How Prodoscore Data Uncovers Hidden Workforce Capacity & Shadow AI Risks

Many companies may be making hiring and AI policy decisions without a complete view of how work is actually getting done, according to new data from Prodoscore, a leading provider of employee productivity and workforce activity intelligence software. The data found that nearly one in four employees demonstrates greater unused capacity than their peers in similar roles, while employees are increasingly relying on consumer AI tools that operate outside of traditional IT oversight (shadow AI).

Nearly a quarter (23.7%) of employees fall within the highest quartile of gap-to-active time relative to their peers in similar roles, indicating potential unused capacity. That figure remained relatively unchanged from 22.7% a year ago. By comparison, almost no employees met the same threshold for over-utilization, suggesting that many organizations may have more internal capacity available than current workforce planning assumptions reflect.

“These findings suggest that leaders should first evaluate the capacity that already exists within their teams before automatically opening a new position,” said Sam Naficy, CEO of Prodoscore. “Activity data should never be viewed in isolation. When considered alongside employee output, responsibilities and demonstrated performance, it can help companies to make more informed workforce decisions. Prodoscore measures visible, on-screen activity and presents it as a capacity signal, not a verdict on individual productivity or number of hours worked.”

The data also highlights a growing disconnect between enterprise technology policies and employee behavior. Across the 72 companies included in the analysis, employees actively used nearly 50 distinct AI tools. Three of the five most-used platforms – ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude – were consumer AI tools, rather than IT-provisioned enterprise platforms.

ChatGPT led adoption by a wide margin, reaching nearly three times as many employees as Microsoft Copilot and accounting for nearly five times as many hours of usage. Because these tools operate outside of company-managed environments, organizations often have limited visibility into which AI platforms employees are using and what information may be shared through them.

“Taken together, these findings reveal two significant blind spots for today’s employers,” added Naficy. “Organizations may be underestimating the capacity that already exists within their workforce while simultaneously underestimating how quickly employees are adopting AI outside of company systems. Closing both visibility gaps will help leaders to make smarter hiring, workforce planning and technology investment decisions.”

Information for this article was sourced from Prodoscore.