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AI is becoming a core part of business operations, but workforce preparedness is failing to keep pace. New global research highlights why people remain the biggest factor in achieving AI success.
As organisations continue to accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), many are discovering that technology alone is not enough to deliver meaningful business outcomes.
According to Kyndryl's second annual People Readiness Report, while AI has become more deeply embedded across organisations over the past year, workforce readiness has declined, exposing a widening gap between AI ambitions and execution.
The global study surveyed 1,100 senior business and technology leaders across eight countries. It found that organisations achieving the strongest AI outcomes are those that redesign work, prepare employees for change, and establish governance frameworks that build trust in AI.
The findings come as organisations continue to ramp up AI investment. According to Gartner research cited in the report, worldwide spending on AI is forecast to reach US$2.52tn in 2026, representing a 44% year-on-year increase.
Kim Basile, Chief Information Officer, Kyndryl, said: “This is a critical moment for global enterprises as they race to adopt AI, redesign workflows, and pursue innovation, yet they’re finding that their greatest assets – their people – need more attention.
She further added that organisations that rethink roles and workflows, dedicate resources to upskilling and retraining, and guide employees through change are experiencing positive outcomes at a much higher rate.
AI adoption accelerates but results remain uneven
The study found that AI adoption has continued to gather pace.
More than half (57%) of organisations said AI is now embedded in core business processes or deployed broadly across the enterprise, an increase from 35% a year ago.
However, translating AI adoption into business value remains a challenge.
Only 32% of organisations said they have achieved at least one of their top two AI goals, while just 11% reported achieving both.
According to the report, success is driven not simply by AI strategies or technologies, but by whether organisations redesign work and effectively manage change across the business. It also found that trust in AI can be strengthened through deliberate changes to operating models and governance.
Mark Paulek, Chief Human Resources Officer, Kyndryl, said AI's ability to reshape work is challenging organisations to reshape their workforce more rapidly than ever before. He noted that organisations pulling ahead are aligning skills, roles and decision-making with the way work is changing, enabling trust and performance to scale as employees better understand their role in the new operating model.
What sets AI leaders apart?
The study identified a group of organisations, “pacesetters", representing just 9% of respondents.
These organisations consistently demonstrate three behaviours:
- redesigning roles around AI,
- implementing change management to help employees understand new ways of working while putting appropriate guardrails in place,
- and building workforce readiness.
They are also around twice as likely to have fully implemented every governance dimension measured.
As a result, pacesetters are:
- 1.5 times more likely to achieve AI-related revenue growth.
- 1.6 times more likely to report stronger innovation in products and services.
Workforce readiness continues to decline
Despite the rapid pace of AI adoption, workforce readiness remains one of the biggest barriers facing organisations.
Just 23% of organisations believe their workforce is fully ready for AI, marking a six-point decline from last year. Meanwhile, 79% agreed that the speed of AI will outpace their organisations' workforce, governance and operating models.
How organisations are preparing employees for AI
The report highlighted several ways organisations are strengthening workforce readiness for AI-enabled workplaces.
On job redesign, 61% said they have already redesigned existing roles, while 24% are creating new roles focused on AI management.
Skills remain another challenge. More than half (52%) said it has become more difficult to find employees with the right capabilities to advance their AI strategy. At the same time, one-third have fully implemented training programmes to help employees collaborate effectively with AI tools.
Governance is also receiving greater attention. One-third (33%) of organisations said they have clear policies outlining which decisions AI can and cannot make, while 27% use registries and monitoring capabilities across all AI systems.
According to the report, organisations with stronger governance also report higher workforce trust in AI strategy and execution, making them significantly more likely to achieve transformative outcomes from their AI investments.
Trust remains a hurdle as AI agents become more common
The report also pointed to a growing governance challenge as organisations begin adopting autonomous AI agents.
While 81% expect AI agents to make impactful decisions for their organisations within the next year, only 25% currently say they completely trust AI systems operating without human oversight.
As AI adoption continues to accelerate, the findings suggest organisations will need to invest as much in their people as they do in the technology to realise lasting value.
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