Milena Traikovich is a seasoned expert in demand generation and performance optimization, known for her ability to bridge the gap between high-level analytics and the human elements of lead nurturing. With years of experience guiding businesses through complex digital transitions, she understands that the success of any technological leap depends heavily on the readiness of the people behind the tools. Today, she joins us to discuss the growing friction within the C-suite regarding artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on the divide between executive ambition and the practical realities faced by human resources departments.
The following discussion explores the “AI-People Conundrum,” a phenomenon where organizational leaders see immense revenue potential in AI while HR leaders remain wary of the underlying workforce readiness. We delve into the specific disparities in confidence levels regarding job design and learning capabilities, the aggressive automation timelines across sectors like finance and IT, and the critical need for strategic investment in non-technical transformation areas like operating model redesign and employee enablement.
The recent Protiviti AI Pulse Survey suggests a striking disconnect between C-suite optimism and HR skepticism regarding AI’s immediate impact. From your perspective, why are HR leaders so much more cautious than their peers about the timeline for this transformation?
The divide really comes down to what each leader is looking at; while almost 80% of C-suite executives are focused on the bottom-line performance and the promise of strengthened revenue over the next three years, HR leaders are staring at the gears of the machine. Chief Human Resources Officers have a much wider visibility into the messy, complex reality of workforce strategy and talent management. They see the “how” rather than just the “what,” leading to a situation where only 5% of CHROs believe AI will support at least half of all HR-related tasks in the near future. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new tool, but HR leaders are the ones who have to figure out how to actually scale that tool into human processes without breaking the organization’s culture.
With only 13% of CHROs strongly agreeing that their job designs are ready for mass AI adoption, compared to 28% of the broader C-suite, what specific organizational hurdles are causing this lack of confidence?
This disparity highlights a fundamental lack of readiness in how we structure work itself. When we talk about mass adoption, we aren’t just plugging in a software update; we are talking about rethinking salaries, career paths, and the very structure of a person’s workday. Organizations need to prepare for a world where some jobs become highly specialized and require far fewer people, which is a daunting logistical and emotional task for any HR team. This is likely why we see such a gap in confidence, with only 14% of CHROs believing their organization’s learning capabilities are AI-ready, a sharp contrast to the 36% of leaders overall who feel confident in their training programs.
We are seeing very different adoption forecasts across departments, with IT and finance moving much faster than HR. How do these varying speeds of automation across a company affect the overall culture and operational efficiency?
It creates a sort of multi-speed organization that can lead to significant internal friction if not managed carefully. In the IT field, for instance, expectations are soaring, with 88% of respondents believing more than a quarter of their work will be AI-powered in three years, up from 57% today. Finance and supply chain are seeing similar aggressive shifts, with finance leaders projecting a jump to 72% AI enablement from just 23% today. When one department is sprinting toward automation while the core people-management function is still grappling with the basics of role redesign, you end up with a strategic bottleneck that can stall the entire enterprise’s return on investment.
Looking toward the end of the decade, 82% of HR leaders expect a hybrid workforce of humans and AI, which is notably lower than the 93% of the general C-suite and 96% of IT leaders. What does this tell us about the long-term management of these blended teams?
It tells us that HR leaders are much more attuned to the “non-technical” aspects of this transformation, such as operating model redesign and process overhauls. They realize that technology alone will not determine which organizations succeed; it is the ability to treat workforce transformation as a strategic priority that matters. While IT leaders see the technical possibility of a 96% hybrid workforce, HR leaders are worried about the “people enablement” required to make that work without losing talent or productivity. To truly capture AI’s value, leaders must empower HR to play a leading role in shaping the roles and skills that will turn these massive technological investments into sustainable business value.
What is your forecast for how HR’s role will evolve as businesses attempt to close this confidence gap and achieve the revenue growth they expect from AI?
I believe we are going to see a shift where HR becomes the primary architect of the “AI-ready” organization, moving away from administrative tasks and into deep strategic redesign. Although 80% of HR tasks could theoretically be automated, the real work lies in the 60% of CHROs who currently do not expect AI to be deeply embedded in their operations within the next three years—this represents a massive opportunity for growth and modernization. As sectors like audit jump from 20% to 56% AI enablement and supply chain rises from 33% to 66%, HR will have to move faster than ever to ensure that the people side of the business doesn’t become the weakest link. My forecast is that the most successful companies will be those that stop treating AI as a “tech project” and start treating it as a total workforce evolution, with HR leading the charge.
