Leading Workforce Transformation in the Age of AI

Although organizations have spent years speculating about how AI will transform workplaces, the transformation no longer lingers in the future. It’s happening now.

As of late 2024, 78 percent of organizations were using AI in at least one business function. That’s 23 percent more than in 2023. [1]

And leaders can manage the change proactively as they inform the workforce response. Trust and transparency are essential in these times of change – times when the companies that transition successfully will enjoy competitive advantage.

In this article, we’ll explore strategies to help you guide your organization into a tech-ready future. We’ll examine:

• AI’s implications on jobs and skills.
• Actions and behaviors you can embrace to stay ahead of the curve.
• Companies that are already future-ready thanks to their upskilling initiatives.

What AI Means for Jobs and Skills

AI is automating many tasks, sometimes reducing the need for human intervention. While this has raised concern over widespread job loss, the opposite is possible. [2]

Consider customer service as an example. If AI improves an organization’s customer experience, more customers may reach out more often. In this case, the need for human agents to manage the AI may increase.

These agents may move from traditional support roles to strategic roles, where they use AI to strengthen customer relationships.

Although the shelf life of some skills is shrinking, new roles and capabilities are emerging across all functions.

Why Workforce Transformation Is a Leadership Issue

Transformation may take place throughout an organization, but effective change starts at the top. When leaders are the first to participate in new efforts, they encourage change to cascade down. [3]

This is especially important when reports suggest that nearly 40 percent of workplace skills are set to change, and 63 percent of employers consider the skills evolution to be their biggest barrier. [4]

Although workplace transformations affect engagement, performance, culture, and reputation, research in 2024 reveals that:

• only 49 percent of leaders reported that they had the confidence to evolve their organization in line with changing needs.
• and only 4 percent felt their workforce was already very well adapted for the future. [3]

This uncertainty likely comes down to a lack of team capability. However, reskilling and upskilling with AI, and nurturing an adaptable culture can soon build confidence in a team’s ability to fulfill a vision.

AI adoption without a people strategy is a recipe for resistance, but a team that knows how to blend AI and human skills can bring transformation to life. Under the careful guidance of an AI-ready leader, this is more than possible.

Practical Actions Leaders Can Take

Leaders can guide teams through a future-ready workplace transformation with these practical steps:

Assess Workforce Impact

Consider which roles AI may automate or augment and where new value will likely emerge. These changes may be immediate or take shape in the long term. Either way, creating a skills inventory may help you identify gaps between current capabilities and future needs.

Partner With HR and L&D

Rather than delegating to HR and L&D departments, collaborate with these on a vision that everyone can contribute to. With a cross-functional team, you can combine technical expertise and refine the vision over time as technological and organizational needs shift.

Invest in Reskilling and Upskilling

Select training, mentorship and experimentation opportunities that will help your team to adapt to future-ready roles. While AI has immense capacity when it comes to automation and data analysis, there are plenty of human skills it cannot replace, even if it can support these.

Examples include digital literacy, problem solving, creativity, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. Encourage curiosity and continuous learning among your teams as you strengthen these skills for the future.

Involve Your People Early

Create inclusive feedback channels where your team can share thoughts, ideas and concerns about how AI may affect their work and the support they need. It can also be helpful to establish pilot programs, where teams can practice with AI tools in low-risk contexts as they build confidence.

Communicate Clearly and Often

Let your team know what’s changing, why it matters, and what support is available to shape a culture based on trust. Share updates on your successes and lessons, integrating your team’s feedback as you evolve.

Clear communication avoids unnecessary alarm and even toxic positivity, instead fostering honesty and clarity.

Leadership Behaviors That Build a Future-Ready Culture

Beyond these practical steps, you can also embrace behaviors to set the tone for a future-proofed culture by:

Demonstrating Learning in Action

Take part in AI training opportunities to demonstrate that everyone company-wide, regardless of seniority, is preparing for the future.

Discuss your thoughts on what you learn to normalize conversations about AI, including its limitations.

Creating Safety for Experimentation and Failure

Encourage your team to innovate with AI without fear of “failure” to nurture psychological safety.

Explain that uncovering limitations is important to the organization’s development of AI usage and that you’re celebrating lessons learned instead of avoiding them.

Recognizing and Rewarding Growth and Adaptability

Encourage AI experimentation by creating a recognition system for those who integrate AI tools with human skills to enhance output.

It may also be helpful to incorporate skill development and learning agility into performance reviews to further this recognition.

Keeping the Long View

Balance short-term and future performance by measuring both immediate output and capability-building progress.

As it’s important not to lose sight of the bigger picture, it can be helpful to protect the time allocated for reskilling, ensuring all team members upskill as needed.

Companies Reskilling Teams for the AI-Era

As a leader, you can draw inspiration from plenty of companies that have already invested in large-scale upskilling. Notable examples include: [5]

• Infosys trained over 2,000 cybersecurity experts in adjacent competencies to broaden their AI-ready skill sets.
• Amazon trained thousands of employees who had little AI experience through its Machine Learning University to become experts.
• McDonald’s encourages restaurant employees to upskill through its “Archways to Opportunity” app. This app connects skills they develop at work to careers both within the company and in other industries.
• ICICI Bank recruits and trains graduates for frontline managerial jobs through its academy-like reskilling program. This program trains 2,500-4,000 employees every year.
• Ericsson has crafted a multiyear strategy that reskills telecommunications experts and other employees in AI and data science. In three years, the company has trained over 15,000 people.

Leading the Workforce, Not Just the Technology

Technology will keep evolving, but your team will remain your greatest asset. That’s why the best leaders don’t only build new systems. They also understand that successful AI integration is about cultivating human potential alongside technological capability.

They lead with vision, empathy and compassion as they invest in their team’s growth, encourage experimentation, and model continuous learning to reframe AI from a threat to an opportunity.

These leaders create new competitive advantages, strengthen the organization’s product or service suite, and build resilience throughout the team.

In doing so, they develop a culture that can withstand unknown technological developments that will unfold in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is AI changing the workplace?

AI is automating tasks and creating new roles, requiring leaders to reskill teams and adapt to evolving skill needs.

What should leaders do to prepare teams for AI?

Leaders should assess skill gaps, invest in training, and create a culture of curiosity, trust and experimentation.

How can leaders reduce fear about AI at work?

By involving employees early, communicating clearly, and offering reskilling support to ease transitions.

Which skills remain vital despite AI adoption?

Digital literacy, creativity, emotional intelligence, problem solving, and adaptability remain essential human strengths.