At the launch of the SHRPA State of the HR Industry Report 2025, industry leaders unpacked one of the most pressing challenges for organizations: while 86% of companies consider themselves change ready, only 29% are AI ready. This paradox reflects the growing urgency for HR leaders to move beyond intent and translate AI adoption into meaningful business impact.
Cheshta Dora, Head, Research, Content, and Community at People Matters sat with Vivek Ranjan, CHRO at Zensar Technologies, and Pritish Gandhi, Director of Leadership & Rewards at Khaitan & Co for a discussion to look at forces driving this paradox. Both emphasized that AI readiness is not just about technology. Becoming more AI ready is about culture, leadership, and reimagining HR’s role in transformation.
Key highlights from the discussion
The Readiness Paradox: Despite 86% of organisations considering themselves change ready, only 29% are genuinely AI ready. This gap underscores the need to move from intent to execution in embedding AI into business and HR practices.
Three Emerging Shifts for HR
Borderless skills ecosystems – workforces are no longer bound by geography or rigid job roles; skills become the new currency.
AI readiness as a capability – adoption must extend beyond tools to become part of culture, strategy and leadership priorities.
Maximising value from technology – digital investments will deliver ROI only if adoption and integration are prioritised.
Organisational Practices in Focus
Khaitan & Co. has reimagined onboarding through its “Big Hello” program, where AI automates routine induction while in-person time builds human connection. The firm also uses AI-driven insights for leadership assessments and invests in large-scale AI training to embed digital fluency at every leadership level.
Zensar Technologies is building skills-powered professionals with deep domain expertise, technology capability, human skills and AI-infused work. The company treats adoption as a cultural shift, ensuring employees see AI as an enabler, not just a tool.
The Evolving Role of HR: HR must lead in building AI readiness by:
Breaking down functional silos and creating cross-disciplinary teams.
Applying AI to real organisational challenges such as skills development, workforce planning and leadership effectiveness.
Championing responsible AI, ensuring employees are upskilled and psychologically safe through the transformation.
Acting as culture shapers—building trust, transparency and readiness for change.
Execution Gaps and Barriers: While intent levels are high, HR leaders admit execution is lagging. The greatest shortfalls are in leadership development, talent excellence and AI adoption. The barriers are less about willingness and more about internal capability gaps, insufficient cultural alignment, and slow scaling of successful pilots into enterprise-wide adoption.