All benchmarks
Benchmark 12 · Custom platforms

Knowledge-work efficiency benchmark

How much of your team's week goes on work about work? We measure how your team's time splits between skilled work and coordination, count the tools and hand-offs, and benchmark you against Asana's Anatomy of Work Global Index.

The market reference

What the market looks like.

58%Of the working day spent on “work about work” rather than skilled work (Asana 2023)1
4.9 hPer week knowledge workers say they could save with better processes1
8.8Apps used on average by knowledge workers; 10 for directors and above1
KPIMarket referenceBest-in-class / noteSource
Time on work about work58% of the day—1
Hours per week recoverable with better processes4.9 h—1
Unnecessary meetings — knowledge workers2.8 h per week3.6 h for senior leaders1
Apps used per knowledge worker8.810 for directors and above1

Coordination work grows with every new tool. The fix is rarely another app; it is one platform that removes hand-offs between the systems a team already uses. Asana's index surveyed 9,615 knowledge workers1.

Who it’s for

Is this benchmark for you?

Industries

Professional services · SaaS & tech · Financial services & insurance · Construction & real estate

Buyer

COO & operations · CEO & founder

Company profile

20+ office staff

You need it if…

  • People copy data between the same tools every day
  • Status updates need meetings or chasing
  • Each new tool adds work instead of removing it
The benchmark

What we measure. What you get.

What we measure

  • Time split: skilled work, coordination, searching, meetings
  • Tools per role and hand-offs between them
  • Duplicate data entry across systems
  • Status-chasing and approval delays
  • Hours recoverable per role, valued at loaded cost

What you receive

  • Your time split vs the Asana reference
  • Hours and cost recoverable per team
  • Hand-offs to remove and systems to connect
  • Platform or workflow design to reclaim the time
Typical turnaround: 2–3 weeksService: Custom platformsFree snapshot: available
Industry report · $199 · in production

The full knowledge-work efficiency study.

Planned contents. Everything behind this page, in depth: the numbers by sector and company size, what top performers do differently, and a model to price your own gap.

  • Market size and growth, every analyst estimate reconciled
  • KPI quartiles by company size, sector and region
  • Original survey data from decision-makers
  • Cost-of-the-gap model with worked examples
  • How top-quartile companies close the gap
  • Solution landscape and a 12-month roadmap
  • Self-assessment scorecard
Reserve your copy · $199 Publishing in 2026. Reserve now and we email you the day it is available. No payment today.
How it works

Four steps. No disruption.

01

Intake call

30 minutes with a senior engineer to agree scope, KPIs and the data we need.

02

Data, read-only

Exports or read-only access to the systems involved. Nothing is changed.

03

Analysis

Your numbers placed against the published market references, KPI by KPI.

04

Readout

Your position, the cost gap in dollars and a costed roadmap to close it.

Reports & custom benchmarks

Reserve this report.

Reserve the knowledge-work efficiency industry report, or ask for a custom benchmark on your own data.

  • Your time split vs the Asana reference
  • Hours and cost recoverable per team
  • Hand-offs to remove and systems to connect
Your details are used only to prepare your benchmark. A senior engineer replies, not a sales rep.
Thank you. We have your request and will be in touch by email.