While employees ride the AI hype, leaders are more cautious on organisation-wide adoption

• Adoption Gap: While 75% of global knowledge workers use AI, leaders lacks a plan and vision to go from individual impact to applying AI to the bottom line. They hesitate due to concerns about ethics, transparency, ROI, and workforce impact. (Microsoft, 2024)
• HR’s Role: HR must lead AI adoption through proactive change management, aligning innovation with ethical standards and workforce resilience. 

Focus on skills as they evolve faster than credentials in our rapidly changing environment 

• Skills Over Credentials: Companies are prioritizing skills like AI proficiency and adaptability over traditional degrees to meet rapidly evolving workplace demands (Randstad, 2024).​
• Dynamic Workforce Development: Organizations are equipping employees with both technical and human-centric skills, ensuring readiness for emerging technologies and leadership challenges.
• Future-Ready Hiring: Approaches like “fit-for-role” assessments align capabilities with future needs, focusing on adaptability and strategic alignment rather than past performance.

Empowering Gen X leaders (43 to 58 years old in 2024) to lead a multigenerational workforce 

• Gen X as Bridging Leaders: Positioned between Gen Z and Baby Boomers, Gen X leaders are pivotal in addressing generational expectations and fostering collaboration across a multigenerational workforce (Gartner, 2024).​
• Tailored Leadership Development: Organizations are investing in mentorship and training programs to close leadership gaps, enable cross-generational learning, and align leadership strategies with business goals (PwC, 2024).​
• Technology and Inclusion: Leveraging AI and automation helps leaders focus on strategic planning and team development, ensuring an adaptive and inclusive approach to future workforce dynamics ​

“2025 marks a turning point where HR is no longer just adapting to change — it’s driving it. With GenAI redefining workflows, skills becoming the new currency, and generational diversity shaping workplace dynamics, HR leaders are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation."

Dorothy Yiu
CEO & Co-founder at EngageRocket

"Another important aspect of diversity is the generational gaps. How do we get people to blend in? Being the older one who is the expert in Gen AI shouldn’t be that unusual. At the same time, learning from a younger person about something they know better than I do should also not be unusual. So how do we create that?"

Dr. Fermin Diez
C-Suite Leader, Board Director, HR Consultant, Professor, Author

"When we think about the future of work, helping employees become future-ready is essential. While technical skills are important, the human-centric skills—like communication, coaching, and leadership — will never go away."

Vanessa Teo
Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources

"AI as a means to enhance output by a seasoned practitioner is a fantastic use, but in the hands of someone inexperienced, it could be dangerous. Leaders need to understand both its potential and its limitations."

Ankur Sawhney
Group People & Culture Director, 7-Eleven, DFI Retail Group

“It represents opportunities for humans to then figure out how do we add value. Every single technology shift that has happened in the past 20 to 25 years, which was supposed to be a job killer, actually shifted the skills we need rather than eliminating jobs entirely.”

 

Jayaram Philkana
Chief Human Resources Officer, Indorama

"By embracing ethical AI adoption, focusing on evolving skills, and bridging a diverse workforce, we can transform challenges into strategic advantages. It’s about making deliberate choices that empowers employees which will ultimately drive growth."

 

Dr. Yvonne Tan
 Head of Product & People Science at EngageRocket