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How CHROs can guide their company through AI transformation
By fostering a culture of AI literacy, organizations can better navigate the complexities of AI adoption. Learn how CHROs can help bring about a smooth transition.
In the digital age, the integration of AI into business operations is no longer a futuristic concept, but a present-day necessity. As organizations strive to enhance efficiency and productivity, generative AI has emerged as a pivotal tool. In a recent Gartner survey, 74% of CEOs said AI is the technology that will affect their industry the most -- a significant leap from 59% in early 2024 and 21% back in 2023.
As organizations embark on AI initiatives, understanding AI technologies and their implications becomes critical. AI literacy extends beyond technical knowledge, encompassing the ethical, social and economic impacts of AI. This understanding is crucial for both leaders and employees to navigate the complexities of AI integration. By fostering a culture of AI literacy, organizations can better navigate the complexities of AI adoption.
Change management is equally as important. As AI technologies are integrated into HR processes, organizations must be prepared to address resistance to change and potential errors. Effective change management strategies can mitigate these risks, ensuring that productivity gains are maximized.
CHROs will influence the pace at which their organization progresses when it comes to AI transformation. The two paces consist of the following:
- Steady AI pace. An organization may proceed at a more measured pace because it has modest AI ambitions and AI is not yet disrupting its industry. This pace is suitable for risk-averse organizations and those with limited resources to spend on AI.
- Accelerated AI pace. Some organizations may need to move at a faster pace because their enterprise ambition is to be AI-first or AI is already reinventing their industry. This pace is suitable for larger organizations or innovative enterprises that are seeking to gain a competitive edge with AI.
CHROs can help prepare their enterprise and function for AI, regardless of the pace their organization adopts, by focusing on delivering business outcomes using AI, managing behavioral outcomes of AI and preparing the workforce for AI integration.
Assist in delivering business outcomes using AI
For organizations maintaining a steady pace of AI adoption, CHROs should consider developing AI literacy programs and identifying roles where generative AI (GenAI) can significantly enhance productivity. This involves evaluating the complexity of tasks within the organization and prioritizing those that are repetitive and time-consuming. By focusing on these labor-intensive tasks, organizations can leverage AI to improve efficiency and streamline operations.
CHROs wanting to follow an accelerated AI adoption pace should prioritize redesigning HR service delivery with the use of AI, while preparing the workforce's AI skills. This will lead to significant improvements and new business opportunities, ensuring the workforce is ready for an AI-driven future.
Manage behavioral outcomes of AI
As AI becomes more pervasive in business environments, CHROs will have to promote a culture that embraces innovation and agility, as well as lead change management efforts that minimize risk from intense employee reactions across the enterprise. According to a 2024 Gartner survey, worker resistance to change is a top barrier to achieving productivity from GenAI usage. Left unaddressed, this resistance to change could negatively affect desired outcomes.
For CHROs following a steady pace, they will want to put their employees at the center of their change management strategy. The human-centric approach to AI integration considers factors such as employee well-being, job satisfaction and the ethical implications of AI technologies. To do so, CHROs should direct their HR teams to work with cross-enterprise AI teams to build an employee-centered change management plan for employees whose work will be most impacted by AI transformation.
AI agents becoming more prevalent across organizational functions will result in a new human-machine partnership within HR and the broader enterprise. So, in addition to the previous recommendation, accelerated-AI-pace CHROs should prepare for AI agents' impact on HR employees and the broader workforce by deploying behavioral experts to ensure human-centric outcomes.
Preparing the workforce for AI integration
A lack of workforce readiness remains a top barrier to AI tool adoption. A 2024 Gartner survey of approximately 3,500 employees found that 63% of employees have not used GenAI tools to significantly reduce the effort required to perform critical tasks in their role.
To CHROs following the more steady AI pace path, they must first help their workforce learn how to use AI effectively and responsibly, with all its possibilities and limitations. They can do this by instructing their HR teams, in partnership with their technology teams, to develop AI literacy programs for different personas within the workforce to successfully scale up AI use.
In addition to setting up a broad-based workforce AI literacy program, CHROs within accelerated-AI-pace organizations should instruct their HR teams to expedite AI upskilling and literacy programs for the workforce segments most affected by AI. They can do this by building a community of practice (CoP) of early AI adopters from different parts of the business. These adopters will include those who have a good understanding of -- and are enthusiastic about -- AI and who have the influence to drive change in their respective areas. By leveraging this CoP to partner with the AI champions within the HR team, they can build out an AI literacy program for the workforce segments most affected by AI.
As AI continues to transform industries, organizations that embrace these strategies will be well positioned to achieve sustainable growth and innovation. By leveraging AI to enhance HR productivity, organizations can unlock new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, ultimately driving success in the digital age.
Eser Rizaoglu is senior analyst in the HR Technology Strategy and Management team within the Gartner HR practice. He is based in London with 10 years of experience. Rizaoglu engages with C-level executives and their wider HR teams on topics such as emerging HR technology trends, HR technology strategy, HR technology function management and end-user adoption.
