The 2024 State of Productivity Report

At ClickUp, our mission is simple: save people time by creating the everything app for work.

We believe productivity is not a destination but a journey, with every team member capable of steering the ship toward greater efficiency, one small improvement at a time.

That's why we teamed up with ProjectManagement.com to survey over 400 teams from around the globe. Our goal?

To understand what sets high performing teams apart in their approach to teamwork, processes, and tools. We believe the insights revealed in this report can help your organization bridge the productivity gap by empowering your teams to work smarter, not harder.

Survey methodology and demographics

We reached out to 400 teams, encompassing a diverse range of roles from frontline workers to executive leaders, across 20 industries worldwide.

This broad spectrum ensured a rich variety of perspectives on productivity, with a self-assessment of current productivity levels followed by a holistic breakdown of how their teams perform across all aspects of work:

• Visibility
• Workflows
• Collaboration
• AI & Automation
• Tools & Integrations
• ...and much more!

Our survey uncovered a stark reality: 93% of organizations feel they're falling short on productivity.

This gap calls for a deep dive into the challenges and lessons from highly productive teams.

How we ranked high and low performers

Respondents were asked to rate their team's productivity on a scale of 1 to 6. Throughout this report, we define high performers and low performers as:

The key causes of the productivity gap

The survey data reveals a combination of factors that contribute to productivity loss, which combined together, emerge into four distinct themes:

Despite its importance, 40% of teams lack a formal productivity measurement method.

Measuring productivity isn't a one-size-fits-all endeavor. While some teams have it down to a science, others are still figuring it out.

This gap represents a missed opportunity for many organizations. High-performing teams leverage a mix of quantitative metrics, feedback, and technology to gain a comprehensive understanding of productivity.

Key takeaways:

• High performing teams employ a multitude of productivity metrics, including output, quality, and impact, providing a well-rounded understanding of performance.
• Regularly updating and refining measurement approaches ensures they remain aligned with organizational goals and changes in team dynamics.
• Leveraging advanced technology for real-time data collection and analysis enhances the accuracy and timeliness of insights for continued growth.

Over 87% of high-performing teams use nine or fewer tools, while low-performing teams struggle with tool overload.

The paradox of productivity tools is that more isn't always better. Our findings indicate that high-performing teams typically use nine or fewer tools, avoiding the pitfalls of tool overload.

Excessive tools can lead to fragmentation, confusion, and inefficiencies, hindering a team's ability to function cohesively.

Key takeaways:

• High performing teams consolidate the number of tools they use, which helps streamline workflows and reduce fragmentation.
• Effective integration of tools ensures that all teams work together seamlessly, enhancing overall productivity and minimizing disruption.
• Centralizing operations through a unified platform consolidates resources, providing clarity and improving coordination among team members.

79% of business leaders believe AI is essential for competition.

AI has arguably become the greatest technological advancement in aiding human productivity. While many businesses recognize this potential for AI, 49% of those surveyed still struggle with how to scale its application broadly across their organizations.

Studies show that successful integration can boost individual work performance by up to 40%, allowing teams to significantly reducing costs and streamlining operations.

Key takeaways

• High-performing teams embrace AI solutions as a distinct advantage, using them to automate routine processes and optimize resource allocation.
• The gap between recognizing AI's importance and its implementation suggests a significant opportunity for many organizations to improve work application.
• Training and development in AI are essential for maximizing its potential, ensuring teams can effectively utilize AI tools and solutions.

"In the last 18 months, AI has created new productivity enhancements, including task automation, performance coaching, and predictive analytics. Companies that embrace AI can achieve notable gains, while those that do not may struggle to keep up," says Chris Hicken, Chief Productivity Officer at ClickUp.

High performing teams are 8 times more likely to document all daily work

Documentation might not be the most glamorous part of work, but it's crucial.

High performing teams embrace documentation practices for improved information gathering, knowledge sharing, and decision-making — while low performing teams suffer from fragmented knowledge that create inefficiencies.

Key takeaways

• Effective documentation practices are a strategic asset that contribute to smoother workflows and improved operational efficiency.
• Centralized and accessible documentation prevents knowledge silos and ensures all team members can easily find and use essential information.
• Integrating documentation into daily workflows helps maintain up-to-date records and supports more informed decision-making.

High performing teams are 5 times more likely to centralize project details.

Centralizing work within a single platform is a distinct advantage of high performing teams.

This approach enhances visibility, ensures consistency, and fosters a collaborative environment, while low-performing teams suffer from fragmented project details and lack of visibility.

Key takeaways

• Highly productive teams effectively centralize work details, enhancing visibility and transparency.
• This centralization must be complemented with effective collaboration practices and streamlined workflows.
• Investing in a central work management platform ensures consistency, reduces silos, and streamlines operations.

High performing teams are two times more likely to have clear workflow ownership compared to low performing teams

In high-performing teams, everyone knows who's responsible for what. This clarity in roles and responsibilities, often managed by a PMO or COE, ensures that nothing falls through the cracks.

Assigning responsibility for workflows and best practices is crucial for operations, while low-performing teams often lack clear accountability structures, leading to non-impactful work and poor collaboration.

Key takeaways

• Highly productive teams adjust the ownership of operational excellence based on business needs.
• Centralizing responsibilities under the PMO or COE drives structured teamwork and collaboration.
• Clear workflow ownership and accountability improve productivity by ensuring dedicated oversight and defined success metrics.

High performing teams are twice as likely to ensure projects align with strategic priorities.

When teams know how their work aligns with the company's broader goals, they become more invested in the work that matters. It’s not just about checking off tasks; it's about contributing to impactful results.

High-performing teams make this alignment a priority, ensuring everyone is on the same page, fostering a sense of purpose and that drives performance.

However, many teams struggle with this alignment, leading to a lack of direction and low impact work.

Key takeaways

• Improving alignment between work and organizational objectives significantly enhances productivity.
• Highly productive teams ensure that projects are not only visible but also directly tied to strategic goals, creating a cohesive and motivated workforce.
• Documenting goals and connecting them to tasks via a unified project view enhances alignment and ownership.

60% of high performing teams minimize busywork through automation.

Busywork or "ghost work" is the silent killer of productivity. High-performing teams combat this by leveraging automation to eliminate mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on high-impact work.

However, many organizations still struggle with busywork, resulting in inefficiencies and wasted resources.

Key takeaways

• High-performing teams use automation to minimize busywork, freeing up time for more valuable and strategic activities.
• Implementing automation reduces the risk of errors and inconsistencies, improving the overall quality of work.
• The use of advanced tools and technologies to automate routine tasks enhances efficiency and helps maintain a focus on critical business objectives.

85% of high performing teams foster strong collaborative cultures

While many organizations preach the importance of collaboration, implementing a genuinely collaborative culture is where the challenge lies.

Our survey found that high-performing teams excel by fostering environments where collaboration is not just encouraged but is the default.

These teams are characterized by transparency, shared goals, and open communication, setting the stage for enhanced performance and innovation.

Key takeaways

• Promote transparent communication: High-performing teams prioritize openness, ensuring all members are informed and aligned.
• Establish shared goals: Identify common objectives that unite team efforts and foster collective effort and impact.
• Invest in collaborative tools: Use platforms that support real-time communication, file sharing, and project management to break down silos and enhance teamwork.

Our survey reveals that a whopping 93% of respondents believe there's room for improvement in their productivity.

The primary challenges highlighted include a lack of visibility into work and progress, poor team collaboration, work and data silos, and minimal automation paired with complex workflows.

To effectively bridge the productivity gap, organizations must adopt a comprehensive strategy that tackles these challenges head-on.

Here are six strategic recommendations based on our survey insights to help your organization achieve and sustain world-class productivity:

At ClickUp, we understand that disconnected work leads to lost productivity.

That's why we created the everything app for work.

ClickUp consolidates all aspects of work, from project management to collaboration, all in one place to simplify work and boost productivity.

Everything your teams need in one place

ClickUp brings together all essential work tools in one platform.

Manage projects, communicate in real-time, collaborate on documents, brainstorm with whiteboards, track time, and create forms—all from a single hub. This integration helps your team stay organized and productive.

Next steps

Ready to close the productivity gap, step into the future of work, and join the ranks of the world's most productive teams?

Here are a few ways to get started: