The AI Investments You May Not Have Considered
In the rush to lead the digital revolution, organisations are investing billions in Artificial Intelligence. According to Gartner, global spending on AI is projected to reach $297 billion by 2027. Yet, despite this massive financial commitment, many leaders are finding that software alone doesn’t deliver a return on investment. Research by BCG (Boston Consulting Group) found that while nearly all companies are piloting AI, only about 10% of organisations achieve significant financial benefits from their AI investments.
AI success isn't simply a software problem; it’s a human one too. To bridge the gap between "installing" AI and "integrating" it, leaders must move beyond the technical implementation and consider the cultural and emotional impact on their workforce.
The investment required to ensure AI transformation is a success is not solely the cost for the technology, it’s the investment in people:
- Training employees to collaborate with AI effectively
- Developing leaders with the skills to lead in the new world of work
- Supporting and engaging employees through the change
The Technology Trap: Why Tools Aren't Enough
Organisations often pour budget into tools while neglecting the people expected to use them. Digital transformation is as much people transformation as it is technical evolution. HBR research shows that when digital initiatives fail, it is rarely due to the technology itself, but rather a lack of alignment with employee mindsets and organisational culture.
According to a study by Bentley University and Gallup, while leaders are optimistic, only one in four employees believe AI will actually improve their work experience. This disconnect creates a "productivity paradox" where software is deployed, but output remains stagnant because the workforce hasn't practically integrated the tool into their workflow.
Three Investments In People Required For AI Transformation:
1. Training employees to collaborate with AI effectively
For AI to be truly transformational in a business, we must evolve the whole operational model. As Microsoft suggests in their ‘Work Trend Index Annual Report 2025’, organisations need to move from people using AI occasionally for completing tasks to hybrid human-AI teams, where AI agents handle large parts of workflows and humans oversee outcomes, judgement, and risk.
In a hybrid AI–human workplace, training needs to shift away from “how to use this tool” and towards judgement, interpretation, ethics, and collaboration with AI. Whilst skills will differ depending on the role, the key for HR and people leaders is building AI fluency amongst employees. This means the training and development programmes that have served your employees previously will no longer suffice.
McKinsey found that 62% of organisations are experimenting with AI agents, so it’s no longer about who is using AI but who is using it wisely and effectively.
2. Developing leaders with the skills to lead in the new world of work
AI will of course come with its challenges (which are well documented), but it also presents a huge opportunity. It’s an opportunity to reimagine workflows/ processes, systems and technology, roles and responsibilities. With AI agents able to take on administrative and operational tasks, it can free up managers to be more human, creating capacity for them to converse with, listen to and connect with their team members.
This means L&D teams need to re-evaluate the development and training given to managers. It may require a significant revamp of current leadership development programmes. These programmes should not just be focused on developing leaders who have technical fluency, but also mastery of the human condition/ human skills.
In the World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs Report 2025’, they revealed that the top non-technology-related skills for 2025-2030 were creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, along with curiosity and lifelong learning.
What this means for leadership development is more of a focus on emotional intelligence, regulating themselves under pressure, active listening, curiosity, creating psychological safety and building connection.
3. Supporting and engaging employees through the change
As with any transformation programme or period of change, we need to lead our people through it and help them navigate the uncertainties and unknowns. This naturally requires human-centred leadership, which we tackled in the point above around development of new skills for leaders. But it also requires listening from the organisation to understand how people are feeling throughout the change, and communicating or taking action where necessary.
Currently, there is a lot of scepticism and nervousness around AI and its impact on people’s employment. We’ve all heard the concerns around “AI is coming for our jobs”. We could laugh this off as ridiculous but it is a genuine concern for many people, particularly amongst widespread redundancies and job losses. Right now, it is essential that senior leaders communicate clearly that AI is a capability multiplier, not a cost reduction exercise. This will help build trust and ease anxiety, and reinforce the benefit to them in their role. But it's not just about communicating to people, leaders must also listen to how their people are feeling and acknowledge things are hard.
AI can provide the data and insight, but it can’t build trust and connection. It can’t read the room and see how a message has landed, it can’t look people in the eye and listen to how they feel.
For AI transformation to truly succeed, organisations need to listen to their people throughout the whole journey. Measuring how people feel at key moments using emotional analytics will be essential to seeing the desired shift and excel in the new world of work. You can move from a high-tech, low-trust environment to one where technology and humanity work in partnership and thrive together. Our no-nonsense guide 'Where to Focus in 2026' hones in on exactly how leadership can help teams thrive despite emerging demands in modern workplaces. Download it here.
