Determining Ai success - Business News
Across New Zealand, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is already part of how work gets done. New research from the EMA, presented in our Workforce 2030 White Paper, shows that 83 percent of Kiwi businesses are already using AI in some form and a further 10 percent are planning to adopt it. At first glance, that looks like strong progress. But a closer look tells a different story. TheRead More
Across New Zealand, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is already part of how work gets done. New research from the EMA, presented in our Workforce 2030 White Paper, shows that 83 percent of Kiwi businesses are already using AI in some form and a further 10 percent are planning to adopt it. Lisa DeanAt first glance, that looks like strong progress. But a closer look tells a different story. The gap between adoption and readinessWhile AI adoption is accelerating, readiness is not keeping pace. Two-thirds of businesses using AI remain in the experimentation or pilot stage, with only one-third embedding it into regular business processes. Governance is uneven, workforce capability is still developing, and leadership ownership is often unclear. In our survey of more than 200 Kiwi businesses, one in five reported having no clear owner of AI within their organisation. That gap is where value is lost. Businesses invest in tools and expect productivity gains, but employees are often left to figure them out alone. The result is uneven uptake, unmanaged risk, missed opportunities and weaker returns on AI investment. Our research, backed up by international studies, shows that successful AI adoption is determined by how well businesses enable, support and empower their people to use it effectively. We believe businesses are entering a period where multiple pressures are converging at once. AI is accelerating the pace of work, skills requirements are shifting, workforce expectations are changing and productivity demands are increasing. The businesses that will succeed by 2030 will not be those that adopt AI the fastest, but those that prepare their people the best. One of the most significant findings from our research is that many small and medium-sized businesses are not yet prepared for the workplace changes AI is bringing. New Zealand SMEs risk being caught in a two-speed AI economy, where access to tools is widespread but the capability to use them well varies significantly. Our findings also indicate that many SMEs are focused mostly on short-term productivity gains without fully considering the workforce implications, allowing change to happen to them rather than leading it. This is the focus of the EMA’s Workforce 2030 programme, launching later this month. Workforce 2030 is designed to help organisations bridge the gap between AI investment and workforce readiness, supporting leaders to build the capability, confidence and clarity needed to navigate this transition. Our year-long programme of workshops, webinars, peer stories and business case studies is built around a simple idea: if AI is changing work, leaders need a deliberate strategy to change with it. For many businesses, the starting point is asking fundamental questions. Where does AI actually add value? What work should change? What skills matter now? Where does human judgement need to remain central?