In the first quarter of 2025, the productivity of service companies in Canada fell by 0.5%, even as hours worked increased. In such a competitive environment, this equation is no longer sustainable; businesses must produce more efficiently, with less friction.
In an article entitled “Le grand mystère de la productivité enfin expliqué!” recently published in Les Affaires magazine, Louis J. Duhamel highlights three reasons for the lack of productivity in Quebec companies: structural reasons, economic reasons, and behavioral reasons. This prompted Renato Cudicio, president of TechNuCom, to point out on LinkedIn that “behavioral reasons could include an irrational fear of automation, with the misconception that ‘robots are going to steal our jobs.’” Jobs will certainly change, and some tasks will inevitably be performed by AI and robots. However, a company that survives because it is productive is a company that maintains jobs and rehires once the storm has passed.”
Then comes the labor shortage. In Quebec, 66% of small- and medium-sized businesses report being directly affected. Automation consistently emerges as one of the most effective solutions for absorbing the extra workload.
This is where RPA (robotic process automation) and, more recently, generative AI come in. RPA handles repetitive tasks quickly, and GenAI can understand and classify text or emails, summarize conversations, and draft initial responses. Together, they transform automation from a purely mechanical process into a decision-driven one, providing an immediate way to increase productivity without overburdening your teams. We explored this complementarity in more detail in our recent posts.
The public sector has already set an example. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) now publishes a transparent list of its automation and decision support use cases, including prioritization, sorting, and verification, in order to improve service delivery. This effort is part of a broader program to modernize benefits distribution. Two key points stand out: these approaches are well-established, supervised, and measurable.
In terms of tooling, low-code platforms like Microsoft Power Automate enable the quick orchestration of workflows, including reading attachments, extracting data, handling approvals, and updating ERP/CRM systems, all with built-in governance and published best practices. This enables us to achieve tangible results in just a few weeks, such as reducing re-entries, errors and delays.
Our recommendation is pragmatic: start with highly visible microprocesses — such as accounts payable, CRM/ERP synchronization, or report preparation — to build momentum, then expand from there. In our client engagements, this RaaS (Robot-as-a-Service) approach eliminates the need for CAPEX, includes maintenance, and delivers a fast ROI. We’ve formalized this approach and shared it through our case studies.
Need a 30-day pilot? TechNuCom can identify one high-impact use case, prototype an unattended/attended bot, measure the time saved, and develop an industrialization roadmap.
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