Workforce readiness crucial for AI success, i4cp’s study finds

As the world accelerates into the era of AI, organisations face a critical challenge: How can they prepare their workforce to thrive in an AI-enabled future? Human capital think tank i4cp has released its latest global study, Workforce Readiness in the Era of AI, which explores how organisations are equipping their teams with the skills necessary to scale AI utilisation effectively.

The study revealed that AI is not just a buzzword for leading organisations but a catalyst for massive productivity gains. For some organisations, AI is already fuelling growth and helping them execute their strategies more effectively. The common denominator among these successful organisations is a focused effort on upskilling their workforce to harness the power of generative AI (GenAI). However, despite the clear benefits, the study highlighted that most organisations remain stalled in their AI training efforts, putting them at risk of being outpaced by competitors.

Based on survey responses from nearly 1,000 HR and business leaders worldwide, the study underscored training as a key differentiator. Organisations actively operationalising AI today see training as integral to boosting productivity—these organisations believe that further upskilling could improve productivity by more than 30%. In contrast, organisations still experimenting with AI estimate training would lead to a productivity boost of just 10-30%.

For organisations already operationalising AI, upskilling is not confined to one tier of the workforce—it spans all levels. The study showed that these organisations are significantly more likely to provide GenAI training to their leadership teams. For instance, they are 2.5 times more likely to have trained their executive leaders on GenAI and three times more likely to report that their executives are actively using the technology.

The study also showcased organisations successfully scaling AI and realising tangible results. Notable organisations featured include Air New Zealand, BNSF, Genpact, HealthPoint, Klarna, Land O’ Lakes, ServiceNow, Zillow, and Zurich.

READ MORE: Josh Bersin’s top AI headline for 2025? It’s all about the agents

Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp, highlighted the growing divide between organisations capitalising on AI and those merely dabbling in it. “Workforce readiness is a fundamental precursor to achieving accelerated business growth, and the productivity gap between organisations capitalising on AI and scaling their efforts and those merely experimenting with it is rapidly increasing,” said Oakes. “While the largest percentage (41%) of organisations are still experimenting with GenAI, a growing number (11%) of organisations have now operationalised the capability, actively scaling AI applications across departments, restructuring processes and workflow, and doing this by offering AI-related training to most or all employees.”

One finding from the study is the level of concern among employees at organisations scaling AI. Despite the positive impacts on productivity, these employees are the most fearful of being replaced by AI in the future. Oakes explained that as employees become more familiar with AI’s capabilities, they realise that AI could potentially take over tasks—if not entire functions—more efficiently than humans in the long run.

The study also emphasised the crucial role HR plays in realising AI’s full potential. It includes recommendations on how HR can act as a primary driver of AI readiness, ensuring that the workforce is prepared for the changes AI will bring. This includes strategic insights for future-proofing the workforce, aligning organisational culture with AI adoptions, and examples of how leading organisations are mastering workforce planning while scaling AI.

As organisations continue to navigate the complexities of AI adoption and workforce readiness, Kevin Oakes, CEO of i4cp, will be sharing his insights on building a thriving, AI-driven workplace culture during his keynote—Building a Healthy, Productive, and AI-Fielled Culture—at HR Tech Asia 2025. To find out more about HR Tech Asia 2025, visit https://www.hrtechfestivalasia.com/.