Closing the Gap Between AI Adoption and Workforce Impact

AI strategy is easy to define. Execution is where most teams stall. Gartner analysts and Executive Partners work side‑by‑side with leaders to shape AI decisions and translate them into measurable outcomes not just ideas. The focus: • Sharper decision‑making • Aligned operating models • Faster movement from pilots to results Because progress isn’t about more insight. It’s about applying the right insight at the right moment. 👉 Learn more about Gartner Executive Partners: 🔗 https://gtnr.it/4nfFs5H #CIO #ArtificialIntelligence #ExecutiveLeadership #DigitalStrategy #Gartner

The conversations at our recent EMEA event made one thing clear: organizations are moving beyond the AI hype cycle and focusing on real business outcomes. Across every discussion, customers were looking for practical ways to use AI to improve workforce productivity, simplify operations, support managers, and create better employee experiences at scale. What resonated most was the need for AI that is not only innovative, but trusted, actionable, and built to solve everyday challenges for frontline and corporate teams alike. The future of work is being shaped by organizations that can combine AI-driven insights with a people-first approach — helping employees work smarter while enabling businesses to adapt faster. Thank you to our customers, partners, and teams across EMEA who contributed to such impactful conversations and shared their perspectives on where AI can deliver the greatest value today. #UKGAspire #AI #WorkforceManagement #HRTech #EMEA

The conversations at our recent EMEA event made one thing clear: organizations are moving beyond the AI hype cycle and focusing on real business outcomes. Across every discussion, customers were looking for practical ways to use AI to improve workforce productivity, simplify operations, support managers, and create better employee experiences at scale. What resonated most was the need for AI that is not only innovative, but trusted, actionable, and built to solve everyday challenges for frontline and corporate teams alike. The future of work is being shaped by organizations that can combine AI-driven insights with a people-first approach — helping employees work smarter while enabling businesses to adapt faster. Thank you to our customers, partners, and teams across EMEA who contributed to such impactful conversations and shared their perspectives on where AI can deliver the greatest value today. #UKGAspire #AI #WorkforceManagement #HRTech #EMEA

Newsflash for anyone thinking about AI at work. The conversation has officially moved on. The latest Microsoft Work Trend Index focuses on a shift that feels increasingly relevant. As AI agents take on more execution, human agency becomes more important, not less. This year’s perspective reframes the discussion away from simple productivity gains and towards how organisations design work in an agent‑rich world. The core idea is that AI should not replace judgement. It should expand what people are able to direct, decide and own. What stood out to me is the emphasis on redesigning work itself. When agents handle routine and repeatable tasks, people gain more space to focus on intent, outcomes and accountability. That requires changes in operating models, leadership behaviours and how teams define success. This is particularly relevant for complex environments like manufacturing, where value is created through coordination across engineering, operations and supply chains. Agents can help execute at scale, but only if humans remain firmly in control of direction and priorities. For anyone thinking about the next phase of AI adoption, this is a useful lens. The opportunity is not just faster work. It is better work, with clearer ownership and greater impact. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dGFkbbVQ Agents, human agency, and the opportunity for every organisation Where do you think organisations need to change most to make this shift real? #WorkTrendIndex #AIAtWork #HumanAgency #FutureOfWork #Manufacturing #Leadership

McKinsey's recent research found that 88% of organizations are now using AI in at least one business function. Only 6% are seeing meaningful results. The gap isn't about access to tools. It's about strategy. For Austin's business community, that distinction matters. The question is no longer whether to engage with AI — it's whether your organization has a clear-eyed plan for where it actually creates value, and where it doesn't. Tomorrow, Adam Lyons of Lyons Consulting joins MBC to move past the headlines and into the practical: how AI is reshaping workforce dynamics and operations right now, and what leaders can do about it. Adam joins us Wednesday at Metropolitan Breakfast Club — learn more at mbcaustin.org/events. McKinsey Report: https://lnkd.in/gyUGHTSw

The biggest shift in professional services right now isn’t AI. It’s how AI is impacting your workforce. You’re no longer just managing people — you’re managing: - Human resources - AI capabilities - Agentic systems that can influence how work gets allocated - And AI agents completing the work So how do you actually plan capacity in that world? Tomorrow, in our TECH on Deck session with TSIA, we’ll unpack: ✅ How AI is helping close the utilization gap ✅ What it means to manage an AI hybrid workforce ✅ How leading firms are rethinking resource planning entirely If you’re responsible for delivery, margin, or growth, this is where the conversation is heading. TECH on Deck: Closing the Utilization Gap with AI Thursday, May 14th @ 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM ET 👉 Last chance to register: https://hubs.la/Q04dLghr0

Everyone is suddenly an “AI-first company” now. The slide decks say it. The CEO letters say it. The job descriptions say it. But beneath the slogan sits a more important question: what has actually changed inside these organisations beyond the tagline? Our latest blog explores the gap between AI as branding and AI as genuine organisational restructuring, changing how work gets done, how decisions are made, and where responsibility ultimately sits. Because becoming “AI-first” is not just about deploying tools. It is about redesigning processes, incentives, oversight, and accountability around them. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/eg5SVFPh Cassie Kozyrkov | Dan Shipper | Gartner | McKinsey & Company | World Economic Forum #ArtificialIntelligence #ResponsibleAI #AIGovernance #FutureOfWork #DigitalTransformation #AILeadership #EnterpriseAI #TechPolicy

Over the past few weeks most CEOs I’m speaking with are clearly under pressure to “do something” with AI... Here are some of the questions being surfaced: - Where do we actually sit on AI adoption? - How do our people genuinely feel about AI in their day‑to‑day work? (and the future impact) - Which team members are potentially our “AI champions”? - Where is AI being deliberately avoided, and why? - How do we equip our teams with sufficient information and training? - How do we protect our IP? I don’t believe most companies need a full‑time “Chief AI Officer”. I think the executive team simply needs a clearer way to surface what’s already happening across departments. With this feedback on board, I’ve just completed v1.0 of a structured 'AI adoption assessment' that creates a: - A board‑ready baseline on AI maturity (Broken down by department) - A view of workforce sentiment around AI - An “avoidance index” that distinguishes lack of awareness from active resistance I’m looking to connect with a small cohort of CEOs with teams of 50+ employees who would like to join a short pilot program over the next 30 days. The outcome will be a board‑level report that shows how your organisation is using AI today, how your people feel about it, where it’s being avoided, and your overall AI velocity, along with a benchmark against the global cohort. If this would be useful ahead of your next board or strategy cycle, DM me with “AI baseline” and I’ll send you the details. 🙏

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is hosting a special #TalentForward edition, AI+Work, on May 27! We're bringing together business leaders, policymakers, and workforce professionals to tackle how #AI is reshaping the American workforce. This event is designed to move attendees from insight to action on proactive workforce transitions, smarter AI deployment, and how to put workers at the center of adoption. Join me: https://lnkd.in/ewccZ3Ds

⚠️ More than 80% of companies have seen no measurable gain from AI, Be mindful of the Productivity Paradox trap! A major 2026 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research surveyed nearly 6,000 senior executives across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia. More than 4 in 5 reported no measurable impact on productivity or jobs over the past three years. That sounds no good. It is not the full story. Economists call this gap a productivity paradox ⚠️ . Leaders feel faster and sense their teams doing more, yet the gains do not yet show up in the hard numbers. Here is my honest observation after working with many leaders on AI transformation: If most of your AI use cases sit at the personal productivity level, like writing slide decks or ad hoc reports, you are UNLIKELY to see measurable $$ returns. Those rarely reach the bottom line. If you are under pressure to prove value, two moves help. > First, pick one or two high value use cases that hit P&L directly. Redesign the process and embed specific AI tool, measure and track them closely. > Second, widen how you define value. Dollars and hours matter, but so do employee satisfaction and stronger skills, consider which value to measure! If you want to turn AI effort into results you can actually measure, join our AI executive webinar this Thursday: https://lnkd.in/gY_gCN4U 👉 Free spots are limited, so register now before they fill up.