HR’s role expands as organisations embed AI into the workplace: Report

As organisations accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, HR has a critical role to play in ensuring technology decisions do not come at the expense of employee trust, agency and experience, according to a new report from McLean & Company.

The HR research and advisory firm’s The Power of Human-Centricity report highlights a gap between how organisations view themselves and how consistently they apply human-centric practices when deploying emerging technologies.

While 82.2% of organisations and 88.1% of HR teams believe they are human-centric, only 20% of HR teams consistently assess AI use cases for their impact on human-centricity before implementation.

The findings suggest that organisations may be prioritising speed and efficiency in technology adoption without fully considering how AI-driven changes could affect employees, potentially creating challenges around trust, engagement and retention.

“Human-centricity cannot be treated as an assumed value while technology decisions are made somewhere else. It has to be an intentional practice embedded in how work is designed, how decisions are made, and how emerging technology is applied,” said Kelly Berte, practice lead, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company and one of the report’s lead researchers.

HR takes the centre stage as AI reshapes work

McLean & Company said HR leaders are increasingly positioned to influence how organisations design work, make decisions and introduce emerging technologies.

Its report identifies three areas where human-centricity can affect organisational outcomes: technology, people and business performance.

On the technology side, a human-centric approach can support higher adoption rates, faster AI maturity and less costly rework.

For employees, it can strengthen belonging and psychological safety while preserving agency and empowerment.

At the organisational level, the approach can contribute to sustained performance and growth, competitiveness, retention and workforce stability.

“AI adoption is accelerating across organizations, and HR plays a pivotal role in ensuring the human element does not get lost along the way,” said Amani Gharib, HR Research & Advisory Services director at McLean & Company and a lead researcher on the report.

“The findings make clear that human-centricity is not a soft concept. It is a strategic lens that helps organizations build trust, strengthen performance, and make better technology decisions,” Gharib added.

The report calls for human-centricity to move beyond being a stated organisational value and become part of technology governance and decision-making. This includes assessing the potential employee impact of AI use cases before implementation and rethinking HR service delivery as technology changes how work is performed.

Human-centric leadership linked to performance

McLean & Company also points to a broader business case for human-centric leadership as organisations navigate AI-driven change.

Its HR Trends Report last year, found that organisations whose executive leaders demonstrate high proficiency in human-centric competencies are 2.2 times more likely to be high performing in achieving strategic goals and objectives.

The latest findings position human-centricity as a capability that can support not only employee experience but also strategy execution, organisational resilience and workforce readiness.

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in work processes, the report suggests HR's role is shifting from supporting technology-led change to helping shape how that change is designed and experienced by employees.