Aon, a global professional services firm, has released its first Human Capital Trends Study, highlighting what it describes as a gap at the core of enterprise AI strategies.
Aon indicates that while organisations widely accept that people will determine the success of AI, investment in workforce strategies is not keeping pace.
Aon reports that 88% of employers expect AI to require new skills across their workforce, with human capabilities such as adaptability, leadership and change management ranked as the most important drivers of success over the next three years, ahead of technical skills.
However, Aon finds that although 73% of organisations have deployed or are piloting AI programmes, only 18% say that most of their workforce has participated in reskilling or upskilling over the past year. Aon attributes this disparity to AI strategies often being developed without clear links to business objectives, operating models or workforce capability needs.
According to Aon, only 28% of organisations surveyed have recruited employees with AI expertise, suggesting a continued reliance on developing internal talent. Aon describes this as a disconnect between recognised success factors and actual resource allocation, which it views as a potential risk to enterprise value.
“The winners in the application of AI will lead with world-class people strategies,” commented Greg Case, president and CEO of Aon. “AI represents a historic opportunity for growth, particularly for organisations that approach transformation by integrating people and technology — so they evolve in lockstep. By closing the gap between ambition and readiness, leaders can act with confidence, strengthen long-term resilience and win today and in the future.”
Aon states that as organisations increase AI investment, many are introducing technology faster than they are building the supporting skills, structures and human frameworks needed to make it effective. The study finds that short-term efficiency is often prioritised over longer-term workforce capability. Aon notes that 80% of organisations cite automating routine tasks as a primary goal for AI, while only 35% prioritise reskilling and upskilling their workforce.
At the same time, Aon reports that 84% of employers believe human strengths will become more important as automation increases, and 37% of leaders identify future workforce skills gaps as their main concern over the next five to ten years. Aon suggests these findings reflect a misalignment, with automation progressing more quickly than investment in people.
The study, as outlined by Aon, highlights that workforce readiness is closely linked to business outcomes. Aon indicates that where expectations, governance and readiness efforts are unclear or lag behind deployment, organisations may experience slower adoption, fragmented decision-making and increased operational and reputational risk, limiting the benefits AI is expected to deliver.
“AI success ultimately depends on their people, but most are still investing primarily in the technology. That disconnect is where opportunity is lost,” added Byron Beebe, CEO of Human Capital for Aon. “Closing the readiness gap takes a coordinated approach — building skills and confidence, setting clear governance and enabling leaders to guide change — so technology investments translate into sustainable performance and resilience.”
Aon also finds that organisations further advanced in AI deployment tend to show stronger alignment between technology and workforce strategy. The firm notes that organisations with fully implemented AI are more than twice as likely to describe leadership commitment to employee wellbeing as strong and visible compared with those that have only discussed AI without taking action. Aon suggests this reflects a wider focus on workforce sustainability, engagement and trust, which supports effective scaling and sustained performance.
In setting out potential actions, Aon points to the need to align AI strategy with workforce planning, assess future capability requirements and invest in structured, organisation-wide reskilling and upskilling.
Aon also highlights the importance of leadership capability, clear governance and the use of integrated people data and analytics to guide decision-making. According to Aon, organisations that take these steps are better positioned to build resilient and productive workforces and to realise the value of AI.
Aon concludes that as AI adoption accelerates, organisations face a choice between continuing to prioritise technology alone or investing equally in the workforce required to support it. The firm states that those that address the gap between intention and execution by strengthening skills, culture and leadership are more likely to achieve a sustained competitive advantage.
