AI readiness is an organizational problem, argues Julie Develin
While organizations remain steadfast on rolling out artificial intelligence across their workforce this year, two-thirds of organizations are still culturally unprepared for the AI transformation.
That's according to research conducted by Great Place to Work, owned by UKG, who also unveiled three megatrends it believes will reshape workforce management in 2026. But as Julie Develin suggests, despite billions in AI investments, most employers are fumbling the rollout.
“We're seeing gains from AI investments in organizations, but what we're not seeing is a return on those investments yet. And it's not that it's an issue of not having the right tools. It's more about organizations not having alignment between people, purpose, and process. And it's more about organizations not integrating AI into the global flow of work,” explained Develin, senior partner of human insights at UKG. “Organizations are not understanding or prioritizing how to build them into everyday processes, specifically frontline leaders, and a lot of that comes down to lack of education and lack of understanding.”
The people-first AI imperative
According to another UKG study, which Develin points to, only 53 per cent of frontline employees think their employer is preparing them for an AI-driven workplace.
While she pushes back on the narrative that AI will replace workers, she emphasized the organizations that are getting ahead are those “who have AI tools, working alongside coworkers, working alongside employees, and finding that intersection between humanity and technology.”
Still, she argues that many companies deploy AI backwards as they purchase tools first, then scramble to justify them.
"I think it's important for organizations to take a step back and ask, what is the problem that we're trying to solve?" she said. "It's beginning with the end in mind, thinking about the end and how the tools can help you get to that end state, not just saying, ‘let's just use AI.’ It's way too broad,” she noted.
For Develin, the real AI readiness gap isn’t technical but rather can be attributed to one that's human and organizational. She believes many employers drop AI tools into the business and then try to retrofit change management after the fact. They fail to bring employees into early discussions about what problems need solving, what work is draining their time, and where AI could meaningfully help.
For her, one of the biggest mistakes is assuming interest equals capability. Giving people access to AI and a single training session is not enough. Curiosity about new tools doesn’t automatically translate into confidence or competence, particularly when not everyone learns in the same way. She thinks organisations rely too heavily on “one and done” training, then blame employees for not keeping up.
Instead, she pushes for sustained, AI-specific upskilling and constant dialogue about both the benefits and the risks. She sees this as an ongoing, trial-and-error process where everyone is still figuring out what actually moves the business forward.
Talent ecosystem reality
Develin argues that the “talent ecosystem reality” isn’t looming on the horizon. In fact, it’s already here. According to Develin, there is an acute talent shortage driven by demographic shifts, lower labour participation, and widening skills gaps that affect both frontline and specialist roles.
In her view, the problem is most visible in technical and skilled trades, where the demand for expertise is far higher than the number of people who can actually do the work.
Develin thinks the only credible response is a data-led one. Employers need to use data to map existing skills, understand why people stay or leave, and then use those insights to design their own talent ecosystem instead of reacting piecemeal.
That includes planning across all labour types and stopping the reflex to hire externally first. In her view, too many organisations overlook internal candidates because they lack systems that can surface who already has the right skills.
She stresses that internal talent marketplaces and structured upskilling should be core, not optional. Upskilling existing employees allows organisations to redeploy people where the business needs them most. With strong scheduling technology, she said, employers can also hand workers more control over what they do, when, and where, which supports retention as well as coverage.
Employee enablement era
Develin links the third megatrend, employee enablement, directly to the first two. According to Develin, a people-first AI strategy only works if it strengthens enablement, and a blended talent ecosystem only pays off when it gives people more autonomy, room to grow, and chances to build new skills.
She argues that traditional engagement efforts are falling short. Notably, global engagement remains low, and she traces a lot of that back to a breakdown in trust. Develin believes enablement means going beyond employee engagement as it means equipping people with knowledge, support and tools so they can actually do their best work, she said, underscoring that includes trusting employees with genuine control.
“In high trust environments, employees really need to look at new tools and they're wanting to learn new solutions, and they're wanting to be good organizational citizens and help the organization reach its goals. Because they feel like they're part of that team and they feel like they're part of the solution,” said Develin. “People don't want to go back in time with technology when it comes to work.”
What ultimately underpins all of the ‘megatrends’, Develin emphasized, is trust. Building trust through clear communication, continuous training, and cross-functional collaboration is, in her view, essential for AI to deliver any real success.
“I highly recommend taking a look at your technology stack and asking what tools are serving us, what tools are not serving us? What are we paying for versus what are we using?” she said, adding plan sponsors will need to stop bolting together one-off fixes and start treating AI, talent, and enablement as a single, organisation-wide assessment.
“It's taking an overall strategic view of these trends and not just putting them together in a piecemealed way, saying, ‘Okay, how do we achieve these outcomes through a strategy that we all come up with together as an organization?’” she said.
