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Artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries, as businesses race to integrate its capabilities into daily operations. A recent Lenovo survey of 600 IT leaders highlights both the promise and challenges of AI adoption in the workplace. While 79% of respondents believe AI will help employees focus on more impactful work, fewer than half feel their current digital tools fully support productivity, engagement and innovation.
The Reinventing Workplace Productivity report underscores a critical need for digital transformation, with a large number of IT leaders agreeing that organizations must overhaul their workplace technology to truly harness AI’s potential. From enhancing collaboration to automating IT processes, AI offers significant opportunities, but personalization and adoption barriers remain key obstacles. The report is wide-reaching, but the findings can be broken down into three main points:
- AI’s Potential: Generative AI can enhance collaboration, creativity and productivity by automating tasks, streamlining workflows and improving efficiency.
- Workplace Transformation Needs: Organizations must revamp their digital workplace before fully utilizing AI, according to 89% of respondents.
- Challenges: A lack of personalization (63% cite configurable devices as a gap) and difficulties in AI-driven IT support automation (recognized by 61% of leaders) hinder AI adoption.
The report recommends three actions to tackle these issues:
- Personalization: Tailoring digital tools and support systems to diverse work styles.
- Automation: Leveraging AI for IT management to free resources for strategic work.
- Workflow Transformation: Rethinking processes to optimize AI-driven productivity.
Transformation Is About People and Systems
Successful transformation strategy starts with aligning digital initiatives to real business outcomes, not just tech upgrades, ARCO Construction Company's director of data, analytics and AI Robin Patra told Reworked. It’s essential to modernize infrastructure, but just as important to rethink workflows, culture and how teams collaborate.
Businesses must invest in AI-enabled tools that support employee engagement, productivity and security from the ground up, he continued. Adoption also needs to be a priority — training, behavior change and creating space for employees to work smarter with technology, not around it.
"Ultimately, transformation is not just about new systems — it’s about empowering people to do their best work in a more connected, intelligent environment," Patra said.
Any organization looking to introduce AI into the workplace should know a successful digital workplace transformation hinges on seven critical factors. These prioritize data readiness, talent transformation and the employee experience, Alex Sion head of the financial services at Blend 360, added.
“It’s about building a unified, AI and agentic-enabled workplace platform that empowers collaboration, streamlines workflows and delivers measurable productivity gains, while ensuring human-centered design and an AI proficient workforce to maximize adoption,” he said.
Deployment success can be measured through a combination of quantifiable productivity metrics and employee sentiment. Companies need transparent communication, proactive training and feedback loops to ensure AI tools are seen as enablers, not replacements, Sion continued. Building trust through demonstrable value is key.
“AI implementation success is measured by quantifiable productivity gains, such as reduced processing time, error rates and increased output, alongside employee satisfaction scores derived from surveys and feedback,” he said. “Any organization needs clear KPIs aligned with business goals and the analysis of the 'human experience' to demonstrate the ROI."
Know What You Have and How You Work Before Introducing AI
Digital transformation is an ongoing process for many organizations, so the introduction of artificial intelligence depends on your ability to get a full view of teams, projects and the overall organization, Quickbase CTO Jon Kennedy told Reworked.
The process starts with a consistent and accurate view of information across the organization, regardless of what you’re looking for or where the data resides. Without that clear view you can’t see the redundancies, overlaps and productivity gaps that slow down projects and make decision-making difficult, Kennedy said.
This wasted time is known as gray work, the unproductive time spent by employees due to inefficient processes, fragmented systems and lack of streamlined workflows. Quickbase's recent productivity survey of 1,923 workers from the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland found employees spent an average of 11 hours a week on gray work.
Hold Off on AI Until Digital Transformation Is 'Done'?
Should an organization in the midst of a digital transformation wait until it's complete (if completion is possible) before bringing AI into the mix? According to Confirmed CEO and time management specialist David Radin, while that may seem logical, it would be a mistake.
"The biggest issue is that if you don’t do it, your employees will do it on their own, which means they will do it on their own terms, without your guide rails, and in many cases with little research on their part," he said. "So, it’s risky. They’ll beat you to the punch."
Leaders should create and implement a corporate-wide policy and infrastructure that can support AI while you do your digital transformation, not after, Radin continued. Guidelines should include policies, reasons, communications plans, training plans, enforcement plans and resources for your company. This will align any AI implementation with your corporate guidelines. An added benefit is it will also help with your digital transformation, which should be based in part on these same factors.
Radin also notes that despite the timelines, goals and structure around digital transformations, they’re never done. "By the time you get close to what first looked like your finish line, you have new directive and options for the next phase and often have to change the plans you have as the technology evolves and as your corporation continues to move forward throughout your business environment," he said.
Introduce AI with a spirit of innovation and experimentation, Radin advised. AI adoption happens when the tools align with stakeholder needs and when there are adequate communications and training programs.
Change is difficult for most people, he added, so both types of programs need a layer of change management incorporated.
"You’ll need to provide consistent communications, training in stages, typically customized to the individual roles or departments, and continue to evolve the tools you supply in your digital transformation, so they meet the needs of your stakeholders as those needs evolve," he said.
The metrics you use to gauge AI success should be partially based on the metrics you used pre-AI. "If you have revenue or expense-based goals, you might be able to modify them based on new AI capabilities; but generally, you’ll keep goals within those same types," he concluded.
AI Adoption Comes Down to Culture
The introduction of AI, or any other workplace technology, is a human problem and not a technology problem, Visions executive director Elika Dadsetann said. Communication is the basis of digital transformation, not technology, she continued.
"What we’ve learned is simple but often overlooked: if your workplace isn’t emotionally ready for change, it won’t matter how cutting-edge your technology is.” AI won’t fix a broken culture, she added. If workers don’t feel safe, seen or included, no amount of automation will lead to real progress.
Transformation starts with leaders having conversations, not just coding. They need to ask: What are our people worried about? Who’s missing from the decision-making table? Invite employees into the design and rollout process — not just as users, but as co-creators.
Of course, digital systems matter too, she added. But people need time to adapt, room to learn and a clear understanding of why changes are happening. Don’t just train people on tools, build a culture that supports curiosity, questions and experimentation. "You can’t transform systems without transforming relationships," she said.
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Editor's Note: Read more AI adoption coverage:
- How to Get Employees on Board With the New Wave of AI — Employers need to address displacement fears over new AI tools if they want to foster meaningful innovation.
- Round Pegs and Square Holes: Why AI Adoption Requires a Focus on Culture — AI’s impact isn't inherent in the technology itself but in how it is deployed. Will it be a means to cut corners, or a catalyst for growth and innovation?
- Reduce Uncertainty to Drive AI Adoption — Leaders are excited about the application of AI in the workplace. Employees aren't so sure. What it takes to overcome employee doubts.