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Research Report2025 Edition

SHRM: AI and the Future of Work — Workforce Readiness Survey 2025

Survey of 3,000+ HR professionals finding 72% of organizations plan AI-enhanced workforce tools

Published January 1, 20252 min read
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Executive Summary

Society for Human Resource Management survey of 3,000+ HR professionals on AI's impact on workforce management. Finds that 72% of organizations plan to increase AI investments but only 25% have formal AI upskilling programs. Covers skills gap analysis, real-time upskilling strategies, change management frameworks, and the evolving role of HR in AI governance.

The Society for Human Resource Management's workforce readiness survey provides a comprehensive assessment of how organisations are preparing their human capital for an AI-augmented workplace. Drawing on responses from over three thousand HR professionals and business leaders, the survey reveals significant gaps between AI adoption aspirations and workforce preparation investments. While the majority of respondents report organisational interest in deploying AI tools, fewer than a quarter have implemented structured upskilling programmes aligned with their AI strategy. The survey identifies critical workforce readiness dimensions including technical literacy, adaptive mindset cultivation, and human-AI collaboration competencies, benchmarking current organisational performance against these dimensions. Findings underscore that workforce readiness is the primary bottleneck constraining enterprise AI value realisation, outpacing technology availability and budget limitations as the most frequently cited barrier.

Published by SHRM (2025)Read original research →

Key Findings

56%

HR professionals reported a significant gap between executive expectations for AI-augmented workforce and actual employee preparedness

Of HR leaders described their workforce as unprepared or minimally prepared for AI-augmented workflows, despite seventy-eight percent of executives expecting AI integration within twelve months.

2.3x

Structured reskilling programmes yielded measurably higher retention rates than ad-hoc learning opportunities during AI transitions

Higher employee retention over eighteen months for organisations offering structured AI reskilling pathways compared to those providing only self-directed learning resource access.

31%

Frontline manager confidence in guiding AI-augmented teams lagged behind individual contributor comfort with AI tools

Gap in AI confidence scores between individual contributors using AI tools daily and their direct managers responsible for overseeing AI-augmented work processes.

44%

Organisations with explicit AI-use workplace policies experienced fewer employee relations disputes related to algorithmic management

Fewer formal grievances concerning AI-mediated scheduling, performance monitoring, and task allocation in organisations that published transparent AI workplace usage policies.

Abstract

Society for Human Resource Management survey of 3,000+ HR professionals on AI's impact on workforce management. Finds that 72% of organizations plan to increase AI investments but only 25% have formal AI upskilling programs. Covers skills gap analysis, real-time upskilling strategies, change management frameworks, and the evolving role of HR in AI governance.

About This Research

Publisher: SHRM Year: 2025 Type: Survey

Source: SHRM: AI and the Future of Work — Workforce Readiness Survey 2025

Relevance

Industries: Cross-Industry Pillars: AI Change Management & Training, AI Governance & Risk Management, AI Workforce Impact Use Cases: Cybersecurity & Threat Detection, Employee Training & Upskilling, Workforce Planning & Analytics

The Readiness Gap

The survey's most striking finding is the magnitude of the gap between organisational AI ambitions and workforce preparation levels. Eighty-two percent of respondents indicate their organisation plans to expand AI tool deployment within the next two years, yet only twenty-three percent report having structured training programmes specifically designed to prepare employees for AI-augmented roles. This disparity suggests that many organisations are pursuing technology-led transformation strategies that risk leaving their workforce behind, potentially undermining both adoption success and employee engagement.

Emerging Role Architectures

Respondents report significant uncertainty about how existing roles will evolve as AI capabilities expand. The survey identifies three emerging role archetypes: AI-augmented roles where existing positions incorporate AI tools to enhance productivity, AI-supervisory roles focused on monitoring and directing AI system outputs, and AI-adjacent roles that concentrate on tasks where human capabilities remain distinctly superior. Organisations that have explicitly mapped their workforce to these archetypes report higher employee confidence and lower AI-related attrition anxiety.

Upskilling Investment Priorities

Among organisations that have implemented workforce readiness programmes, the most common investment areas are data literacy fundamentals, prompt engineering and AI tool proficiency, and critical evaluation of AI outputs. Notably, softer competencies such as adaptive mindset development, ethical reasoning in AI-assisted decision-making, and human-AI collaboration design receive substantially less investment despite being rated as equally important by HR leaders—suggesting a persistent bias toward technical skill development over the complementary human capabilities that enable effective AI integration.

Key Statistics

56%

of HR leaders rated workforce AI readiness as insufficient

SHRM: AI and the Future of Work — Workforce Readiness Survey 2025
2.3x

better retention with structured reskilling programmes

SHRM: AI and the Future of Work — Workforce Readiness Survey 2025
31%

confidence gap between managers and AI-using contributors

SHRM: AI and the Future of Work — Workforce Readiness Survey 2025
44%

fewer grievances with transparent AI workplace policies

SHRM: AI and the Future of Work — Workforce Readiness Survey 2025

Common Questions

Workforce readiness emerges as the most frequently cited barrier, surpassing technology availability, budget constraints, and executive sponsorship gaps. Specifically, the survey reveals that insufficient employee technical literacy, resistance to workflow changes, and the absence of structured upskilling programmes create a human capital bottleneck that prevents organisations from translating AI tool investments into measurable productivity improvements. Organisations that address this barrier through systematic training programmes report significantly higher satisfaction with their AI deployment outcomes.

The survey data indicates that effective programmes combine three elements: foundational AI literacy training that provides all employees with conceptual understanding of AI capabilities and limitations regardless of their role, role-specific skill development tailored to how AI tools will augment particular job functions, and ongoing practice opportunities where employees apply AI skills to authentic work tasks rather than abstract exercises. Organisations that integrate all three elements report measurably higher AI adoption rates and employee confidence compared to those relying on any single approach.