To achieve successful AI transformation, organizations must operationalize empathy by leading with a human-centric, cross-functional strategy focused on three pillars.
Chris Ernst
Chief Learning Officer
Workday
The rise of AI agents promises a revolution in efficiency, but for this promise to materialize—for AI to become truly transformative—we must first address the human side of adoption.
For chief information officers (CIOs) and chief learning officers (CLOs), we’re architecting a new way of working, learning, and collaborating. If employees are hesitant, untrained, or simply lack clarity on how AI fits into their day, even the most sophisticated systems will fall flat.
At Workday, we faced this challenge head-on as we accelerated our commitment to becoming an AI-first organization. Our journey, which has been human-centric from the start, offers a helpful roadmap for leaders navigating this transition.
Guide
Our first step was acknowledging a fundamental truth: Technology is neutral, but human feelings about it are not.
We understood that alongside the excitement about AI's potential, there is also a very real fear and apprehension about job security, a lack of clarity on effective and low-risk use, and concerns about accuracy.
In short, we realized that forcing adoption through a purely technological mandate was a recipe for resistance. We had to start with empathy by conducting robust internal research to uncover the real barriers to adoption:
43% of employees cited a lack of time to explore AI tools.
37% were unsure how to use AI tools effectively.
37% had concerns about the reliability and accuracy of AI.
These insights, along with external Workday research, revealed guiding forces that drove our approach. We observed that AI adoption is a change management initiative requiring a coordinated, cross-functional approach led by our HR, IT, and learning and development leaders.
AI is supposed to change everything—so it involves nearly everyone. Within the learning and development function, we partnered with our IT function counterparts to define a strategy that transformed apprehension into confidence and uncertainty into proficiency.
Technology is neutral, but human feelings about it are not.
Based on our research, we anchored our comprehensive enablement initiative, the EverydayAI Program, on three core, human-centric pillars: mindsets, skills, and sustaining habits.
Technology adoption is fundamentally a mindset shift. We focused on addressing the underlying fears and fostering a sense of shared purpose. This was about moving from asking "What could go wrong?" to enthusiastically pursuing, "What could go right?".
We launched a company-wide kickoff featuring peer-led learning and global "promptathons.” These were collaborative, hands-on experiences where thousands of Workday employees could practice using AI tools in a safe, fun environment. This peer-led, community-based learning proved highly effective at building confidence and overcoming hesitation.
With the right mindset established, we focused on practical skills. We launched a global digital academy directly within Workday to serve as a central hub for enablement. As a CLO, I know that for learning to be truly effective, it must be contextual and readily accessible.
This hub offers everything from tool-specific training to a community-driven marketplace for custom-built AI solutions. It tackles the "unsure how to use" barriers head-on, delivering learning where and when it's needed most, making skill development an integrated part of daily work.
A successful program must be sustainable and realistic. We needed to ensure that AI usage became a habit, not a one-time event. We achieved this by launching EverydayAI Plays, a set of gamified, social learning activities designed to reinforce adoption.
We transformed apprehension into confidence and uncertainty into proficiency.
Critically, we drove accountability by launching AI Adoption Insights, providing leaders and employees with visibility into tool usage directly within Workday. This is an essential lesson for CIOs: weave AI development and goal-setting into the tools and processes employees use every day to make it effortless, removing barriers to entry and providing visibility.
Our commitment to a human-centric, three-pillar approach yielded tangible results in just six months, confirming the value of employee empowerment. We’re seeing:
Adoption soaring: 85% of Workday employees adopted at least one AI tool, a 45% increase from our baseline.
Mindsets shifting: (My personal favorite) AI adopters are 13% more likely to see a clear career path and 15% more likely to feel aligned to company strategy.
Sentiment is positive: Employees rated the support they receive in using AI an 8.5 and the value AI tools provide an 8.4 out of a 10 point scale.
Most importantly, we saw a direct connection between AI adoption and our business priorities: human potential and business strategy.
We operationalized this effort by making AI adoption a visible priority. We encouraged employees to connect their effort to results, leading to 72% of them setting a contribution goal for how they want to use AI to deliver results.
We encouraged Workday employees to connect their effort to results, leading to 72% of them setting a contribution goal for how they want to use AI to deliver results.
The clearest indicator of success, however, is how our people are reinvesting their AI-driven time savings into higher-value, uniquely human activities. In a recent look at our data, we discovered that an estimated one week per employee is being returned from AI productivity gains.
For example, high AI adopters among our account executives in global field sales spend an additional 1 hour per week engaging with prospects and customers. Our internal research shows that sellers who dedicate at least one-third of their time to external interactions generate 2.1x higher annual contract value. This is the sweet spot where we’re seeing a shift in employee capacity, driving the most meaningful business results.
As Garrett Gatlin, our director of enterprise enablement and EverydayAI Program leader, aptly put it: "Our goal...was to demystify AI and make it accessible and practical for everyone. We didn't just want to roll out tools; we wanted to build confidence and spark curiosity... This is about investing in our people as the drivers of our AI-first future."
The AI revolution, at its heart, is profoundly human. To successfully lead your workforce through this transformation, you must create a powerful partnership between humans and AI.
Lead with people, not just tech: Start with empathy, trust, and a deep understanding of your employees’ concerns. Focus on nurturing the uniquely human skills—like ethical decision-making, emotional intelligence, and collaboration—that AI is least likely to replace. Innovation thrives on connection and withers on disconnection.
Integrate development into daily work: Leverage technology to transform learning from a passive interaction into an active, real-time experience. Make skill development readily available and contextual, turning AI into a virtual coach that supports employees' professional growth.
Prioritize clarity and purpose: Define a clear AI strategy and communicate it transparently, tying AI adoption goals directly to employee performance and career progression. This clarity reduces ambiguity, builds trust, and ensures your workforce understands why these practices matter.
Innovation thrives on connection and withers on disconnection.
The path forward is not a zero-sum game between humans and AI. It is an opportunity to architect a symbiotic relationship where technology expands our capabilities and humans continue to grow and make progress. By leading with a human-centric imperative, CIOs and CLOs can unlock a future of unprecedented productivity, innovation, and fulfillment for their organizations.
Guide
Pressure for finance leaders to invest in AI is at an all-time high, but where are CFOs spending their technology budget? Read on to learn more about the potential impact of widespread AI implementation from 2,355 senior business executives.