A new study by Zoho, a leading global technology company, has revealed that only 14% of Nigerian businesses operate fully remotely.
Titled “The State of Productivity and Collaboration in Nigeria, 2024,” the report surveyed over 500 organizations with more than 50 employees across the country, highlighting significant challenges and opportunities for businesses in the face of evolving work models and technological adoption.
The study found that 55% of Nigerian businesses operate on a fully on-site work model, while 31% have adopted hybrid setups.
According to the report, remote roles are primarily held by individual contributors with limited collaboration needs, while hybrid workers face significant communication barriers.
App overload affects productivity
The report also sheds light on the widespread use of multiple applications in Nigerian workplaces.
According to the findings, 51% of employees use 1–5 apps daily, 35% use 6–10 apps, and 14% rely on more than 10 apps.
- Notably, senior executives are the heaviest app users, with 81% of C-Suite employees using more than 10 apps daily, compared to 72% of junior employees who use 1–5 apps.
- The most commonly used tools are for productivity and collaboration (68%), followed by project management (47%), business intelligence (47%), and accounting (43%).
- However, despite the high app usage, only 50% of respondents track their tasks in a unified view, with higher adoption rates among C-Suite (78%) and senior leadership (63%).
- Zoho noted that this fragmented app usage has led to inefficiencies, with 45% of respondents citing information spread across too many apps as a major collaboration challenge.
Connectivity and digital fatigue
Poor WiFi and data connectivity emerged as the biggest collaboration challenge, affecting 80% of respondents across demographics.
- This highlights the need for solutions that can function effectively in low-connectivity environments.
- Other significant challenges include digital fatigue (54%) and difficulties in communication for middle managers, particularly in hybrid or remote setups.
- To address these issues, respondents identified key productivity boosters: enabling quick access to necessary information from different apps (78%), adopting new technologies like AI (72%), and facilitating communication within business apps (55%).
Unified platforms and AI
The report also revealed a growing demand for unified collaboration platforms with advanced AI capabilities.
- Such solutions can integrate seamlessly into existing software ecosystems, reducing digital fatigue and streamlining workflows.
- Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head of Zoho Nigeria, emphasized this trend, stating,
“Nigerian businesses have adopted a variety of cloud tools over the years to support their digital transformation journey. However, they are beginning to recognize that these disconnected tools often lack integration with their existing technology stack, creating silos that hinder collaboration and lead to productivity losses.”
Economic outlook
The survey also explored how Nigerian businesses are preparing for economic challenges. About 51% of respondents said their organizations had adopted new technology to stay competitive.
Those who reported technology adoption were more optimistic about their company’s ability to handle competition, rating their preparedness at 4 out of 5, compared to a little over 3 out of 5 for those without new technology adoption.
However, slow adoption of emerging technologies like AI was identified as the most significant factor hindering competitiveness, cited by 46% of respondents. Other barriers included low adoption of digital tools (45%) and employees switching between too many apps (41%).
