20% and 40% of what employees do in a typical role could be streamlined, automated or redesigned, according to a new analysis of work transformation — and most organizations haven't looked because they're still managing from static job descriptions.

The piece argues that the core constraint on AI-era productivity isn't technology. It's work design. Organizations keep layering new tools onto existing workflows while jobs stay largely unchanged from a decade ago, even as automation investment rises and talent shortages persist. Managers fill vacancies instead of rethinking how the work itself should be done.

"Many performance challenges are not talent problems. They are work design problems," the analysis states.

Why does traditional job design fail now?

Three forces are colliding. Automation is absorbing tasks that were once manual — reporting, coordination, documentation and data processing. Skills shortages in areas like data analytics, digital operations and AI literacy are intensifying faster than hiring can close them. And employee expectations around flexibility, meaningful work and growth are making task-heavy, repetitive roles harder to staff and retain.

The result: employees still spend time on manual data entry, duplicated reporting and coordination work that technology could handle, while productivity growth stays slow.

Where should employers start?

The analysis lays out a sequence, beginning with the business rather than the job. Before redesigning any role, leaders should diagnose where productivity gaps are emerging, which parts of the business face the most pressure, how the organization will compete differently in the next three to five years, and which capabilities will become critical.

Not every role needs immediate attention. Priorities should go to roles that:

• Directly influence business performance
• Are likely to change significantly because of AI and automation
• Create bottlenecks or operational risk
• Offer strong productivity-gain opportunities

Those roles cluster in customer service, operations, finance, HR and knowledge work — the centers of organizational workflow. Early wins there build momentum for broader change, the analysis says.

What does task-level analysis reveal?

This is where the biggest breakthroughs happen, according to the analysis. Breaking a job into tasks typically surfaces three categories:

• High-value tasks requiring judgment and expertise
• Low-value tasks that are repetitive or administrative
• Tasks that could be automated or augmented by technology

The 20–40% figure comes from this stage. AI tools can now support research, summarization, analysis and content generation; automation can cut manual reporting; digital workflows can eliminate redundant approvals and handoffs.

The goal isn't headcount reduction, the analysis stresses. "The goal is not to remove jobs. It is to remove low-value work so employees can focus on higher-value activities."

What does a redesigned role look like?

Rebuilt roles typically carry more analytical and decision-making responsibility, greater use of technology and data, stronger cross-functional collaboration, and less manual work. New responsibilities emerge — monitoring automated processes, analyzing data insights, managing digital workflows. The analysis frames this as a shift from task execution to "value orchestration," which it says also improves job quality through clearer career pathways and future-relevant skill development.

Redesign isn't finished until people can actually perform the new roles. That requires reskilling and upskilling programs, on-the-job learning and coaching, clear change management, and internal mobility pathways. Organizations that skip this step watch initiatives stall; those that invest create what the analysis calls a virtuous cycle of capability building and innovation.

Is this the path to skills-based organizations?

One major outcome of work redesign, the analysis argues, is the emergence of skills-based practices: decisions made on skills rather than job titles, easier movement across roles and projects, learning embedded in daily work, and increased internal mobility. That makes work redesign a foundational enabler of workforce transformation — not a one-off HR project.

The winners of the next decade won't be the organizations that simply adopt AI tools, the analysis concludes, but those that reorganize work to leverage them fully. Whether employers reshape work intentionally or let it evolve by accident is now the operative leadership question.