The 3 questions People and Culture teams should be asking about AI right now

Remember when the biggest AI debate was whether employees should be allowed to use ChatGPT at work? It wasn't that long ago.

Since then, the conversation has evolved rapidly, and we've moved from curiosity to experimentation, and now towards adoption at scale. AI is increasingly becoming part of how work gets done rather than a future possibility, and the question is no longer whether people will use AI but how they'll use it well.

As People and Culture professionals, we’ve also seen a shift in the role we can and should be playing. At Nine Yards, we are constantly being asked about our views on AI and its role in the workplace. One thing we strongly believe is that rather than trying to become AI experts, P+C leaders should be asking better organisational questions. Our real power is in our ability to determine how we build an organisation where humans and AI together outperform what either could achieve alone.

There’s a long and important list of questions we could be asking - from tools to work design to compliance. For us, the key P+C focus should remain on capability, organisational design (capacity) and culture. So here’s the three key questions we think every People and Culture team should be asking today, to help determine whether AI creates long-term value or long-term problems.

1. How is AI changing what it means to be good at work here?

We know every major technology changes work, but AI has really changed what expertise organisations value most. The further we move into a world where AI is implicit in how we work, the greater the value placed on human capabilities such as judgement, creativity, critical thinking and relationship building. Knowing when you trust or challenge AI is critical. 

Many organisations are focused on helping employees learn AI, and that is great. But we’re firm believers that organisations should be taking a more macro view on what skills and capabilities they need, and what implications it has for recruitment, leadership expectations, career pathways and performance frameworks.

P&C teams should be asking questions like:

• Which skills are becoming less valuable?

• Which human capabilities are becoming more valuable?

• How does our capability strategy need to evolve?

• How do we define what great performance looks like where AI is integral to how we work?

• How does this impact how we measure and reward performance?

• Are we hiring for yesterday's jobs or tomorrow's work?

Simply having employees use AI or having the best AI tools won't be the competitive advantage. The organisations that thrive will be the ones that redefine what great performance looks like in an AI-enabled workplace.

2. Are we redesigning work or speeding up old ways of working?

Focusing on how AI impacts operating models and work design is another important factor. One of the biggest risks we see is organisations using AI to make existing work faster, rather than asking whether the work should be done differently or at all. Rather than just applying AI to existing processes, work flows and operating models, the bigger opportunity is in redesign. 

This is where we think P&C teams should be taking a key leadership role. This looks like pausing to understand what work still needs to be done, what work AI can take on, what new work is emerging, and how roles should evolve as a result.

For example, consider the role of an HR Advisor or Business Partner. If AI can draft policies, analyse engagement data, prepare formal performance meeting notes and answer routine employee queries, does the role simply become more efficient? Or does it evolve into something different, with greater emphasis on coaching leaders, navigating complex change and influencing organisational decisions?

If we think about organisational design more broadly, it may also mean questioning whether today's team structures still make sense. As AI changes the nature of work, organisations may need fewer layers of coordination, different specialist capabilities, or entirely new roles focused on AI governance, workflow design or capability building.

As People and Culture professionals, we have a unique opportunity to be championing this work to ensure we aren’t just scratching the surface of how AI can unlock efficiency and productivity but educating the organisation on how AI fundamentally changes the way work gets done.

3. How do we preserve trust, autonomy and fairness while scaling AI?

This last question is all about leadership and culture, and you’ll hear us talk about this a lot. 

Where we’re seeing challenges in workplaces through the rise of AI, it often stems back to a lack of clear decision making, employees feeling less trusted or empowered, and leaders feeling unsure or overwhelmed. 

With this in mind, we recommend People and Culture teams focus on:

• Where will AI make decisions versus support decisions?

• How do we ensure transparency?

• How do we help leaders exercise judgement when AI becomes part of everyday work?

• How do we ensure AI enhances rather than erodes trust?

• How do we maintain psychological safety during rapid change?

The organisations that succeed with AI won't necessarily have the most advanced technology. They'll be the ones whose people continue to trust leadership while work changes around them.

Final Thoughts

AI will continue to evolve, and the technology will undoubtedly outpace most organisations' ability to keep up with every new tool or feature. Which is exactly why the role of People and Culture has never been more important. Our job isn't to keep pace with every technology trend, it's to ensure our organisations, leaders and people evolve alongside them. 

AI may change how work gets done. People and Culture will determine whether that change creates better organisations or simply faster ones.