AI adoption will require companies to rethink how work is organised, rather than simply adding new tools to existing processes, senior executives have said at Fortune’s AIQ Summit.
Stacy Dillow, executive vice-president and chief people officer at HPE, said the central challenge for businesses was changing the way work was done as artificial intelligence became part of everyday operations.
“We’ve got to force ourselves to think differently because if we’re not trying to change how we work, we’re just trying to retrofit and put AI in a process that isn’t going to give us a different answer,” she said.
While most organisations have invested in AI, only 9% have made meaningful progress towards building complex autonomous workflows, according to ServiceNow.
Dillow said the shift was now a core responsibility for senior leadership. “If you’re in the C-suite today and you’re not doing some level of AI adoption implementation or everyday thinking about transformation, you’re not going to be doing your job,” she said, adding that the technology was necessary “to survive”.
Companies seek workers who can learn and unlearn
Danielle Gonzalez, chief people officer at Palo Alto Networks, said her company was already seeing employees use AI to handle routine questions and processes.
The cybersecurity firm has made NotebookLM, Claude and Gemini available for employees to experiment with. A customised AI agent has also cut IT tickets by 83% and now manages workflows across human resources, finance and legal.
“They’re no longer calling Danielle or their HR business partner or someone in the business, but rather they’re self-serving, and they’re asking the agent a question. It’s querying and it’s giving them the right answer for where they sit in their respective globe,” Gonzalez said.
As companies redesign their operations, Gonzalez said they also needed to reconsider the qualities they sought in new recruits. Palo Alto Networks, which ranks 49th on the Fortune AIQ 75 list, uses “observable interviews” and hackathons to assess how candidates tackle problems, both with and without AI.
“Gone are the days where you’re sitting there and you’re interviewing someone and you’re having them tell you all about their achievements,” she said. “We want to see what you can do.”
Gonzalez said the company wanted people with curiosity and agency who could learn quickly, while also being prepared to abandon outdated assumptions.
“We’re looking for those people who can not only learn something at a fast rate of pace, but also unlearn what they thought to be true, so that they can make space to move forward,” she said.
The responsibility does not rest solely with employers, however. Drew Holler, chief human resources officer at the $19 billion homebuilder Lennar, said workers would also need to take responsibility for developing their skills as new technology changed their roles.
“We’re going to give you all the tools, but it’s your responsibility to upskill yourself as well,” Holler said. “We’re going to give you trainings, but you, as an individual, have to upskill.”
