Amrita Puniani is a senior principal, research at Gartner Inc.
CEOs’ top strategic business priority for 2025 is to foster growth, primarily by embracing emerging technologies, according to a July 2024 Gartner survey of 110 global CEOs and senior business executives. However, the potential of these technologies – such as generative AI, blockchain, and edge computing – to disrupt markets and redefine business operations presents significant challenges for CHROs tasked with workforce planning.
With Gartner research finding that less than one-third of CHROs are confident in meeting their strategic workforce planning goals in the next 12 to 18 months, a comprehensive approach to assessing the workforce impact of these emerging technologies is crucial.
Traditionally, CHROs have focused solely on direct impacts, such as productivity changes and skills gaps. While these are important, they represent only a fraction of the broader workforce implications. A holistic assessment also considers the indirect impacts, including role redesign, employee engagement, and culture alignment.
To assess the impact of emerging technologies on the workforce, CHROs must focus on the following five key impact areas:
1. Role redesign: Adapting to new ways of working
Emerging technologies are reshaping traditional roles and necessitating new ways of working. A September 2024 Gartner survey of 3,496 employees revealed that 20% of employees have seen their roles replaced by AI or automation, while 18% have been redeployed due to technological advancements.
CHROs must evaluate how these changes impact both current and future roles. For example, machine learning algorithms have transformed radiology by automating routine tasks, allowing radiologists to focus on more complex cases.
To maximize the business value of technology, CHROs should also consider creating new roles that align with evolving capability needs. Changes in ways of working is a qualitative aspect that can be measured through consulting a select group of experts such as managers, high-performing employees or subject matter experts across critical roles. These changes also can be measured through employee surveys, focus group discussions and manager assessments based on their direct employee conversations.
2. Employee engagement: Addressing fatigue and anxiety
The rapid adoption of technologies can lead to employee fatigue, anxiety, and trust issues, which in turn affect engagement levels. As more tasks are automated, employees may fear job loss and experience performance pressure. Additionally, concerns about data privacy can erode trust. Organizations that proactively address these fears and concerns before implementing new technologies are likely to achieve better adoption and success.
CHROs should collect employee perspectives on emerging technologies to assess the investment needed for managing change and adoption. This can be done through integrated or stand-alone employee engagement surveys, focus group discussions and manager assessments.
3. Culture alignment: Ensuring technological changes reflect organizational values
The introduction of new technologies can significantly influence organizational culture, either positively or negatively. CHROs must assess how these changes align with their organization’s core cultural values such as collaboration, innovation and continuous learning. For instance, technologies that foster collaboration can enhance a culture of teamwork, while those that promote isolation can have the opposite effect.
To measure the impact on cultural values, CHROs should consult experts, and leverage surveys, employee champion networks and feedback from managers. This information can help organizations understand how technology affects employees’ ability to deliver on cultural values.
4. Changes in productivity: Beyond quantitative measures
Many organizations struggle to fully capture productivity changes driven by emerging technologies, often focusing solely on quantitative metrics like time savings and output volume. However, these metrics overlook the indirect effects of automation and its cumulative impact on business outcomes. For example, while automated candidate screening can expedite hiring, it may create bottlenecks in the onboarding process if not properly managed.
CHROs should collaborate with business leaders to focus on business outcomes over time savings, considering both upstream and downstream impacts. Moreover, qualitative indicators such as decision-making quality and process complexity are crucial for a comprehensive assessment.
5. Skills gaps: Prioritizing business-critical roles
Assessing talent readiness is a top priority for CHROs, as Gartner research found that 41% of HR leaders express concern over skills gaps and 62% anticipate future skills uncertainty. As a result, CHROs are evaluating skills gaps using various external and internal indicators, but face challenges with both.
While external indicators like labor market insights are valuable, these are not organization-specific. Internal indicators, such as skills availability and cost of training talent, offer highly relevant insights, but are challenging to compile and maintain.
To ensure a manageable and impactful assessment using internal indicators, CHROs should focus on gathering “good enough” internal skills data for a targeted set of business-critical and dynamic roles.
A comprehensive approach to workforce planning
To ensure a future-ready workforce, CHROs must evaluate both direct and indirect impacts of emerging technologies. By addressing these five areas of impact, CHROs can develop a robust action plan that supports technological advancement. This holistic approach not only prepares organizations for the challenges of tomorrow, but also positions them to harness the full potential of emerging technologies for sustained growth.