CEOs Push AI Adoption Despite Worker Resistance and Skills Gaps
Nearly half of CEOs report employee hostility toward AI, yet adoption continues. Upskilling and clear communication are key to bridging skills gaps and easing resistance.
CEOs Push Ahead with AI Adoption Despite Employee Hostility
Nearly half of CEOs believe their employees are openly hostile to AI tools, yet this concern isn’t stopping AI adoption. A survey by tech services company Kyndryl polled 1,000 executives to gauge workforce readiness for AI integration. The findings showed 45% of CEOs see most employees as anti-AI, while only 8% of CTOs and CIOs share this view.
Maryjo Charbonnier, Chief Human Resources Officer at Kyndryl, summed it up: “Preparing your workforce for the era of AI is easy to say, hard to do, and an urgent imperative for business leaders.”
Disagreement on Workforce Readiness Strategies
Executives differ on how to prepare their teams for AI. Tech leaders like CTOs favor upskilling existing employees, with 80% backing this approach. Meanwhile, 40% of CEOs prefer hiring new external talent to fill AI-related skill gaps.
This divide may explain why 27% of CEOs see job displacement fears and resistance to change as serious barriers to AI adoption.
Supporting this, a previous IBM study found 64% of CEOs are accelerating AI adoption faster than workers are comfortable with, yet only 44% have assessed AI’s workforce impact. This disconnect risks creating tension between leadership and frontline staff.
Skills Gaps Limit AI Success
The Kyndryl survey revealed 95% of companies have invested in AI technology, but 71% of leaders say their workforce isn’t ready to maximize AI’s benefits. Half of them identify a skills gap as a major issue.
Michael Bradshaw, Global Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, noted that while data architecture and infrastructure are essential, neglecting the people side limits AI’s potential. “Only a small group of businesses have been able to harness AI successfully for business growth,” he said.
Readiness also varies by industry, with financial services leading AI integration and healthcare lagging behind.
Current AI Usage in Business
Most companies surveyed have deployed AI in some form, but only 35% report full integration across their organizations. Another 39% use AI in select areas, while 21% are still in early implementation stages.
Generative AI tools are the most popular, used by nearly two-thirds of respondents. However, only 40% say AI is driving growth, and just 20% are developing new products or services using the technology.
Top-performing companies, labeled “AI Pacesetters,” are three times more likely to have a change management strategy in place and experience less employee resistance.
Kim Basile, Chief Information Officer at Kyndryl, emphasized the importance of leadership alignment: “Organizations that get alignment at the top are marching in the same direction and seeing the benefits. Aligning technology strategies with business goals is the key step to fully realize AI’s value.”
Practical Steps for Executives and HR Leaders
- Focus on upskilling existing employees to bridge AI skills gaps.
- Address employee fears about job displacement through transparent communication.
- Implement change management strategies to reduce resistance and ease adoption.
- Align AI initiatives with clear business goals to maximize impact.
- Assess workforce readiness regularly to adjust training and hiring plans.
For those looking to enhance AI skills within their teams, resources like Complete AI Training’s latest courses offer practical learning paths tailored to various skill levels and roles.
