CIOs Unprepared For Agentic Workforce Shift
Most CIOs lack plans to retool roles for an agentic-human workforce, according to Gartner, which may hinder AI adoption. Only 4% of tech leaders have plans in place.
Original reporting · ciodive.com
Original: “CIOs unprepared for agentic workforce shift”
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How this was written. Content Memory wrote this article with a language model from CIO Dive’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from CIO Dive’s report
- CIOs lack plans to retool roles for an agentic-human workforce, which may hinder AI adoption.
- Enterprises with plans in place to revamp roles are 2.4 times more likely to be top performers with AI.
- CIOs can play a key role in conveying the importance of addressing AI's effect on the workforce to other C-suite leaders.
- CIOs are facing pressure to deliver cost improvements from AI investments, with 58% of leaders reporting increased demand.
- CIOs can help address the project value conundrum by investing more time and resources into workforce redesign.
CIOs are facing pressure to deliver cost improvements from AI investments, with 58% of leaders reporting increased demand from their companies, according to Gartner. However, just 4% of tech leaders have plans in place to retool roles for an agentic-human workforce, which may hinder AI adoption.
The lack of planning may be due to the broadened task list of CIOs in recent years, which includes IT modernization, budget discipline, and AI experimentation. As a result, many CIOs have placed talent on the backburner, focusing on more immediate costs.
Enterprises that do have plans in place to revamp roles with a human-agent workforce in mind are 2.4 times more likely to be top performers with AI, according to Gartner. This suggests that CIOs who prioritize workforce redesign may be more likely to see significant value from their AI investments.
CIOs can play a key role in conveying the importance of addressing AI's effect on the workforce to other C-suite leaders. By doing so, they can elevate the conversation around AI adoption and its impact on the enterprise, according to Alicia Mullery, VP analyst at Gartner.
The pressure to deliver swift returns on AI investments is coming from CEOs, boards, and leadership, which may be contributing to the lack of focus on workforce redesign. However, CIOs can help change this by prioritizing talent and workforce strategy, Mullery said.
The survey of 2,002 CIOs and technology executives found that just 13% of CIOs are reporting significant or transformational value from their AI investments. This suggests that many CIOs are struggling to see meaningful returns on their AI investments, which may be due to the lack of planning for an agentic-human workforce.
CIOs can help address the project value conundrum by investing more time and resources into workforce redesign. By doing so, they can help ensure that their organizations are well-equipped to operate in a world with AI agents and governance, according to Mullery. This article is based on reporting by CIO Dive.
Questions and answers
What percentage of CIOs have plans in place to retool roles for an agentic-human workforce?
Just 4% of tech leaders have plans in place to retool roles for an agentic-human workforce, according to Gartner.
Why are CIOs struggling to see meaningful returns on their AI investments?
The lack of planning for an agentic-human workforce and the pressure to deliver swift returns on AI investments may be contributing to the struggle, according to Gartner.
What can CIOs do to address the project value conundrum?
CIOs can help address the project value conundrum by investing more time and resources into workforce redesign and conveying the importance of addressing AI's effect on the workforce to other C-suite leaders, according to Alicia Mullery, VP analyst at Gartner.
