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- WeAreHuman@Work | #028 | If Tech Is Changing Work, Why Haven’t We Changed How We Measure It?
WeAreHuman@Work | #028 | If Tech Is Changing Work, Why Haven’t We Changed How We Measure It?
WeAreHuman@Work is a newsletter dedicated to fostering a more sustainable world of work.
Tanguy Dulac
June 22, 2025
THIS WEEK'S CONTENT
Deloitte’s 2025 Global Human Capital Trends report is here—one of my favourite annual reads.
Over the next eight weeks, I’ll break down each trend into actionable insights for leaders navigating uncertainty and transformation.
Here is the final trend: Trend #8: New Tech + New Work = New Value Case
Below is the executive summary and a few hand-picked resources to help you go deeper.
🔍 ZOOM IN
New Tech + New Work = New Value Case | Trend #5 from 2025 Global Human Capital Trends | Deloitte (2025)
You can’t measure tomorrow’s impact with yesterday’s metrics.
As the nature of work and technology converge, Deloitte reveals that traditional ROI models are no longer fit for purpose. In a landscape where platforms augment rather than automate, AI redefines workflows, and human capability becomes a source of value—not cost—leaders must fundamentally rethink how they plan, justify, and measure tech investments. This article reframes how we calculate value, not just in terms of productivity but also in terms of human sustainability, innovation, and strategic impact.
📊 DID YOU KNOW?
Consider this: 62% of leaders say orchestrating new technologies is critical to success—yet only 28% are acting, and 42% cite unrealistic business cases as a key reason tech investments fail to deliver.
✨ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In this pivotal trend from Deloitte’s 2025 Global Human Capital Trends, Victor Reyes, David Mallon, and Amy Sanford argue that organisations urgently need to reinvent how they define value from work and workforce tech. The article shows why traditional ROI models—focused on automation and labour cost reduction—no longer fit a world where AI and digital platforms augment human capabilities, redefine workflows, and transform organisational design.
Instead, tech investments must now account for less tangible—but highly strategic—outcomes: innovation, agility, well-being, and workforce sustainability. “Organisations can no longer segregate the value of technology from its impact on human beings,” the authors write. The most valuable technologies enable humans and machines to create value together.
Drawing on case studies from Salesforce, Eaton, Roche, and others, the article shows how leading companies are embracing this shift—creating human-centric value cases that measure impact not only in savings or speed but also in talent retention, faster upskilling, and resilience. The authors call for new metrics, broader stakeholder collaboration, and an ongoing value reassessment.
🔍 WHY IT MATTERS
↳ Traditional ROI logic is out of sync with tech evolution.
Today’s technologies reshape work rather than simply make it faster or cheaper. Relying on classic automation-driven metrics underestimates their true strategic potential.
↳ Hesitation and overload risk inaction.
While most leaders agree tech orchestration is essential, few are acting decisively. Complexity, tool fatigue, and lack of credible value cases contribute to costly inertia.
↳ Human outcomes now drive competitive advantage.
Technology that enhances trust, agility, and well-being amplifies performance. When ignored, these outcomes create hidden costs—burnout, attrition, and reputational risk.
↳ Poor alignment leads to digital waste.
Many tools are adopted without a connection to business strategy or human needs. This results in duplication, poor adoption, and undermined confidence in tech ROI.
↳ Fragmented governance erodes shared value.
Investments struggle to scale without shared ownership across IT, HR, finance, and workers. Inclusive governance builds trust, accountability, and long-term adaptability.
💡 KEY INSIGHTS
↳ Value creation must be reframed around “faster, stronger, better.”
Deloitte proposes a new logic: measure time given back to workers (“faster”), cost-to-serve and agility (“stronger”), and workforce experience and retention (“better”) as core indicators of impact.
↳ Many technologies augment rather than replace.
From AI agents at Salesforce to AR-enabled technicians at Grupo Bimbo, value comes from tools that support human judgment and creativity—not replace it.
↳ Workforce metrics signal fundamental transformation.
Leaders now track indicators like employee net promoter scores, internal mobility, psychological safety, and innovation as proxies for tech effectiveness.
↳ Portfolio-based thinking better matches today’s tech landscape.
Isolated ROI cases miss cumulative effects. Evaluating bundles of complementary tools (e.g., AI, cloud, collaboration platforms) reveals bigger, shared value stories.
↳ Human performance and tech adoption are interdependent.
Poor design or inadequate training can create digital fatigue. Successful companies invest in agile rollout, user experience, and human-centric change journeys.
🚀 ACTIONS FOR LEADERS
↳ Redefine value metrics to include people and performance.
Partner with HR and business leaders to adopt new agility, well-being, retention, and innovation KPIs. Move beyond automation-based metrics.
↳ Co-create investment cases across functions.
Involve finance, HR, IT, and frontline workers in pressure-testing assumptions and co-owning outcomes. This will prevent blind spots and foster strategic alignment.
↳ Build a portfolio of tech experiments.
Embrace a test-and-learn mindset. Invest in a range of tools—low-risk, others high-potential—while tracking individual and collective impact.
↳ Monitor how freed-up time translates to value.
When platforms save hours, ask how those hours are used. Measure whether they support learning, innovation, collaboration, or reduced burnout.
↳ Review governance models and user experience continuously.
Treat tech like a product—manage updates, training, and feedback loops. Ensure tools evolve with user needs, not just enterprise architecture.
💬 QUESTION FOR THE BOARDROOM
If your technology strategy doesn’t include trust, agility, or well-being metrics, what exactly are you optimising for?
🔗 CONCLUSION
Technology no longer merely automates—it collaborates, augments, and transforms. As Deloitte shows, this shift demands a new value equation—one that places human sustainability and organisational performance on equal footing. The article reframes value as a multidimensional outcome, not a cost-efficiency metric.
For leaders, the challenge is no longer about choosing the right tool but building the proper framework, governance, and metrics to measure value in today’s dynamic reality. Deloitte’s call is clear: rethink ROI, act with intention, and invest in technology that unlocks human potential while driving measurable outcomes.
In the race to adopt AI and automation, let’s not forget that technology’s greatest value lies in the human potential it unlocks—not the headcount it replaces.
🎯 KEY TAKEAWAY
If technology transforms work, then how we measure its value must transform, too.
🎧 TUNE IN
If this trend had an anthem, it would be “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk.
“Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger.”
That was the old tech mantra.
Efficiency ruled.
Speed won.
ROI was simple.
But today, that equation no longer adds up.
The new value case isn’t built on efficiency alone.
It’s built on outcomes — human and business — that technology helps unlock.
Outcomes like trust, innovation, well-being, and resilience.
Daft Punk gave us the rhythm of the past.
Now it’s on leaders to remix it for a more human future.
💭 REFLECT
When digital transformation is done right, it’s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but when done wrong, all you have is a really fast caterpillar.