New research shows that organizations which are successful in scaling generative AI have a secret weapon: HR. UNLEASH digs into Bain & Company’s latest report to find out why HR is so integral.
Generative AI has quickly become a crucial part of enterprise operations, but scaling at an organizational level is a different story.
Research from Bain & Company shows that success in scaling gen AI can heavily rely on the involvement or leadership of HR.
UNLEASH speaks exclusively with Head of Bain & Co’s Global Talent solution, Vincent Greco, about why HR is so pivotal to Gen AI success.
Scaling generative AI solutions and tools across a business is often viewed as an IT-led undertaking, but organizations should ignore HR at their peril in such projects.
Bain & Company’s latest research, conducted among 800 IT executives in the US, Europe and Australia, found that nearly all organizations surveyed are testing generative AI, but only 40% have scaled it across the entire organization.
Those organizations that have successfully scaled Gen AI at an organizational level have common characteristics – a fully engaged and involved HR department.
Among surveyed organizations, 38% said HR were ‘very involved’ and 33% said ‘somewhat involved’ on Gen AI-related decision making. However, just 13% said HR were ‘fully involved or leading’.
Some of the most common adjustments organizations have made to scale Gen AI fall squarely within the domain of HR – training employees to use Gen AI (59%), creating AI use guidelines (55%), and setting up AI-focused teams (41%).
Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH, Vincent Greco, Head of Bain & Co’s Global Talent solution and Associate Partner, says the research shows it’s important to “involve HR early” when introducing Gen AI, playing two crucial roles in the process.
“First, providing practical training and guidance for employees on new tools help to foster an environment for broad AI adoption,” Greco explains.
“Second, HR helps the organization adapt structurally—redesigning teams, roles, and workflows—to ensure AI integration enhances daily operations and aligns with business goals.
Ultimately, successful AI adoption relies equally on people management and organizational preparation, not just on the technology itself.”
Bain’s research shows that organizations can effectively utilize HR in scaling Gen AI in three key ways: rethinking job roles and workflows to maximize the impact of AI; encouraging a mindset of experimentation with workers regarding AI; and creating a culture of AI enablement.
Creating the right kind of culture around AI, or driving an AI-native mindset, relies on “clear, consistent communication led by HR”, Greco says, which leads to positioning Gen AI as a “critical enabler of how work gets done and promoting adoption”.
“At the individual level, creating an environment where employees feel empowered to experiment, supported through personalized training, and provided with the right level of resources significantly boosts their confidence and capability to leverage AI to drive value.”
Bain also found that the three most common and challenging barriers to adoption of Gen AI were job security, ethics and talent.
Greco states that HR plays a pivotal role in managing change and trust: “HR can lead by example, transforming their own end-to-end processes and equipping HR business partners with generative AI tools.
By demonstrating the practical benefits of AI within their own function, HR can set the standard and make it easier for the broader organization to effectively adopt AI.”
Meanwhile, Greco also highlights several areas where HR can achieve “quick wins” when driving Gen AI scaling, such as launching targeted upskilling initiatives that enable employees to “quickly become familiar and confident with new AI tools” and pilot projects which allow “teams to experiment, demonstrating clear productivity improvements quickly.”
“HR can also identify and support internal champions—those early adopters who advocate for AI and help build momentum for broader organizational adoption.”
He adds that by directly partnering with operational teams to redesign and test workflows, HR can “immediately show the practical value of AI by improving ways of working”.
“These early successes set the stage for larger strategic initiatives, or ‘big bets’, which involve deeper organizational changes and more,” Greco concludes.
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Senior Journalist
John Brazier is an experienced and award-winning B2B journalist and editor, with a strong track record of hosting conferences, webinars, roundtables and video products. He has a keen interest in emerging technologies within the HR space, as well as wellbeing and employee experience topics. Prior to joining UNLEASH, John both led and wrote for various global and domestic financial services publications, including COVER Magazine, The TRADE, and WatersTechnology.
Get in touch via email: john@unleash.ai
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