A new report from research firm Everest Group reveals that AI technology is outpacing executive readiness. The company’s report, “The New Talent Equation: Activating Workforce Confidence at Scale,” finds organizations are deploying AI faster than they are preparing people to use it. Only 17 percent of organizations report advanced or transformational workforce readiness, in which AI capabilities are deeply embedded into workflows and linked to measurable business outcomes.
Just three percent of organizations describe their leaders as highly prepared to manage AI-enabled ways of working, while nearly half say their leaders are only moderately prepared. The findings suggest leadership capability may now be a greater barrier to transformation than the technology itself.
“The first phase of AI transformation has been defined by adoption. The next phase is likely to be defined by adaptation,” said Sailesh Hota, vice president at Everest Group. “As AI becomes embedded across talent processes and workforce systems, the ability to redesign how work is organized may become a more important determinant of success than technology deployment alone.”
Nearly 78 percent of organizations report employee fear of job displacement, while 63 percent report workforce resistance to adopting AI tools after deployment. Workforce confidence now influences adoption, engagement and how quickly organizations realize value from AI. Without employee trust, organizations will struggle to scale AI, regardless of the technology they deploy.
Despite widespread concern about job displacement, organizations are responding to AI by redesigning work rather than reducing headcount. Nearly 63 percent identify reskilling and redeployment as the most common outcome for employees whose roles are significantly affected by AI. In comparison, 86 percent rank AI-focused upskilling and reskilling among their top workforce priorities over the next 12 to 18 months.
Organizations achieve their greatest productivity gains when AI augments human work rather than fully automating it. Thirty-four percent of organizations report their greatest productivity improvements in AI-augmented roles, where people and AI collaborate through redesigned workflows, compared with just 8 percent reporting their strongest gains from fully automated roles.
The company said the next phase of AI transformation will be defined less by how quickly organizations deploy AI and more by how effectively they prepare people to work, adapt and succeed alongside it.
