Altron Digital Business (ADB) has concluded a first-of-its-kind benchmark study focused on how employees experience technology across eight major institutions in the financial services industry. The Employee Technology Experience Index (TEXI) measured employee sentiment across eight core technology categories using a standardised scoring methodology.
The findings reveal the scale of the cost: gaps in workplace technology cost financial services organisations up to R30-million per 1 000 employees each year.
These findings are among several contained in the first South African financial services Employee Technology Experience Index, published this week by ADB, part of JSE-listed Altron.
The study provides business and technology leaders with a data-driven view of how technology directly influences workforce outcomes such as employee productivity, job satisfaction and retention – and ultimately customer experience and organisational performance.
“For the first time, South African banks and insurers have access to local, evidence-based data that connects technology investment directly to workforce and business outcomes. This shifts the conversation from IT support metrics to strategic performance indicators that belong in the boardroom,” says ADB MD Craig Stewart.
Most organisations measure technology in operational terms: device fleet age, infrastructure stability, ticket resolution rates and system uptime. These metrics describe what IT does. They do not describe what it feels like to work with the technology IT teams deliver – and they do not connect technology performance to the outcomes that boards care about: talent retention, customer experience and competitive positioning.
Key insights
Commissioned by ADB and undertaken by Lightspeed, part of the Kantar Group, the research offers distinctive insights into challenges and opportunities for South Africa’s leading financial services institutions as they modernise their technology foundations to better support employees and customers.
“Technology is no longer a back-office enabler; it is a defining factor in how employees perform, how customers are served and how organisations compete. The Employee Technology Experience Index provides South African CIOs, CEOs, CTOs and HR leaders with a clear, evidence-based view of where technology investments are driving value and where they are creating risk,” says Stewart. “Our aim is to support more informed, strategic decision-making that strengthens both employee experience and business performance.”
The TEXI study, based on input from 385 employees across eight major banking and insurance institutions, reveals a strong correlation between technology performance and employee experience outcomes, including employee net promoter score, job satisfaction and retention:
- 88% of employees agree that technology enables their best work;
- A 105-point employee net promoter score gap exists between employees with positive and poor technology experiences – an illustration of how likely they are to promote the organisation as an employer;
- 47% report that technology friction has negatively affected customer or colleague interactions; and
- Technology-related disruption is estimated to cost between R3.2-million and R30-million per 1 000 employees each year.
A critical finding is the “visibility gap” emerging within organisations. “More than 28% of employees have stopped reporting IT issues entirely, while over half resort to personal devices or unauthorised tools to complete their work – this is a significant governance and information security risk that many boards may not yet have visibility of,” says Stewart.
Three strategic levers for leaders
The research identifies three priority investment areas for executives seeking to improve both employee and business outcomes:
- AI readiness: While 82% of employees are already using AI tools in their daily work, fewer than a quarter feel prepared for an AI-enabled future, with nearly 30% relying on self-sourced tools outside employer-sanctioned environments – presenting both an opportunity and a governance risk.
- IT support: The strongest driver of employee advocacy, job satisfaction and perceived value. Quality IT support shows the highest correlation with workforce outcomes tracked at board level.
- Core infrastructure: Foundational systems, particularly network performance, are critical to customer experience. While often unnoticed when effective, failures directly result in service degradation and lost productivity.
A technological advantage
The study reinforces that technology experience is now a critical differentiator in South Africa’s financial services industry. It shapes not only employee productivity but also talent retention, customer satisfaction and institutional competitiveness.
“The cost of poor technology experience on employees is no longer theoretical. We can now put a rand value on it – and that changes everything,” says Stewart.
The full report can be accessed here. Fieldwork was conducted in April 2026 by Lightspeed, part of the Kantar Group.
About Altron Digital Business
Altron Digital Business, part of listed Altron, is South Africa’s integrated digital technology partner, providing end-to-end accountability across the full technology estate. As a single, trusted partner, Altron Digital Business brings together cloud, applications, data and AI solutions into one cohesive system – delivering measurable business outcomes under a unified service-level agreement. With more than 20 years of experience and a proven track record supporting some of South Africa’s largest organisations, the company combines locally based expertise, onshore command centres and rand-based pricing to ensure responsiveness, reliability and value.
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