In today’s rapidly evolving AI landscape, the integration of AI tools into the workplace is no longer a distant future but a present reality. Our latest research, The state of AI change readiness eBook, delves into current employee readiness for AI-related change and its implications for organizations on their AI journey.

4 key findings from the 2024 state of AI change readiness eBook:

Engaged employees are 2.6x as likely to say they fully support AI being integrated in their workplace and are eager to contribute to the success of the transformation. This study finds early indication that strong employee experience does have a positive relationship with frequent AI usage. Engaged employees are also reporting more positive outcomes of AI adoption–seeing more realized individual value of AI in their work. These findings critically underscore that AI transformation and the employee experience cannot be decoupled.

Employees’ AI readiness is driven by their previous change experience, uncovering an opportunity area for leaders. As we look at AI readiness, up to 43% of how AI-ready an individual is can be explained by their previous experience with change. This strong relationship means the positive change experience you build today will set you up for success in the future. In this study we found that leaders are having a substantially different experience with change compared to individual contributors across communication, skilling, and measurement. For example, while 86% of leaders report having good opportunities to improve skills during change, only 64% of individual contributors have this experience.

High performing organizations are more ready for the era of AI at work. In 2023 we sought to understand what made a high performing organization (HPO). This year we wanted to understand what these organizations are doing differently when it comes to AI transformation. Employees at HPOs are not only 90% more likely to say they fully support AI being integrated in their workplace, they also have overall better change experiences.

o HPOs take a more people-centric approach to change. Compared to 64% of employees at typical organizations, 96% of employees at HPOs felt cared for and supported during recent changes in their organization.

o HPOs better connect the dots on AI vision. About half of individual contributors across all organizations say they see the value of integrating AI in their own work, but only 28% see AI as critical to their organization’s success. Individual contributors can see the ‘what’s in it for me’ but are struggling with the ‘what’s in it for us.’ When it comes to HPOs, however, their individual contributors see the organizational vision even more than managers at typical organizations.

o HPOs provide more access to AI tools. Employees at HPOs indicate more organization-sponsored AI tooling, with 48% saying all the AI tools they use at work are provided by their organization, in comparison to only 26% saying the same at typical organizations. We also see HPO employees more likely to report that they understand where AI could be integrated in their work (87% at HPOs versus 67% at typical organizations), which sheds light on the value of role-specific experimentation to elevate the impact of AI in organizations.

Successful AI transformation will mean meeting people where they are in their own AI journey. By understanding current levels of engagement, experiences with past change initiatives in their organization, and employees’ sense of AI optimism and AI readiness at work, five different AI transformation profiles were identified. From eager Multipliers to hesitant Change Pessimists, leaders and HR will need to understand where their people are, not only in their own AI journey, but also in their work experience, to empower AI transformation.

Read The state of AI change readiness eBook to learn more about what is needed to successfully lead your organization into the era of AI, how to use experimentation and change agility to jump start your transformation, and a case study on how teams at Microsoft are building community and support around AI.

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