People Leaders Are the Most Skeptical of C-Suite Leaders on AI Workforce Readiness and Future AI Value, Global Survey Finds
Rhea-AI Summary
Protiviti (NYSE:RHI) released findings from its fifth AI Pulse Survey, highlighting a divide between CHROs and other C-suite leaders on AI workforce readiness and value capture. Nearly 80% of executives expect AI to boost bottom- and top-line performance within three years, yet CHROs are more cautious about organizational preparedness.
According to Protiviti, only 5% of CHROs expect at least half of HR work to be AI-enabled in that period, and about 60% expect less than 25% of HR work to be AI-enabled, despite most HR activities being suitable for automation. Just 13% of CHROs strongly agree job designs are AI-ready (versus 28% overall), and 14% strongly agree learning capabilities are AI-ready (versus 36% overall). Expectations for at least 25% AI-enabled work within three years increase across functions: finance to 72%, supply chain to 66%, audit to 56% and HR to 50%. Protiviti concludes AI transformation must be matched by workforce transformation, with HR playing a central strategic role.
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News Market Reaction – RHI
In the Jul 29 session, RHI gained 1.62%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction. Argus tracked a trough of -4.7% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 46 alerts that day, indicating elevated trading interest and price volatility.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Previous AI Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25 | AI transformation survey | Neutral | +0.0% | Survey highlighted executive misalignment on AI impact and transformation success. |
| Jun 04 | AI patent award | Positive | +6.9% | Protiviti received a second U.S. patent for questionnaire automation technology. |
| May 07 | AI governance survey | Negative | +4.7% | Survey found incomplete AI-use visibility and limited formal governance frameworks. |
| Apr 16 | AI skills survey | Positive | -4.3% | Survey emphasized foundational workplace behaviors beyond AI skills for early-career hires. |
| Mar 18 | Board AI survey | Negative | +0.3% | Survey found only 26% of directors discussed AI at every board meeting. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
AI-tagged news produced mixed outcomes, with two aligned reactions and three divergences from the event sentiment.
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New research finds just
They are also the only C-suite leaders who do not rank business value capture as AI's primary objective by 2029. These findings come from the fifth Protiviti AI Pulse Survey, titled "The AI-People Conundrum: Learning to Lead, Not Lag," which examines how organizations are preparing their businesses and workforces for the next period of AI transformation. Despite AI's rapid advancement, the research found that just
"The survey reveals an important disconnect in the C-suite," said Fran Maxwell, global leader, People & Change, Protiviti. "Most leaders are focused on the value AI can deliver for the business. HR leaders are focused on whether their organizations and people are actually ready to deliver it. AI can create tremendous business value, but only if organizations invest appropriately in the non-technical aspects of AI transformation, including people enablement, operating model redesign, and process redesign."
HR Leaders See an AI Workforce Readiness Gap
The survey found that, at a high level, senior leaders express strong confidence in workforce AI readiness. However, levels of confidence are not equal across the C-suite:
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13% of CHROs strongly agree that their organization's job designs are AI-ready, compared with 28% overall across the C-suite. As AI continues to compress work into fewer, higher-impact roles, CHROs have a broad view of the complexity involved in redesigning positions, compensation and career paths compared to other C-suite leaders. - Just
14% of CHROs strongly agree their organizations' learning capabilities are AI-ready, versus36% overall. By comparison, IT leaders are the most confident group, with96% positive on learning readiness and88% positive on role design readiness. 82% of CHROs expect a human + digital workforce by 2030, compared to93% of most C-suite leaders
Rather than signaling skepticism toward AI itself, the findings suggest CHROs may be taking a more pragmatic view on the broad workforce changes required to successfully scale AI.
The Business Sees Rapid Expansion of AI Enablement
While most executives broadly expect AI to become a powerful driver of business value over the next three years, CHROs are more cautious about how quickly organizations can realize that potential. About
By comparison,
- Finance: Expectations increase to
72% , up from23% today - Supply Chain: Expectations rise to
66% , up from33% today - Audit: Expectations grow to
56% , up from20% today - Human Resources: Expectations increase to
50% , up from11% today
AI Transformation Is Ultimately Workforce Transformation
As organizations increasingly look to AI to generate a return on investment, workforce transformation must keep pace. Realizing AI's full role requires HR to play a central part in redesigning work, developing new skills and preparing the organization for an AI-enabled future.
"AI transformation is ultimately a workforce transformation," said Maxwell. "Technology alone won't determine which organizations succeed. Capturing AI's full value will depend on leaders treating workforce transformation as a strategic priority alongside technology transformation. That starts with HR playing a leading role in shaping the roles, skills and organizational changes required to turn AI investments into business value."
Methodology
The Protiviti AI Pulse Survey was conducted in April 2026 and includes responses from nearly 800 executives globally, with more than
For further information about specific C-suite functions' perspectives, contact Prosek Partners at pro-protiviti@prosek.com.
About Protiviti
Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that helps clients transform and protect their businesses, and respond to planned and unexpected events. Through a network of more than 90 offices in over 25 countries, Protiviti and its independent and locally owned member firms deliver deep expertise and tailored capabilities across technology, artificial intelligence, data, operations, finance, legal, compliance, HR, marketing, digital, risk, and internal audit – enabling organizations to accelerate innovation, navigate risks and safeguard what matters most.
Named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list since 2015, Protiviti Inc. has served more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The firm also works with government agencies and smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public. Protiviti Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI).
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SOURCE Protiviti