Why AI creates value with the right talent strategy

Many organisations are pouring resources into artificial intelligence (AI) but aren't seeing the returns they expect. The issue often isn't the technology itself, it's how organisations engage with their people. If employees are viewed mainly as a cost, the true potential of AI remains out of reach.

While AI is rapidly transforming work processes, the key to long-term value isn't technology, capital or data: It's talent. This shift demands a new approach to people and organisations: moving from cost control to strategic talent deployment.

And yet many leadership teams still talk about their workforce in terms of efficiency, occupancy rates, and cost reduction, while simultaneously worrying about productivity, innovation, and growth. This creates a fundamental mismatch that, according to Marlene de Koning, director Workforce AI & Innovation at PwC, is no longer sustainable.  

PwC's 29th CEO Survey, which includes insights from over 4,400 CEOs globally, reveals that more than half see no return on their AI investments. These organisations often treat their employees as overhead, which explains the lack of returns. You can't expect technology to add value if the people using it are seen merely as expenses.

Moreover, the pressing question for CEOs is: are we transforming our business quickly enough? The answer isn't more technology, it's smarter talent strategies.

AI's impact is strongest in knowledge-intensive roles

AI's impact is strongest in knowledge-intensive roles. Research from Anthropic shows that AI disruption hits hardest in complex, knowledge-driven professions, roles crucial for innovation and decision-making. Organisations that don't address the accompanying people and skills challenges now will lag behind.

The challenge for companies and their employees is clear. The WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 indicates that 86 per cent of employers expect AI and IT to fundamentally reshape their business models by 2030.

Meanwhile, nearly sixty per cent of the global workforce needs training to bridge the skills gap by 2030, and forty per cent of employers plan to reduce roles with outdated skills.

Decisions for executives

Executives face a fundamental choice. These aren't just numbers, they're people and leadership decisions. There is a deeper, more uncomfortable choice that many executives haven’t yet made explicitly: which skills do we deliberately choose to retain, even when AI could do the job

As AI taeks over more tasks, the skills needed to understand, test, and correct AI may fade. That is precisely the point, the fact technology can take something over doesn't mean we should accept that it will.

Executives who recognize this strategic imperative ask themselves which skills are vital for evaluating AI outputs and must be preserved, even if it seems inefficient. An organisation that can't understand how its own systems' arrive at decisions isn't more efficient, it's blind.  

Investing in employee motivation and development

Yet, these choices often don't materialise. PwC research shows that AI adoption is ultimately a human choice, not a technological one. Employees' AI autonomy can be nurtured internally by investing in motivation, development, and trust. But technology alone changes nothing. Change is driven by leaders and employees aligning skills, incentives and trust.

The solution doesn't start with better AI tools but with a question rarely asked in boardrooms: what does success look like when people and AI collaborate? Strategic workforce planning should precede AI tool implementation, not follow it.

Board members who view employees as strategic drivers proactively design their talent strategies, not waiting for 'skills gaps' to appear. These leaders make clear choices about human and AI work, invest in their people's development, and treat talent as capital, not a cost.

This blog was previously published in Dutch on chro.nl.