AI-Readiness: The New Competitive Advantage
AI is reshaping work faster than ever, but AI-readiness is what will separate those that will thrive from those that will struggle. This transformation isn’t just about AI, it’s about people, their skills, and the ability of organizations to prepare their employees for the future of work.
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What is AI readiness?
Every wave of technological transformation follows a familiar pattern: the organizations who lead the way are the ones who put people at the heart of change, not just those who adopt technology fastest.
The same holds true for AI. Competitive advantage won’t come from having the newest platform or model, but from how well your workforce adopts, understands and effectively uses it. Will employees make marginal productivity gains through automation or reduction of routine tasks? Or will they reinvent how work is done by rethinking processes and reimagining solutions?
This is the essence of AI readiness. It is about understanding AI concepts and how to apply them in ways that save time and add value. For organizations, it will define their ability to equip people with the skills, confidence, and mindset to work effectively alongside AI, maximizing their potential.
Less than 1 in 3 employees currently demonstrate high levels of AI readiness. This highlights a significant capability gap, but once readiness can be measured, it can be improved.
Making AI readiness measurable
To understand what AI readiness looks like in practice, SHL conducted global research into the capabilities and behaviors that predict success in AI-enabled work. By analyzing nearly one million people across regions, industries, and job levels using validated, objective assessments, the study identified the key competencies that determine whether employees are truly prepared for AI-driven change.
AI literacy
Grasp core AI concepts and apply them responsibly, interpreting outputs with sound judgment, and operating within ethical and organizational guardrails to deliver reliable outcomes that serve the organization’s long-term goals.
Analytical ability
Integrate and critically evaluate complex, ambiguous information (including AI outputs) to redesign solutions that improve processes.
Continuous learning
Proactively embrace and adapt to new concepts and tools with curiosity and experimentation, maintaining goal‑directed learning and resilience as roles and workflows evolve with AI.
AI promotion
Champion AI adoption by developing compelling arguments and translating concepts into practical guidance that builds team confidence and promotes effective AI use across the organization.
These four capabilities form a foundation for readiness, and our research shows employees that demonstrate high readiness provide real performance gains, from better decision-making to higher engagement in transformation efforts.
Europe leads in AI readiness globally, with nearly half of workers scoring high on applying AI skills. The UK and Africa also show strong results, while North America presents room for growth. The takeaway: AI readiness strategies should be tailored regionally, not assumed to be one-size-fits-all.
Inside the AI readiness model
The model is built around four core capabilities, each made up of two specific skills. Together, these eight skills form SHL’s AI-Readiness model. The model provides HR leaders a practical framework to measure and develop AI capability across their workforce.
Measured through the Global Skills Assessment (GSA), each skill is scored separately which means organizations can determine the AI readiness of individuals, teams or their entire workforce, pinpointing exactly where strengths and development areas are. This enables targeted, meaningful skills development in specific areas and provide managers with insights that can help them prepare their workforce for the future.
By investing in an AI-ready and resilient workforce, organizations can unlock measurable competitive advantage. With the right data, skills and mindset, teams can innovate faster, adapt with confidence, and lead the next wave of transformation.
Are you interested in measuring AI readiness in your organization? Now you can, for free, by joining our Superworker Skills Research Program.
