The world of work is undergoing a significant transformation due to rapid advancements in AI and automation. As a result, business leaders are reevaluating their workforce strategies to get ahead in this changing landscape. A new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value, in partnership with Oracle, reveals the top concerns facing surveyed executives around the future of work, including the need for a skills-focused foundation and a well-defined strategy.

AI skills development and empowering the workforce to use AI is a growing business imperative. According to IBM research released earlier this year, 64% of surveyed CEOs say succeeding with generative AI depends more on people’s adoption than the technology itself. However, more than half of surveyed organizations (62%) say a lack of expertise is a barrier to executing their AI and automation strategy to a moderate or significant extent today.

Despite its importance, executives currently rank AI literacy eighth on the list of most critical workforce capabilities, and only 65% of executives surveyed say their organizations empower people to work in collaboration with generative AI and automation to a moderate or significant extent. By 2026, AI literacy is expected to rise to the top of the list of critical workforce capabilities; 78% of respondents expect their organizations will empower people to work in collaboration with generative AI and automation to a moderate or significant extent.

HR leaders contribute to their organization’s future of work strategy, but not enough of them are in the driver’s seat. Only one in five (20%) executive respondents say HR owns the future of work strategy in their organization today. HR leaders are perceived to be supporting players when it comes to developing their organizations’ future of work strategy, with 74% of executives surveyed reporting HR either supports the strategy or is one of many key players.

But, with their unique perspective and understanding of organizational culture, workforce needs, skills development, and change management, HR leaders are well-positioned to take a leadership role in their organization’s future of work strategy. Here are a few actions to consider:

Build a future-ready culture that encourages experimentation. The culture of an organization is the foundation for the future of work. HR leaders must encourage collaboration with new tools and technologies, or a “learn by doing” approach, which empowers employees to take acceptable risks and develop foundational AI skills and even new use cases for AI. In fact, IBM research shows that  the organizations that build a skills-focused foundation for generative AI today are poised to pivot as new opportunities arise.

Give your workforce a voice in the future of work strategy. By encouraging open dialogue and creating a platform for employees to share suggestions, HR leaders can turn employee feedback into strategies and initiatives that shape the organization's future of work landscape. Empowering employees to take an active role in shaping how work is done given new technologies and approaches can increase their sense of ownership, motivation, value, and commitment to the organization's success.

Drive technology transformation and champion AI use case adoption. HR leaders have a unique opportunity to drive technology transformation and AI use case adoption by leveraging their expertise in human capital management platforms, business intelligence tools, learning platforms, and more. This is not just in the HR domain, considering these platforms and tools impact every stakeholder in the organization – from day-to-day performance to potential, growth, and agility. To effectively lead this transformation, HR leaders can take an active role in assessing the impact of technology on the workforce, quantifying its effects, and preparing for the changes that will occur. This involves breaking down the transformation process into smaller, more manageable steps aligned with the needs of the workforce to support organizational goals.

HR leaders can drive growth by championing the top-growing HR AI use cases where executives are investing. The new study found that surveyed executives expect a significant increase in adoption in automation and AI for transactional HR, with a 63% increase from today to 2026.

And looking towards the future, surveyed executives indicate they are investing in business processes and use cases that elevate employee experience, including career growth, pay transparency, and continuous learning. By 2026, workforce strategy and succession planning is expected to see a 21% increase in adoption, pay equity and transparency is expected to see an 11% increase, and continuous learning is expected to see a 9% increase. Nearly 60% of surveyed executives across all use cases are confident they can scale these AI activities across their enterprise over the next two years.

AI adoption is on the rise for the world of work and its workforce – it’s up to HR leaders to define and champion these use cases, build a future-ready workforce that is equipped to work with new technologies, and develop their future of work strategy to position their organizations for success.