Survey: Despite AI's Growing Impact on the Workplace, Most HR Leaders Are Not Focused on Reskilling Workers

NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As businesses discover new ways to capitalize on the benefits of AI, a new survey from The Conference Board reveals that HR leaders are not prioritizing the reskilling of workers that will be the most impacted by AI's use.

Only 7% of CHROs say they are implementing reskilling strategies for job roles that have a high probability for at least a quarter of tasks to be taken over by AI.

How are leaders preparing for and incorporating AI instead? They are experimenting with pilots and use cases to assist human capital management functions.

"Organizations that don't prioritize upskilling and reskilling their workforce might be caught in a perilous position as the proliferation of AI requires new skills for different roles. But by preparing and reskilling your workforce now, HR leaders will put their companies at a competitive advantage," said Diana Scott, Leader of The Conference Board US Human Capital Center.

Overall, CHROs' outlook on the state of the workforce remains stable. The Conference Board CHRO Confidence Index dropped only slightly to 54 in Q4, from 55 in Q2. (A reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses.) While hiring and retention expectations fell in Q4, employee engagement expectations are looking up moving into 2025. 

Conducted biannually, the CHRO Confidence Index is comprised of three components—hiring, retention, and engagement—as well as special questions included in each survey. More than 80 CHROs participated in the Q4 survey, which was fielded in September and October 2024. Key findings include:

Special question: Capitalizing on the benefits of AI 

Reskilling workers in the face of AI is the lowest priority for CHROs and other HR leaders.

• Only 7% of CHROs say they are implementing reskilling strategies for job roles that have a high probability for at least 25% of tasks to be taken over by AI.

The top priority? AI experimentation.

• 62% of CHROs said modeling AI experimentation with pilots and use cases in human capital management functions was their top priority to capitalize on the benefits of AI.

Addressing risks and concerns as well as investing in AI literacy and expertise were also priorities.

• 36% of CHROs are advocating for governance policies that will help mitigate the risks of AI use across the enterprise.
• 21% are developing and implementing AI literacy programs for the entire workforce.
• 21% are mitigating concerns about AI (e.g. labor displacement) by emphasizing the potential benefits.
• 20% are supporting the creation and fulfillment of news roles that bring AI expertise to the organization.

Core Questions

Hiring   
The CHRO Confidence Index: Hiring component fell to 54 in Q4, down from 59 in Q2. Hiring expectations are also down slightly YoY from 55 in Q4 2023.

CHROs' workforce expansion plans have fallen in the last six months:

• 19% expect to decrease their hiring over the next six months—up from 11% six months ago but on par with expectations in Q4 2023.
• 37% of CHROs expect to increase their hiring over the next six months—down from 41% in Q2.

Retention  
The CHRO Confidence Index: Retention component dropped slightly to 53 in Q4 from 54 in Q2. But retention expectations are up YoY from its low of 51 in Q4 2023.

CHROs are mixed on how challenging it will be to retain employees in the next six months:

• 21% of CHROs expect their employee retention levels to decrease, up from 15% in Q2.
• 34% of CHROs expect employee retention to improve over the next six months—up slightly from 31% in Q1.

Engagement   
The CHRO Confidence Index: Engagement component ticked up to 55 in Q4 from 53 in Q2. Engagement expectations are up YoY from its low of 52 in Q4 2023.

CHROs are more optimistic about employee engagement moving into 2025:

• 24% expect engagement levels to decrease—down from 27% in Q2. 
• 42% expect engagement levels to increase—increasing significantly from 36% in Q2.

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

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SOURCE The Conference Board