The new talent equation: The human + AI multiplier

Our latest research examined whether workforce models, leadership structures and employees themselves are ready for AI-enabled ways of working.

With this in mind, during our recent webinar we wanted to further explore this topic to understand where the market stands on AI transformation, what might be holding organisations back from leveraging the full potential of AI-human collaboration, and what businesses need to focus on in order to move forward.

The AI maturity scale

First of all, we asked our audience how they would characterise their organisation’s approach to AI today.

Less than 1 in 5 (19%) said they’re currently redesigning work and operating models around human-AI collaboration, with the majority saying they’re either still experimenting with AI adoption (33%) or using it to automate existing tasks (27%).

These responses largely align with what we found in our research:

• 44% of respondents said they’re now automating through selective functional deployment
• But only 10% said they’re redesigning work around human-AI collaboration
• While even fewer (5%) have leveraged AI to reshape operating models and workforce strategy.

Businesses are starting to mature in their use of AI – with many moving beyond the experimentation phase; but the data is clear – most are yet to see the full potential of this new technology being leveraged by their workforce.

So what’s holding them back?

The blockers to human and AI collaboration

41% of our webinar audience said employee distrust in the technology and subsequent resistance to adoption is the biggest barrier to AI transformation, with a further 31% citing skill gaps.

Again, these findings are aligned with those from our New Talent Equation report, where a collective fear of job displacement (78%) and employee resistance to AI adoption (63%) were the biggest challenges cited by those we surveyed.

Clearly, the most common blockers to successful AI transformation are inherently human, not technical. Which is why organisations must never lose focus of the human side of change.

Yes, there are an abundance of gains to be made in productivity and efficiency through AI – the technology itself is ready – but change will only succeed if your people are ready as well. After all, the value of this technology isn’t simply defined by the time it can save, but instead in how it can improve the quality and range of options available for humans to work better.

So how can businesses begin to overcome these barriers and move along the AI maturity scale?

Getting the most out of AI in the next 12 months

For our webinar audience, the goals for the next year are clear:

• 44% said they’d like to begin redesigning work for more effective human and AI collaboration
• 35% said they want to build greater workforce readiness and skills

In order to achieve these ambitions however, organisational leaders will first need to take a step back and ask themselves four important questions:

1. Are they themselves ready to lead change?
2. Are their people ready to embrace it?
3. Is the work itself ready?
4. And do they have the workforce intelligence needed to make informed decisions?

If they can confidently say yes to these questions, they can consider their business ready to continue pursuing AI transformation.

But as with any major business change, communication must also play a key role. How leaders communicate and orchestrate AI integration will ultimately determine its success. They must be able to clearly articulate how roles will change, what responsibilities will remain human, and how their employees will be supported as new operating models evolve with the technology.

Only then can they hope to build the workforce trust and confidence needed to embrace change and successfully embed new ways of working.

To hear from our panel of experts on how to allocate work across humans and AI, and how your organisation can begin measuring the ROI on its investment, catch up on our webinar or download the reports.