Research Drop: Investing in HR & IT Collaboration to Drive Successful AI Transformation
Research Drop in Brief: The percentage of organizations piloting or deploying AI solutions has risen by 20% since 2023. It’s time to focus on strong HR and IT collaboration to drive holistic AI integration and successful workforce transformation. HR is in the best spot to help IT bring employees along on the AI journey. HR needs resourcing to play “catch up” to IT, such as greater access to organization-sponsored AI tools, involvement in training/upskilling, and partaking in cross-functional experimentation. AI continues to be ubiquitous. We see massive growth in AI adoption across industries, with the percentage of organizations piloting or deploying AI solutions up by 20% since 2023 1 . With this exponential growth comes rapid change. New strategies, recommendations, use cases, and best practices are discovered and shared on what feels like a daily basis. In 2025, we are seeing organizations strengthening functional partnerships to help organizational AI transformation succeed. Multiple departments exist in organizations to bring unique skills sets, expertise, and perspectives, and these diverse perspectives should be included when thinking about AI at your organization. To date, IT has been leading the charge for AI transformation, but more and more we see high-performing organizations involving HR in their strategy and implementation. IT brings the tech; HR brings the people. HR and IT are both critical to AI transformation – and shouldn’t be operating in silos. HR is set up to lead the charge in reskilling, upskilling, and talent management in the era of AI, while IT is orchestrating and managing the tools and systems 2 . A benefit of including HR is that it deepens the connection to employees, increasing the involvement of employees in the transformation and reducing their fear of the unknown. When these functions are aligned, they accelerate AI implementation and workforce integration by deepening adoption, increasing ROI, and strengthening data governance. Our data shows that 73% of HR employees and 82% of IT employees believe AI will transform work for the better 3 . While this majority is encouraging, what can we learn about HR employees’ AI experience to explain an almost 10 percentage point difference between functions? And how can these functions be better positioned to collaborate and work in tandem? For this month’s Research Drop, we explore the different AI perceptions and experiences between HR and IT and how organizations can better align these critical functions to drive a more holistic AI transformation. IT employees’ advanced AI engagement reflects their central role in organizational technology As AI is inherently a technology, it makes sense that IT employees might be the first functional group to learn about it and work with it. Technology is engrained in their day-to-day work and their identity; 81% of IT employees agree that it’s important for them to be among the first to use new technologies. This natural inclination and excitement for technology innovation places IT in a key position for AI transformation. IT leaders are looking to shift the function of the IT department from building and maintaining to orchestrating and innovating, further expanding its scope to streamline transformation efforts across business facets 4 . This key role has fast-tracked IT employees’ perceived value of integrating AI at work – 79% of IT employees are excited about a future where everyone uses AI at work. For HR employees, their experience with AI at work is slowly growing, taking a bit more time to catch up with their IT peers. While 68% of IT employees (and 77% of IT leaders) believe that AI in their workplace will boost revenue and financial success, only 55% of HR employees (and 63% of HR leaders) feel the same. As more HR departments get involved with their organization’s AI transformation, we expect this vision to crystallize and more HR use cases and applications to become tangible. For example, the Employee Self-Service Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot (ESS) enhances HR efficiency and employee satisfaction by streamlining processes, automating routine tasks, reducing support tickets, and providing customizable, user-friendly solutions. Integrated AI solutions such as ESS are changing HR functionality by reducing transactional tasks and creating space to focus more on relational tasks (e.g., mental health support), which are core to HR’s mission 5 . When planning HR and IT collaboration, focus on the common goals between the groups and how to use their unique perspectives and skillsets to achieve these goals. For example, a shared priority for both groups is data security. When asked about the biggest challenges of AI implementation, 28% of HR leaders mentioned compliance with data protection laws (e.g., HIPAA) and 25% mentioned ethical concerns about AI use 6 . HR is responsible for protecting and managing employees. When combined with IT’s expertise in security and protection, these challenges remain a priority and are effectively managed throughout large-scale AI rollouts. Another shared bet is skilling. IT is positioned to provide user guides and technical walkthroughs for new technology. HR provides support from a skills perspective, providing deep expertise in learning motivation and efficacy, along with resources for large-scale development programs. By leveraging the unique strengths of both HR and IT, organizations effectively address challenges and drive successful AI transformation. Know, however, that success for this partnership requires equitable access to AI tools and resources for both business units. Access to organization-sponsored AI tools continues to be a differentiator for value realization While the majority of HR and IT employees use AI at least once a week (66% of HR and 75% of IT), organization-sponsored access to AI tools and technologies isn’t equal. When asked how many of the AI tools they use at work are sponsored by their organization, 72% of IT employees reported that their organization provides all or most of the AI tools they use. Only 59% of HR employees reported the same. With half of HR employees having to BYOAI (bring your own AI) to work, this doesn’t allow organizations to capitalize on the benefits of strategic AI adoption at scale 7 , such as ROI tracking and centralized training programs. HR employees also report seeing less success stories circulated around their function. While 77% of IT employees feel inspired by stories of people successfully using AI at work, only 68% of HR employees feel the same. When employees are given the space and resources to experiment, it fuels a virtuous loop where more experimentation creates more realized value, which in turn leads to more experimentation, etc 8 . Access is a propellant of adoption and realized value. We researched a set of positive outcomes of AI adoption, called RIVA, or Realized Individual Value of AI. RIVA encapsulates various ways that an employee can see a direct impact of AI use in their day-to-day work. When we break out HR and IT employees with “all or most” of their AI tools provided by their organization versus “some or none” of their AI tools provided by their organization, the difference in RIVA is clear. For both HR and IT employees with high access to organization-sponsored AI tools, more than 75% report all six RIVA outcomes, ranging from stress reduction to faster task completion. When that access is low, reported RIVA drops by up to 17%. Organization-sponsored tools likely come with leadership support, training, scenario libraries, and other resources that help employees capture value sooner. But without those scaled rollout benefits, employees are left on their own to navigate the changing workplace and to not get left behind. To drive a strong collaboration between HR & IT, AI access for both functions should be a foundational step. We see across these groups that while the direct benefits of using AI are easiest to realize (e.g. AI helps complete tasks faster), the more subtle benefits are the hardest to achieve (e.g. AI helps make better decisions or reduces overall work stress). For example, we see high reported task speed improvement for employees even with low access, likely due to BYOAI tools being simple to apply to direct situations. However, for true AI transformation, the goal is to tackle those transformative use cases, where day-to-day no longer looks the same as it did a few years ago (or even last week). The greater the organization-sponsored access, the better the chance of creating impact for both HR & IT employees, which positions them to be a driving force of organization-wide transformation. Lean into HR and IT collaboration to accelerate AI transformation Bringing together HR and IT for AI transformation strengthens the impact and value that your organization gets from investing in AI technologies and tools. Their skillsets are ideal to work in tandem to ensure that the proper systems in place and the workforce is ready to adopt them. We offer three recommendations on how to lean into this partnership: ensure equitable resources, increase experimentation and sharing, and leverage HR to get closer to employees. Ensure equitable cross-functional training and resourcing Training and development are key to learning any new technology. According to the World Economic Forum, only 35% of employees are trained and knowledgeable in AI 9 . Within our sample, while 73% of HR employees and 80% of IT employees reported that they were adequately trained in AI and understand how to use it in their work, only 22% and 31% strongly agreed to this, respectively. We may see discrepancies in how much training an employee thinks they need, versus how much more they could have when training is invested in and centralized. As IT is front and center in the AI transformation, their educational opportunities are likely the highest. For HR, however, 40% of HR leaders say a lack of resources (e.g., time, money, staff) is the biggest barrier to AI implementation 6 . This holds HR back from evolving beyond tactical use cases into strategic use cases, where they need investment in AI-based data and technology competences 10 . With the right resources, HR can take the lead role in a partnership with IT to identify organization-wide skill gaps and training needs. Increase experimentation and sharing between peers, teams, and business units The more opportunities employees have to experiment with AI, the better they get and the more value they see. As we’ve seen, however, some departments are better set up to lean into these processes. Large differences in AI adoption can create in-group/out-group mentalities that drive business silos and create limitations in data and information sharing, scaling AI technology, and cross-functional collaboration 11 . These are critical components of a successful AI transformation, where AI is optimized throughout the organization. In addition to finding balance in AI opportunities cross-functionally, seek to improve the effectiveness of collaboration and the culture of sharing. Design inclusive, common languages between functional teams that help bridge the gap between tech and non-tech teams 11 . Create communities or forums where employees across the organization can share quick tips, prompts, or use cases that helped them realize deeper value in AI 12 . Spin up a HR and IT taskforce dedicated to cross-pollination of resources focused on AI adoption. All these initiatives can help bring your teams closer together. Leverage HR to bring employees closer to and more invested in AI transformation With AI advancements moving quicker than any previous technology at work, it can be overwhelming to keep up and employees may feel this snowball effect of being "prepared enough.” Employees may feel uncertain about how to get involved and upskilled with AI and may feel anxious about their future. HR is uniquely positioned to help employees feel grounded and informed. Organizations at the forefront of AI adoption are 2.5x as likely to have HR involve employees in identifying tasks, roles, and processes suitable for automation 13 . HR provides a direct line to the employee voice and employee input. Not only can HR directly influence IT’s implementation strategy and priorities but it can strengthen employees’ adoption tendencies. HR and IT can collaborate on measuring AI transformation success through employee technology behaviors and employee sentiment feedback. Bringing these functions together maximizes AI implementation and ROI measurement capabilities. Learn more about how HR and IT can measure readiness, adoption, and impact of AI solutions (like Copilot) throught our Copilot Measurement Playbook. A dynamic collaboration between HR and IT departments drives successful AI transformation. IT's central role in technology and HR's focus on your people creates a powerful synergy, leading to effective AI implementation and workforce integration. By fostering cross-functional training, experimentation, and collaboration, organizations can unlock the full potential of AI, enhancing both employee adoption and realized value of AI. Stay tuned for our April Research Drop to keep up with what the People Science team is learning! 1 MIT Sloan Management Review. (November 11, 2024). Learning to manage uncertainty, with AI. 2 Forbes. (February 11, 2025). IT isn't the new HR, and AI shouldn't be leading your team. 3 Microsoft People Science Research analyzing 413 global employees in HR & IT based on our larger April 2024 AI Readiness Study dataset. Note: participants were asked to respond to questions around “generative artificial intelligence” which has been shortened to “AI” for the sake of this blog. 4 Deloitte. (December 11, 2024). IT, amplified: AI elevates the reach (and remit) of the tech function. 5 Mercer. (2025). Generative AI will transform three key HR roles. 6 SHRM. (January 9, 2025). There's still time to revolutionize HR with AI. 7 Microsoft WorkLab. (May 2024). 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report. 8 Microsoft People Science. (April 2024). The state of AI change readiness: Accelerating AI transformation through employee experience. 9 World Economic Forum. (January 16, 2025). Unlocking human potential: Building a responsible AI-ready workforce for the future. 10 Forbes. (January 22, 2025). 3 ways HR leaders can look inward to prepare for upheaval in 2025. 11 Harvard Business Review. (May-June 2024). For success with AI, bring everyone on board. 12 Microsoft WorkLab. (February 2025). When it comes to AI, don’t build ‘Island of Intelligence.’ 13 i4cp. (January 23, 2025). Report: Workforce readiness in the era of AI.Transforming Healthcare with AI: Healthcare Cohort Recap – February 2025
In our recent quarterly healthcare cohort session, we delved into the transformative power of AI in the healthcare sector. In order to better understand our cohort members on the call, we kicked off the meeting by asking where each participant felt their organization was on its AI workforce transformation journey. As expected, the majority of responses came back as a range of early stages of utilizing AI, and 43% of the responses said they were already implementing AI in their workforce transformation journey! This poll aligned with the research that our People Science Advisory team reviewed in that, according to Gartner (2024), only 38% of HR leaders are piloting, planning implementation, or have already implemented generative AI. Moving on from the research, we jumped into the heart of the session’s discussion and asked for members to share how they were currently utilizing AI in their HR roles and across the organization to drive better business and people outcomes. Copilot/AI Use Cases We heard stories of how organizations were using Microsoft 365 Copilot as a partner to enhance training and user experience. One cohort member stated that his learning team is planning to use Copilot in a training environment as a role-playing partner as the organization doesn’t conduct many in-person trainings anymore. With Copilot, manager trainees can practice having “mock” conversations with members of their team and receive helpful feedback at the end of the exercise. Our members also shared how Copilot is being used as an assistant, saving significant time in HR tasks. A few members shared how AI has generally been incorporated throughout their organizational culture, and they are frequently brainstorming how else to incorporate AI to improve their work. One member went on to say that they “have an AI journey in place to nudge and meet the team member within their workflow in moments such as Onboarding, Enriched Connections, Recognition, and Learning.” Change Management for Copilot/AI It was amazing to hear first-hand how our cohort members were using AI, and it also brought up the topic of strategic change management around Copilot/AI. Members shared various strategies, including soft launches and dedicated office hours, to ensure smooth adoption and maximize AI's potential. One member who has seen positive results from his organization’s rollout of Microsoft Copilot in Viva Glint said, “we do large ‘office hour’ sessions in the two weeks after we give leaders access to Viva Glint, spending an hour showcasing every item in the platform including the Copilot functionality. We also enlist HRBPs to help us with facilitating and running these, giving them a chance to teach others which makes them champions of the Viva Glint platform and survey action planning.” Microsoft Copilot in Viva Glint Demonstration Aside from the discussion, it was helpful to see Microsoft Copilot in Viva Glint in action too! During the latter half of the session, one member gave a live demonstration of the practical benefits of using Copilot in Viva Glint to analyze and summarize survey comments. This was a great illustration of how Copilot can quickly generate accurate summaries. He told the group how the Copilot in Glint qualitative insights greatly assist his senior leadership team in decision-making and strategic planning. He also reiterated how he feels that the Copilot comment summaries are accurate and save him the time of having to reach through thousands of comments individually. This is a sentiment that many of our customers have expressed which you can see here from Viva Glint customer, Phillips 66. Microsoft Copilot in Viva Glint Prompts We loved seeing the brainstorming happening in chat where members shared other potential ideas for prompts. A member listed some of her favorite prompts that she frequently uses with Copilot in Viva Glint. “You can ask it to use any built-in filter/attribute you already have in Glint, I love asking for things like, “What are the top three insights from our Generation Z team members….” things like that.” “It’s a game-changer to get very quick, drilled-down information.” Another member suggested the ability of asking Copilot to summarize the changes between current employee comments versus comments from a previous administration of a survey on a given topic. Overall, the session underscored AI's transformative potential in healthcare, offering valuable insights and practical examples of how AI can drive efficiency, innovation, and better outcomes in the industry. We’d love for you to join our Healthcare Cohort for these types of insights and to share your own experiences with like-minded professionals! For more information on joining one of our cohorts, check out our blog post.Research Drop: Understanding and Encouraging Effective Manager Behaviors
Research Drop in Brief: Manager effectiveness is critical to team success, but only 1 in 5 managers report performing key manager behaviors on a consistent basis. Consistent 1:1 meetings are the most challenging to regularly prioritize. When looking at differences in managerial priorities, we found that C-Level Executives focus more on coaching and mentoring, Directors and VPs dedicate more time to building cohesion, and Managers concentrate more on facilitating high performance. Managers need organizational support to be their best, where practices and resources are in place to foster manager engagement, reduce burnout, and support development. Managers are the backbone of any organization, playing a pivotal role in driving team performance and fostering a positive work environment. Their ability to coach, mentor, and support their direct reports enhances productivity and contributes to employee satisfaction and retention. Employees at organizations with highly effective managers are 2.5x as likely to describe their company as “highly innovative” and 1.6x as likely to be engaged¹. But managers are often stuck between their requirements and expectations as both a “manager with a manager” and a “manager with direct reports.” They must contribute to both high-level strategy conversations and to personal development chats², while still finding the time to execute their own tasks. With all these demands, how likely are managers to actually feel fully effective? When asked, only 1 in 5 managers report consistently performing critical manager behaviors such as helping their team prioritize their work³. For this month’s Research Drop, we take a closer look at what behaviors contribute to effective management practices, how attainable it feels to perform these behaviors consistently, and how to create a work environment that supports managers. What constitutes effective manager behavior? With the wide variety of responsibilities that fall under a manager’s remit, it may be challenging for managers to know how to focus their time. An extensive review of existing literature and research allowed us to pinpoint three main themes of effective manager behaviors: Coach & Mentor, Build Cohesion, and Facilitate High Performance. Within these three themes, we outlined 10 distinct behaviors that managers can perform to support their team members. Coach & Mentor Helping direct reports to excel not only in their role but also in their career is a vital part of people management. Managers can be a key piece in helping their team members see what future roles they may want to pursue, what skills they may need to cultivate, and how they can position themselves to excel in their career. They can provide guidance and stretch assignments in their 1:1 conversations and also leverage team meetings to connect the dots from the company’s strategy to their team’s daily work. Build Cohesion Managers with multiple direct reports can also be a conduit to effective collaboration between team members and with broader organizational stakeholders. Organizations and teams within them are composed of employees with a variety of perspectives and skills. Employees thrive when they feel comfortable expressing themselves and are recognized for their hard work. These factors contribute to a sense of psychological safety where employees are empowered to ask questions, share their thoughts, and acknowledge mistakes. When psychological safety is high, employees see higher productivity, reduced turnover, and less stress⁴. Managers also build strength across teams when they share information from leadership by ensuring that direct reports have the knowledge needed to make decisions and feel connected throughout the organization. Facilitate High Performance Employee productivity and performance are critical success factors and managers are often looked at to facilitate this output from their team. Managers support their team members’ focus when they help them to prioritize their projects and clarify what is expected from them. They can be pivotal in helping their team succeed by removing potential barriers to their progress, such as resolving conflicts or securing resources. Supporting innovation is a pillar of high performance⁵, so managers who give their team the space to experiment and think outside the box can enable novel ideas that push the boundaries. Consistently performing these behaviors is challenging When we asked managers how frequently they conducted the behaviors listed underneath the three behavioral themes, we found that while each of these behaviors are conducted at least “often” by an average of 84% of managers, they are only conducted “always” by an average of 32% of managers. Now, we recognize that managers can’t be expected to perform at their best 100% of the time – they have a lot on their plates. To understand what sets top-performing managers apart, we analyzed how consistently they report engaging in the 10 research-backed behaviors of effective managers. We grouped managers into Effective Managers, who report consistently demonstrating at least 6 of the 10 behaviors, and Typical Managers, who engage in them with varying levels of consistency (a similar methodology used to categorize High Performing Organizations and Typical Organizations in our HPO report). Through this we found that only 1 in 5 managers fell into the Effective Manager group. The difference in how consistently Effective and Typical Managers engage in key behaviors is clear, with variations up to 68% across the ten behaviors. For example, just 22% of Typical Managers report always welcoming diverse perspectives, while 90% of Effective Managers consistently do so. Interestingly, the most challenging behavior for both groups was to hold consistent 1:1s. Calendars can be tricky to manage, especially with many direct reports or a globally dispersed team. Managers may also not feel a need to engage their team members individually on a recurring basis. By not engaging in 1:1 meetings, managers miss out on opportunities to create alignment with their team and to provide the necessary guidance and support needed for their direct reports to thrive. 1:1s also positively impact engagement and retention - important outcomes for any manager to monitor⁶. Top-of-mind managerial behaviors vary across job levels Beyond a base understanding of the frequency of effective behaviors, we found that certain levels of managers are focused on executing different sets of behaviors. Within our data, we split by C-Level Executives, Directors/VPs, and Managers and each job level was more consistently focusing on a different bucket of behaviors. C-Level Executives were more highly focused on Coach & Mentor behaviors, especially connecting daily work to the bigger picture and company strategy – 30% more managers at this job level “always” perform this behavior as compared to the other two levels. C-Level Executives are in a prime position to be able to cascade this support to their teams and beyond, helping sharpen the line of understanding between strategy and tasks. Directors and VPs prioritized more Build Cohesion behaviors, where they bring together siloed teams, share successes across departments, and communicate important information. Directors and VPs are likely to host Town Halls and functional meetings, as well as create connections between groups to better drive organizational success. Managers most often engaged in Facilitate High Performance behaviors, directly supporting their teams to execute tasks. Managers are the first line of support for Individual Contributors, helping them manage their bandwidth, focus their time, and align their goals. While we found that job level did relate to differences in behavioral frequency likely due to the nature of the job levels themselves, it is important for managers to be flexible in how they balance their time. Depending on organizational strategy and team goals, direct reports at all levels may need more targeted (or more well-rounded) support from their managers to be successful. This level of situational awareness enables managers to focus on the most effective behaviors for their team, not just the ones that may be most top-of-mind based on their level. Contexts that can enable effective manager behaviors There are components of an organization’s culture, practices, and norms that impact whether a manager has the tools, skills, and motivation that they need to be effective and impactful. In our research, we discovered three contexts that were related to consistently performing effective manager behaviors: engagement, burnout, and manager tenure. Feeling engaged provides energy and motivation to balance manager demands Ninety-three percent of Effective Managers were also engaged, as compared to 76% of Typical Managers. When managers are thriving, they likely feel excited and passionate about their people manager duties – enabling them to be available and supportive for their direct reports. Feeling engaged brings energy, focus, and positive emotions to work. These feelings can be contagious to the manager’s team members⁷, driving a reinforcing flywheel of engagement. When organizations create an environment where managers can thrive, it can cascade throughout the entire company. Burnout causes strain that can limit managers abilities to support their team Effective Managers are less likely to report burnout indicators (e.g., overwhelming workload, conflict between home and work demands) than Typical Managers. While 40% of Effective Managers show at least one sign of burnout, the number rises to 59% among Typical Managers. Without the additional stress and strain of burnout, managers have more capacity to engage in a wide variety of responsibilities. Manager burnout is prevalent and is found to be higher than employee burnout⁸, making it critical that organizations focus burnout prevention not just at the employee level but by creating initiatives to directly mitigate manager burnout. Manager tenure can come with multiple developmental and learning opportunities When comparing time spent in a manager position, we found that managers with 11+ years of manager tenure were 2x as likely to be Effective Managers than Typical Managers. Those with more experience as a manager have likely spent more time improving their managerial skills and practices, being involved in learning and developing programming, and learning from their experiences than those newer to management. It may also be that long-standing managers generate blind spots where they have consistently done a practice for so long that they overestimate how often they actually perform these behaviors. Regardless of tenure, managers get value from expanding their leadership skills, as a growth mindset approach empowers managers to continuously refine and gain leadership competencies. Development opportunities help new and early managers get ahead and help long-standing managers reinforce good techniques (and learn a few new ones in the process!). Research shows that 86% of leaders who engaged in a leadership program saw significant improvements to their overall leadership effectiveness⁹. Directly targeting some of these essential skills through organization-sponsored growth opportunities, mentoring programs, and learning courses, managers are likely to feel more prepared and equipped to lead. Effective managerial behaviors are crucial for driving team performance and fostering a positive work environment. By consistently engaging in coaching, building cohesion, and facilitating high performance, managers can significantly impact their team's success. As manager responsibilities continue to develop and evolve, it is essential to create a supportive environment that enables managers to thrive and get the resources they need to lead their teams effectively. Stay tuned for our March Research Drop to keep up with what the Viva People Science team is learning! 1 MIT Sloan Management Review. (January 11, 2023). What’s Holding Back Manager Effectiveness, and How to Fix It. 2 Culture Amp (2023). State of the Manager Report. 3 Viva People Science Manager Action Taking survey from July 2024 using an Online Panel Vendor commissioned by Microsoft, which studied 500 US-based people managers across 10+ industries who have at least 5 direct reports. 4 Microsoft Viva Blog. (November 15, 2024). 3 Steps to Build Psychological Safety on Your Team. 5 Viva People Science. (October 2023). Redefining High Performance in the New Era of Work. 6 Rogelberg, S. G. (2024). Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1: 1 Meetings. Oxford University Press. 7 Yun, M., & Beehr, T. (2024). Work engagement contagion from leader to follower through cognitive and affective mechanisms. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 45(1), 153-166. 8 Harvard Business Review. (May 18, 2023). More Than 50% of Managers Feel Burned Out. 9 Center for Creative Leadership. Why is Leadership Development Important? 4 Reasons to Invest.5 Insights from the Josh Bersin x Microsoft Report: Employee Experience Platforms in the Era of AI
In an era where technology continually reshapes the way we work, the integration of AI into HR processes has emerged as a game-changer. The employee experience, a critical component of any organization's success, is beginning to see significant advancements through the application of AI. REPORT: The Role of the Employee Experience Platform in Enterprise AI Transformation A groundbreaking new report by HR technology leader Josh Bersin , in collaboration with Microsoft, delves into this evolution, highlighting the transformative impact of AI on the Employee Experience Platform (EXP). Here, we uncover the key insights from the report, shedding light on the ways AI is revolutionizing employee engagement, productivity, and business impact. 1. The Employee Experience Platform (EXP) has changed from a transactional tool to a dynamic system The Employee Experience Platform (EXP) has evolved from a transactional tool into a dynamic system that integrates AI to enhance employee experience, improve business impact, and facilitate AI adoption. AI is now the core engine behind communication, skilling, learning, and measurement capabilities in the EXP, extending all the way into AI-powered agents for employee services issues. The concept of what an EXP is capable of and its potential breadth and impact has expanded in the era of AI; HR and IT leaders should be prepared to understand this seismic shift and strategize accordingly. 2. AI in HR Tech opens the door to hyper-personalization AI and machine learning have revolutionized the HR technology landscape by providing highly personalized employee experiences, from skilling assessments and learning recommendations, to communications targeted to the right employees at the right time, to getting fundamental HR and IT answers and tasks completed based on your specific role, geographic region, and other employee data. The new EXP interfaces seamlessly with employees, managers, senior leaders, candidates, and contractors, making it indispensable for effective HR management and operations. 3. In the era of AI, the model changes from change management to change agility Successful AI transformation requires a shift from traditional change management to change agility. This involves continuous testing, learning, and adaptation by the workforce, facilitated by the EXP. 4. Innovators like ASOS and Clifford Chance are already reaping the benefits of AI in their business processes Case studies in the report from ASOS and Clifford Chance illustrate the practical benefits of AI in boosting productivity, sustainability, and employee wellbeing. These examples showcase the transformative power of AI tools in real-world scenarios and emphasize the importance of a human-centered approach to AI adoption. 5. HR leadership plays a pivotal role in AI transformation HR leadership, in collaboration with IT leadership, plays a pivotal role in driving AI transformation by integrating AI into HR processes, upskilling employees, and aligning AI tools with organizational culture and values. The report recommends a collaborative approach across HR, IT, legal, compliance, finance, and business operations to maximize AI's benefits. Read the full report These key insights demonstrate the profound impact AI is having on the employee experience, revolutionizing the way organizations engage, support, and empower their employees. To delve deeper into these transformative changes and explore the comprehensive findings, we encourage you to read the report by Josh Bersin and Microsoft and discover the full potential of AI in your organization. And if you’re ready to dig deeper, join us on February 27 at 10AM PT for a webinar with Josh Bersin, Founder and CEO of the Josh Bersin Company, Kathi Enderes, SVP, Global Industry Analyst, and Prerna Ajmera, GM of HR Digital Strategy and Innovation at Microsoft, to understand the findings directly from our experts. Register Here: Webinar RegistrationResearch Drop: Understanding Voluntary Turnover Through Employee Sentiment
Research Drop in Brief: Voluntary employee turnover has large financial implications and costs organizations desirable talent, which is critical to retain as organizations continue to undergo large-scale transformations heading into 2025. While voluntary turnover can be challenging to predict, research shows that directly asking employees about their turnover intentions through surveys does have predictive power (though it shouldn’t be considered as a complete proxy for actual turnover behavior). Viva Glint’s Intent to Stay item (“I plan to be working at <COMPANY_NAME> two years from now”) is our single strongest correlate of subsequent turnover across our item taxonomy but is only used by a quarter of our customers. There are three key considerations to have top-of-mind when using sentiment to measure turnover intentions: put it in context, make it actionable, and maintain perspective. When an employee chooses to leave an organization, it impacts both team culture and the business financially. McKinsey found that employee disengagement and attrition could cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and $355 million a year in lost productivity 1 . While voluntary turnover is declining since its peak in 2022, it has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels 2 . Heading into 2025, employees are facing significant changes that may reaccelerate turnover. They are undergoing a workforce transformation driven by rapidly evolving AI technology, as 86% of organizations expect AI and information processing technology to transform their business by 2030 3 . In response to AI transformation, the top workforce strategy is to reskill and upskill existing employees, ranked top by 77% of organizations in the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Future of Jobs Survey 3 . However, with AI and big data skills expected to be the fastest-growing skill in the next five years 3 , it becomes increasingly critical that employers hold on to key talent to support them with their AI adoption process. Employees are also experiencing ongoing whiplash from organizations continuously changing and adjusting their post-pandemic work policies. Strict return-to-office mandates heading into 2025 could drive additional turnover 4 , and organizations who are focused on hiring for talent rather than location may end up winning the skills war. With potential talent churn, it may be a top priority to shift your focus to forecasting potential attrition rates within your organization. If you’re looking for where to start and retention is a high priority for your organization, why not start by directly asking your employees? Our ‘Intent to Stay’ survey item (“I plan to be working at <COMPANY_NAME> two years from now”) is our single strongest correlate of subsequent turnover across the items in the Viva Glint taxonomy 5 but only used by a quarter of our customers 6 . For this month’s research drop, we dive into the history of measuring turnover sentiments, take a closer look into utilization trends of the Viva Glint ‘Intent to Stay’ survey item, and share best practices for leveraging the Intent to Stay item. When does a turnover intention turn into a turnover behavior? Employee turnover has been a focal point of organizational psychology and behavior research for decades due to its large cultural and financial impact on organizations. But due to the sensitive nature of voluntary turnover and the difficulty in capturing the signal before the turnover occurs, it can be challenging to directly study, leading researchers to search for an attainable proxy for actual turnover. Thus, researchers turned to turnover intentions to fill in the gaps left by the difficult nature of capturing turnover behavior. Turnover intentions can take many forms, from withdrawal behaviors to job searching, but can provide an early signal that an employee has considered, in some fashion, working somewhere else. Measuring turnover intentions is also more approachable, as it can be assessed in the same manner as other employee experiences and sentiments (e.g., engagement) by including the topic in a survey. Over time, using turnover intentions as a replacement for turnover behaviors grew in popularity, but also grew in speculation of whether intention really can be used to predict actual turnover 7 . To address this, a meta-analysis was conducted to collate and analyze the field of research studies on voluntary turnover 8 and two key takeaways emerged: 1) turnover intentions are a stronger absolute predictor of turnover behavior than job attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction), but 2) we should not proxy sentiment for behaviors and assume that the exact same conditions that may cause someone to think of leaving are the same that cause them to actually leave. So where does this leave us? Should we measure turnover intentions if we don’t know with certainty that it can help us prevent turnover? Our answer is yes – capturing early signals of turnover enables organizations to jump into action before it's too late. Just because we can’t draw a perfect line from intention to behavior, it doesn’t overshadow the evidence that turnover intentions are the strongest sentiment predictor of turnover behaviors. Through this, we can connect turnover intentions to other employee experiences and create effective interventions to meet this concern head on, directly addressing poor experiences that may lead an employee to go elsewhere and potentially saving the organization a loss in talent. To learn more about how companies are currently utilizing turnover intention measures, we turned to our extensive customer base. The state of the Intent to Stay item In our December Research Drop, we analyzed Glint customer item utilization trends over the past year and discovered that only 24% of our customers include our Intent to Stay item (“I plan to be working at <COMPANY_NAME> two years from now”) on their employee surveys 6 . Our research shows that employees who rate this item unfavorably (Strongly Disagree or Disagree) are 10x as likely to leave their organization within three months as those who rate it favorably (Strongly Agree or Agree) 5 , making this item the single strongest correlate of subsequent turnover across the items in the Viva Glint taxonomy. Regardless of its predictive power, use of this item is very dependent on whether retention is a primary focus for the organization. We see this play out when we look at utilization rates across industries and see how usage ranges from 5% to 38% of customers in each industry. For instance, Technology companies’ use of Intent to Stay grew seven percentage points year-over-year (YoY), making it the second most frequent industry utilizing this item. This change suggests that more Technology organizations are putting retention at the forefront of their employee strategy, potentially driven by the Technology industry grappling with more of those large-scale changes employees are facing, such as the introduction of organization-wide AI tools and technologies or the ongoing return-to-office debate. Tech companies adding this item to their surveys may want to keep a closer eye on potential churn at their organization to provide an early signal of talent loss, which is critical to retain during AI transformation. Half of executives believe that a lack of skills to support adoption is the top barrier to successful AI adoption 3 . By proactively capturing this signal, tech companies can maintain their competitive advantage during this period of significant change and intervene in time to retain key talent. In general, we see a slight uptick in the utilization of Intent to Stay across customers, signaling a greater cross-industry focus on predicting voluntary turnover as we kick off 2025. If you are thinking about adding this item to your surveys this year, consider how it fits into your broader organizational goals. We recommend using Intent to Stay on your employee surveys in addition to eSat (our single-item engagement metric: “How happy are you working at <COMPANY_NAME>?”) when your organization’s outcomes or goals include a strong focus on retention. Get the most from integrating retention into your employee listening strategy Using the Intent to Stay item effectively can provide valuable insights and an early signal into potential voluntary turnover trends within your organization. Here are some top tips to help you make the most of this item. Put it in context Voluntary turnover will never be completely avoidable. When analyzing this metric, you may see encouraging high scores (most employees do see themselves at your organization two years from now) or discouraging low scores (most employees don’t see themselves at your organization two years from now). However, these metrics need to be compared to something to get the full picture, whether that is departmental differences, trend data (e.g., year-over-year changes within your organization), or benchmark data. Comparing your item results against benchmarks like those offered in Viva Glint can help you assess whether your organization is at a greater risk of seeing turnover than peer organizations. If your benchmarks indicate that similar companies have lower rates of reported turnover intention, it could be a signal to investigate further into what gaps may exist in your current employee experience. This comparison also helps you determine what a “healthy” score is for your organization and how much risk you are comfortable with maintaining. Through this, this metric can also help with workforce planning and talent processes. Make it actionable by connecting the item to other important metrics Thoughts about working somewhere else don’t occur in a vacuum, so it’s important to take an interconnected approach to your survey results. Start by considering demographic data points such as function, tenure, time since last promotion, and total compa ratio to get a better grasp of the situation. For example, linking Intent to Stay with the frequency of internal promotions can reveal whether growth opportunities are impacting retention. Take an additional step by analyzing the correlations between other items on your survey with Intent to Stay. For example, we’ve previously found a strong correlation of .78 between Intent to Stay and Fair Evaluation (“My performance is evaluated fairly”) 9 . Knowing what employee experiences at your organization may be driving turnover intentions can enable leaders and managers to create an action plan that directly addresses these concerns. Maintain perspective Keep in mind that this sentiment is a snapshot in time, influenced by various factors such as recent events or team-level morale. It's important to note that the predictive power of Intent to Stay relies more on company culture than on employee satisfaction, especially when it comes to trust. For instance, if employees doubt the confidentiality of the survey results, they might hesitate to reveal their true intentions about working elsewhere. This mistrust can be mitigated by ensuring transparency in communication and actions, thereby fostering a culture where employees feel safe sharing their honest feedback. In conclusion, understanding and effectively measuring turnover intentions is crucial for predicting and mitigating voluntary turnover within your organization. By leveraging the Intent to Stay item alongside other key metrics, you can gain valuable insights into employee retention and take proactive steps to address potential issues. The end goal is to better understand how you can improve the overall employee experience, not only attaining higher retention, but also fostering a more engaged and committed workforce. Stay tuned for our February Research Drop to keep up with what the Viva People Science team is learning! 1 McKinsey & Company. (September 11, 2023). Some employees are destroying value. Others are building it. Do you know the difference? 2 McLean & Company. (2024). U.S. Turnover Benchmark Report 2018-2024. 3 World Economic Forum. (2025). Future of Jobs Report 2025. 4 Forbes. (January 7, 2025). Why Return to Office (RTO) Mandates Will Backfire. 5 People Science cross-customer attrition analysis (n = 33 customers) from June 2023 examining the proportional difference of all employees who have voluntarily left their companies whose item scores were unfavorable compared to those whose scores were favorable. 6 People Science analysis on LinkedIn Glint customer item utilization between September 2023 to August 2024 (n = 728 customers). Customers who customized this item (e.g., a client in the skiing industry changing the wording from ‘intent to stay’ to ‘intent to come back’) are not included in this analysis. 7 Cohen, G., Blake, R. S., & Goodman, D. (2016). Does turnover intention matter? Evaluating the usefulness of turnover intention rate as a predictor of actual turnover rate. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 36(3), 240-263. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X15581850 8 Rubenstein, A. L., Eberly, M. B., Lee, T. W., & Mitchell, T. R. (2018). Surveying the forest: A meta‐analysis, moderator investigation, and future‐oriented discussion of the antecedents of voluntary employee turnover. Personnel Psychology, 71(1), 23-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12226 9 People Science cross-customer correlation analysis from July 2023 assessing the relationship between Glint taxonomy outcome items and driver items.Enhancing manager insights and action at Derivco with Viva and Copilot
In a recent ‘Think like a People Scientist’ webinar, I was joined by Dean Napier, a People Analytics Manager at Derivco, a software development house with about 2000 employees. Derivco has been a leader in the gaming industry for over 30 years, with the majority of the employee population made up of software developers and engineers. As a People Analytics function, Dean and his team have extensively been using Viva Insights for over two years now. The team has built sustained analytics that span the entire employee lifecycle. During this session, Dean explained how Derivco integrated behavioral data from Viva with survey data and other internal data sources to provide timely and actionable insights to their managers. He also spoke about Derivco’s innovative approach to creating custom manager alerts through an Automated Data Analytics Messenger (ADAM) using Copilot extensibility features (available in Copilot Studio) and Viva data. This session provided a deep dive into how Derivco successfully integrated various data signals to empower managers and drive actionable insights - a challenge we often see in organizations. Read more about our Viva People Science research into manager action taking challenges here. Here are the key takeaways from this session: The importance of a Holistic Listening approach: We presented research into the importance of moving beyond traditional employee engagement surveys to include productivity and resilience signals. This approach helps organizations understand not only how employees feel but how they work and adapt to changes. ADAM - The Automated Data Analytics Messenger: Dean introduced ADAM, a bot developed by Derivco which sends alerts to managers based on data from Viva Insights and other sources. ADAM provides timely, relevant insights and suggested actions, making it easier for managers to support their teams effectively. Examples of Effective Alerts: Dean shared specific examples of alerts, such as a decrease in one-on-one meeting time and an increase in uninterrupted focus time. These alerts not only highlight potential issues but provide managers with practical suggestions and resources to address them. Measuring Impact: Derivco tracks the effectiveness of these alerts by monitoring behavioral changes. For instance, if a manager increases one-on-one meeting time after receiving an alert, it’s considered effective. This approach helps ensure that alerts drive meaningful actions. Future Plans for Adam and Derivco: Dean discussed plans to expand ADAM's capabilities, including scaling alerts for higher-level managers and incorporating more data points from operational and financial data. This will further enhance the ability to provide comprehensive insights across the organization. By integrating various data sources and providing actionable insights through ADAM, Derivco empowered its managers to improve the employee experience at the company. Derivco serves as an inspiring use case for other organizations looking to enhance their employee listening strategies. If you missed our live session, watch the recording below!8 People Science Predictions for 2025
As we step into 2025, the world of work is on the brink of a revolutionary transformation. The latest Microsoft Viva People Science Predictions for 2025 offer a fascinating glimpse into the future, highlighting key trends that we think will shape the way HR leaders drive organizational success. These predictions, grounded in the extensive experience of our People Science team, provide invaluable insights for HR professionals looking to stay ahead of the curve. While these insights are based on our collective expertise, it's important to note that they may not be wholly based on empirical research or facts. Explore these groundbreaking predictions with us and discover how they can help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of human resources. Comment below and add your thoughts of what is ahead in 2025! Prediction 1: Data-driven decision making will take the lead Why it matters: Leveraging a breadth of data allows organizations to make better and more informed decisions that can improve employee experience and business outcomes. In a world where information is power, data-driven decision making is not just a trend, but a necessity for staying competitive and relevant. Imagine being able to predict employee turnover before it happens or identifying the exact training programs that boost productivity the most. These capabilities are within reach, but only if HR leaders embrace data analytics wholeheartedly. What it means for HR leaders: HR leaders should invest in tools and technologies that enable data collection and analysis. They will need to develop the internal skills to interpret data and use it to effectively drive strategic decisions and continuously improve employee experience. Furthermore, they should encourage a culture where data is valued and used in decision-making across the organization. Nicola Josephs, Principal People Scientist Prediction 2: Formal organizational change management will increase in importance Why it matters: Change is a constant, as we’ve seen over the last few years. Whether an organization is going through an M&A, workforce reduction, strategic shift or implementing new technologies like AI, the success of these initiatives heavily depends on how well the people-side of change is managed. Effective organizational change management ensures that employees are supported throughout the transition, which enhances their experience and increases the likelihood of successful adoption of new processes and systems. By prioritizing change management, organizations can mitigate resistance, reduce disruption, and foster a culture of adaptability and resilience. What it means for HR leaders: HR leaders will need to refresh their knowledge on the elements of organizational change management and coach all leaders on the importance of each step. This includes understanding the psychological and emotional impacts of change on employees, communicating effectively, and providing the necessary training and support to help employees navigate through the change. By doing so, HR leaders can ensure that organizational changes are implemented smoothly and that employees remain engaged and productive throughout the process. Christina Rasieleski, Senior People Scientist Prediction 3: Civility and respect will become a more prominent topic in the workplace Why it matters: In today's dynamic work environment, the importance of civility and respect is becoming increasingly significant. With the rise of remote work, diverse teams, and heightened awareness of political and social issues, fostering a respectful workplace is critical. According to Forbes, research conducted in 2023 found that civility in the workplace comes with major benefits including improved physical and mental wellbeing, lower burnout, and reduced absenteeism. Additionally, as employees become more vocal about their expectations for a positive work culture, companies can no longer afford to ignore issues related to respect and civility. Failure to address these concerns can lead to a decline in employee engagement and productivity, negative publicity, and even legal ramifications. What it means for HR leaders: HR leaders play a pivotal role in championing civility and respect within organizations. HR professionals are uniquely positioned to support managers and teams and implement policies that allow all employees to feel safe. By taking a proactive stance, HR can not only mitigate conflicts and risk but also build a culture of trust and collaboration and be the hero for the organization. HR’s actions can enhance the organization's reputation and demonstrate a commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace. Melissa Barry, Head of Viva Customer Empowerment, Principal People Scientist Manager Prediction 4: Return to Office mandates will lead to an increased diversification of skills and talent in organizations Why it matters: As we approach five years since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted where, how, and when we work, we are still seeing a fundamental difference in how leaders and employees view the workplace. The 2024 KPMG CEO Outlook survey found that 83% of over 1,300 CEOs predict companies will require full Return to Office (RTO) in the next three years and we’ve already seen some large organizations announce a mandated full time RTO. This re-opens the door for this conversation at the C-Suite in other organizations and industries. But for employees, flexibility and work life balance remain key factors when choosing an employer. This continued tension will impact the talent and skills available to organizations. What it means for HR leaders: In organizations that mandate full time or even part-time RTO, a rethink of the talent strategy will be important as the ‘status quo’ candidate may no longer be applying for particular roles in the organization. Employees may also broaden their thinking when it comes to choosing a role and employer to give them the flexibility they desire. For example, they may increasingly focus on where they can apply or transfer their existing skills in order to work for an organization of their choice. In either scenario, HR will need to think creatively about how they draw the right skills to the organization and how they pivot to an approach that is focused more on transferable skills, adopting a growth mindset, and leveraging AI for faster learning and development. Avneeta Solanki, Principal People Scientist Prediction 5: AI will only be as good as its integrated data Why it matters: As we continue to leverage AI at work, we will need clean, integrated data to power it. Even in this new world, the adage persists – quality in, quality out – and as we think about poor data quality leveraged in our AI, we run the risk of poor decision making, misinterpretations, and ultimately a loss of trust in our AI systems. Further, there will be an expectation for integration from multiple data sources — such as workplace pattern metrics, employee sentiment, resource documents — to provide a holistic view that can reveal insights often missed when data is siloed. This comprehensive set of (clean) data, plus AI, is what will enable organizations to adapt quickly to changes and maintain a competitive edge. What it means for HR leaders: For HR leaders, this means prioritizing data integration strategies and ensuring high-quality data through robust governance practices. By focusing on clean, integrated data, HR can leverage AI tools to enhance manager empowerment and employee development, ultimately fostering trust in AI-driven insights. Transparent communication about data usage and ethical considerations will further strengthen this trust, allowing organizations to harness the full potential of AI in the workplace. Carolyn Kalafut, Principal People Scientist Prediction 6: Research on the human-technology interface at work will be accelerated Why it matters: With the rise of new, AI-infused workplace technologies, organizations will increasingly spend time and resources on research, training, and enablement in support of employees as they adopt these new technologies and new investments. An important part of this journey will involve organizations gaining deeper understandings of how effectively users leverage these tools, and if the tools inspire not only usage (an important, traditional technology metric) but drive true user and employee value (which is the future of the human-technology relationship). What it means for HR leaders: The success of new enterprise-wide technology deployment depends largely on HR leaders supporting managers as they advocate, promote, and model use for their teams and reports. HR will have to be proactively involved in conversations about deployment to (1) understand training and enablement needs of the workforce, (2) consult with IT on a success measurement strategy for the technology, and (3) continue to represent a people-centric perspective as technology adoption unfolds within the organization. Eric Knudsen, Head of People Science Analytics, Principal People Scientist Manager Prediction 7: AI will become more useful for managers Why it matters: As AI continues to find its footing into the everyday workflow for employees and managers alike, today some employees experience AI as something “more” to learn, implement, and manage. Although many see the value of AI as a game changing technology, we might also run the risk of it getting benched or underutilized due to undefined use cases and poor change management approaches. In 2025 we will see organizations better utilize and streamline their implementation of AI in the workplace to solve unique and well-defined challenges. The result will be AI solutions that are quickly adopted by managers and employees allowing them to prioritize the “fewer” but most important dynamics of their role. What it means for HR leaders: For HR leaders, this means they will need to develop deep collaborative relationships with their IT counterparts. HR will provide critical guidance of how this new technology can and should roll out within the organization. They will do this by helping IT colleagues define the best use cases, create experiential designs to test effectiveness, leverage listening strategies to adjust, and ultimately inform how this game changing technology works best for the people in the organization. Jeff Jokerst, Head of People Science Consulting, Principal People Scientist Manager Prediction 8: AI/Copilot Agents will begin taking a prominent role in interpreting employee survey results and action taking Why it matters: Many organizations and teams struggle with interpreting employee survey results and less than half of managers are taking action on their team’s results. AI and Copilot Agents will develop the capability to interpret a leader or manager’s survey results in a consistent manner across the organization while also factoring in other relevant data and context. Beyond that, agents will also develop the capability to reference internal resources and approved external resources to draft and then ‘project manage’ a highly relevant follow-up plan for each leader or manager and their team. This shift will remove a significant barrier to driving improvements, improve the quality and effectiveness of action taking, better leverage existing internal resources while reducing the burden on leaders and managers. What it means for HR leaders: Using their own agents, HR leaders will develop greater visibility into the action taking process and progress made in their organizations. HR leaders will be able to focus more on strategy and advisory support for their organizations and spend less time on administrative tasks. Tom Nolan, Principal People Scientist We hope you enjoyed reading our predictions for 2025! We invite you to share your own predictions in the comments below and join the conversation on how these trends may shape our future workplace.Research Drop: Diving into AI Transformation Profiles to Understand Unique Needs Across Employee Personas
Research Drop in Brief: We discovered five AI transformation profiles: Multipliers, Advocates, Persuadables, AI Skeptics, and Change Pessimists. These AI transformation profiles highlight key differences in how employees approach AI at work, shaped by their engagement levels, experiences with change, and attitudes. AI transformation needs and expectations are not one-size-fits all; this is illustrated by statistically significant differences in AI usage frequency and perceived value of AI between profiles. We provide a recommendation on how to craft a nuanced AI transformation strategy that is inclusive of all employee profiles’ needs, bolstering the likelihood of success in your own AI transformation. As AI technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, we are witnessing a profound transformation in the workforce that aims to enable people to be more efficient, productive, and creative than ever. To better understand this experience from the employee perspective, the Microsoft Viva People Science team published The 2024 State of AI Change Readiness eBook, which outlines findings from our recent external panel study on AI Transformation and provides practical guidance for leaders and HR on how to best support people through this change. Involved in our analysis this external panel data for this eBook was a closer look at the employee profiles you may uncover during an AI transformation, deepening our ability to understand and empower employees to adopt AI by meeting them where they are on their AI journey. To do this, we conducted a latent profile analysis (LPA) of our data, which groups respondents by similar response patterns to items on the survey, allowing us to identify profiles. The advantage of LPAs is that they allow you to use data to discover invisible clusters of respondents who share similar beliefs or feelings, removing the potential for assumptions or biases to influence groupings. Specifically, we examined respondents’: Engagement: Their current employee engagement levels Change Experience*: Individual-level experiences with past change initiatives at their organization AI Sentiment: How optimistic and ready they are for AI at work *Assessed at three dimensions: vision (i.e., feeling ownership and clarity over the change vision), communication (i.e., seeking and sharing information on the change), and competence (i.e., proactively upskilling and advocating for the change). Our findings: The five employee AI transformation profiles Within our data sample, we found five AI transformation profiles: Multipliers, Advocates, Persuadables, AI Skeptics, and Change Pessimists. At a high-level, the distribution of these profiles is encouraging – more than 70% of the employees in our study fell into the Multiplier or Advocate profiles! These employees are engaged, have had positive change experiences, and are excited and ready for AI at work. Every organization and employee base will be different based on their unique culture and experiences, but discovering these five profiles in our dataset helped to ground us in an understanding that employees will be at all ends of the spectrum in their personal change and AI journey. Acknowledging the differences helps us to not only describe the potential AI user base, but also hypothesize what key needs exist for each profile to support them through this workforce transformation. These profiles are specific to the study sample and were generated based on the sentiment data available within that study. Therefore, it's important to consider what additional aspects of the employee experience would be relevant when thinking about the profiles that might exist in your organization. Consider your organization and AI transformation: What other considerations (e.g., leadership support of AI, culture of innovation, job security concerns) will you include when thinking about different experiences that employees may have within your organization? How are you considering multiple profiles in your change initiatives? When thinking about employee profiles in your organization, what unique experiences do they bring to the table? What change barriers might exist in your organization and what do you have in place that may help employees overcome those barriers? How might those change enabler efforts differ across your employee profiles? Adoption looks different across AI transformation profiles Looking at employee adoption behaviors across your organization can provide early indicators of how successful various change initiatives are and for whom. At the beginning of your transformation when you are still iterating and refining your long-term vision and goals, it can be helpful to examine usage metrics to see how often the AI tools are being used. In our study we asked respondents how often they use AI at work and sorted responses into four groups: High frequency (at least once a day) Moderate frequency (at least once a week) Low frequency (a few times a month or less) Never From this we found a large and meaningful relationship between AI transformation profiles and AI usage frequency. We can see that employees who are the most likely to engage with AI tools are the Multipliers – highly engaged employees who have had positive previous change experiences and have positive AI sentiments. Usage frequency follows a consistent downward pattern for the profiles, with the highest usage group for Advocates being Moderate Frequency, the highest usage group for Persuadables being Low Frequency, and the highest usage group for AI Skeptics and Change Pessimists being Never. What we learned from this was that change initiatives will not necessarily have the same impact on all employees. Seeing how each profile leverages AI to a different extent provides a key insight into how we can better target those groups. For example, reaching those AI Skeptics and Change Pessimists who never use AI might look different. For AI Skeptics, they are likely unsure about the technology in general, whereas Change Pessimists may not be using AI because they are overwhelmed by the associated business and workplace changes. Uncovering these profiles and knowing how they are adopting AI can better inform your AI transformation strategy. Certain profiles realize differentiated value from AI Further, it’s not just usage that will help you evaluate your change initiatives – how employees feel about using AI at work also provides a deeper level of context that helps change leaders provide a holistic transformation experience. In our study we explored a set out outcomes we call RIVA, or Realized Individual Value of AI. RIVA captures a myriad of ways that employees might see a direct impact of AI use on their day-to-day. Looking at RIVA enables us to see not just that people are using AI at work, but also that they actively recognize positive results from using AI. When comparing AI transformation profiles for RIVA scores overall (only for respondents who use AI at least at a low frequency), we found meaningful differences in RIVA between AI transformation profiles. In other words, how much value people were seeing from their AI use differed across the AI transformation profiles. The graph below outlines the six survey items that make up RIVA and presents percent favorable (Agree + Strongly Agree) scores for each profile. Our Multiplier and Advocate groups reported the highest RIVA of all the profiles, followed by the Persuadables. Only a small subset of AI Skeptics (25%) and Change Pessimists (43%) use AI and were therefore included in this analysis. Interestingly, of these employees, Change Pessimists reported higher RIVA than AI Skeptics, likely because AI Skeptics have the most negative sentiments toward AI. Even with the small number of AI Skeptics and Change Pessimists who do use AI, it’s interesting to see where they are more likely to see value in AI. Around half of AI Skeptics, Change Pessimists, and Persuadables agree that AI allows them to complete tasks faster – an often described “quick win scenario” of leveraging AI. However, when the value becomes less tangible, such as reducing stress or improving decision-making, then we start to see a drop off in favorability. This suggests that change leaders may need to provide additional support and use cases to translate the more “transformational” benefits of AI usage to all employee profiles. This can be done by sharing tactics for leveraging AI that aligns with key business needs specific to the users’ role. Consider the examples in the Microsoft Copilot Scenario Library which provides a variety of AI use-cases across functional areas. We also see nuances in what value AI Skeptics and Change Pessimists see in AI at work. Where AI Skeptics more often report that AI simplifies their complex tasks, Change Pessimists more often report that AI helps them be more productive and make better decisions. This distinction is important because it shows that even though both profiles are hesitant about AI, their reasons for hesitation and the value they see in AI are not the same. Putting all of this into context, it becomes clear that our AI transformation initiatives should be mindful that while AI adoption might feel like flipping a switch for some employees, with certain profiles jumping right into AI transformation, for other groups, it will be more gradual. Better understanding the profiles of those groups can indicate where additional, nuanced support may be required. Change the context, not the person Where an employee may currently fall in a particular AI transformation profile is not static – meaning that as an employee’s environment and experiences change, so will their sentiments around engagement, change, and AI, causing shifts between profiles. Therefore, if you want to increase the likelihood that employees will use AI and see value, AI transformations must embody the basics of change best practices and address the unique needs for employees across the profiles. Each of the AI transformation profiles brings a unique set of strengths and needs to your organization’s AI transformation and change initiatives – supporting the need for targeted approaches that meet employees where they are. While these actions will look different for the employee profiles in your organization, the critical takeaway is that all types of profiles can be an asset to your AI transformation. For example, your Multipliers may have higher Daily Active Usage, but your Change Pessimists may help you create a training program that works for all skill and interest levels. Our takeaway from this AI transformation profile deep dive is further underscoring that everyone has different feelings and perspectives that shape their AI adoption journey and how immediately they will be ready to for your company’s AI transformation. Organizations who succeed in bringing their employees along, through clear communication and ongoing employee feedback, are likely to craft a change strategy that meets their people where they are without judgement. We learned that it’s not solely interest in AI that drives adoption, but also current engagement and previous experience with organizational change. Focusing on critical EX moments and relying on strong change management fundamentals remain critical during this transformation to ensure that no employee groups get left behind. As we continue to navigate the developing landscape of AI, we will continue to learn what our employees need to feel empowered as their skills expand, their tasks evolve, and their work transforms. By seeking to understand the unique employee profiles in your organization, you can better tailor your support to meet their specific needs, fostering a more inclusive and effective AI transformation. Stay tuned for our December Research Drop to keep up with what the Viva People Science team is learning!Ignite 2024: New innovation for the AI-powered workforce
Three years ago, we launched Microsoft Viva to help organizations transform the employee experience. Today, Viva has grown to over 66 million monthly active users, including users of the Microsoft 365 suite. Over the past three years, the rapid growth of AI has had a significant impact on the employee experience, reshaping how work gets done and how employees work together. As organizations take the next step on their AI journey, it will be important to look beyond the tools to the most critical factor of success – the readiness and adoption of the new AI workforce. Today at Microsoft Ignite, we announced new capabilities designed to help you better understand and engage this new AI-powered workforce, including a new employee assistant that can surface organizational knowledge and information to employees in real time, new measurement and communications tools integrated into Microsoft 365 Copilot, and new AI-powered capabilities to help you accelerate the adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot in your organization. Here are some of the highlights: For today’s workforce, there’s a unique opportunity to harness the power of AI to reimagine the day-to-day employee experience. One of the biggest challenges for employees today is finding the right resources for key HR and IT issues and taking action. To address this need, we are launching the Employee Self-Service Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, a new set of capabilities designed to answer policy questions and complete workplace services tasks, starting with HR and IT, for faster resolution times and a streamlined employee experience. The agent is customizable in Copilot Studio, where admins can use a variety of tools including editable pre-configured workflows connected to authoritative knowledge sources like SharePoint, and Microsoft-built connectors to HR and IT systems of record like Workday, ServiceNow, and SAP, as well as a library of tailored responses to sensitive topics. This new agent is available in private preview. >>For more details, read the Employee Self-Service Agent blog One of the top priorities for business leaders is understanding the business impact of AI, including employee adoption and ROI. To help with this, we announced today that Viva Insights will be included in Microsoft 365 Copilot at no additional cost, as part of the new Copilot Analytics. Copilot Analytics provides out-of-the-box experiences to measure Copilot adoption and business impact, customizable reporting for deeper analysis, and the new Copilot Business Impact Report for analyzing Copilot usage against business KPIs across Sales, Finance, Marketing and more. The Copilot Business Impact Report is in public preview and Copilot Analytics will be generally available in early 2025. >> For more details, read the Copilot Analytics blog For customers who are looking for a more complete picture of the employee work experience, we are excited to announce the general availability of Viva Glint + Viva Insights integration. This integration will enable customers to layer data on how employees work from Viva Insights onto the employee feedback data collected through Viva Glint for a holistic view of the employee experience. >> For more details, read the Viva Insights + Viva Glint Integration blog Effective communication is the backbone of any successful AI-powered organization. Soon Microsoft Teams will integrate core capabilities from Viva Engage, bringing new ways for leaders and employees to share and connect across the organization. We also announced that starting in H1 2025 you will be able to surface Viva Engage Q&A and Viva Connections dashboard cards (ACEs) directly within Microsoft 365 Copilot. >> For more details, read the What’s New in Viva for Communicators blog And lastly, to further help you accelerate employee engagement and technology adoption within your organization, we are expanding the generative AI capabilities embedded across Microsoft Viva. Whether you are looking for help to draft more engaging employee communications or simplifying data analysis for business leaders, Copilot in Microsoft Viva can help. Last year, we announced our first set of Copilot in Viva experiences, and today we are excited to share even more capabilities, including: o Copilot in Viva Amplify: Revolutionize the way you create and enhance content for your Viva Amplify campaigns. Use Copilot for writing assistance, including helping you adjust the tone of your content to ensure your message lands the way you want it to. This feature is now generally available. o Copilot in Viva Glint: Help business leaders and HR analysts easily understand, interpret and act on employee feedback. Leverage Copilot to quickly summarize employee comments and double click into specific groups and teams using feature attributes. This feature is now generally available. For more details, read our Learn article. o Copilot in Viva Insights: Simplify the query building process for analysts and expedite results. Ask Copilot to suggest report templates, metrics, filters, and attributes that are relevant to your analysis to create custom queries for analysis This feature is now in private preview. For more, read our Learn article. Learn more and get started: For more details on all of these announcements, join our Microsoft Ignite breakout session live (Reimagining the Employee Experience with AI and Agents) on Friday, November 22 at 9:00AM CT or watch on-demand. Check out our other Ignite on-demand sessions: Measure AI adoption and value with Copilot Dashboard and Employee communications for the AI workforce Learn how customers, like Campari, SACE, and CDW are using Viva and Copilot to drive AI transformation. Read more announcements from this week’s event on the Microsoft 365 blog and Viva Community blog.
3 Steps to Build Psychological Safety on Your Team
Did you know that employees with lower psychological safety at work are 4x as likely to indicate a desire to quit their jobs? And 31% indicate they are not motivated to do their best work.[1] Research suggests that psychological safety is a key component of healthy team dynamics. Unfortunately, many managers don’t know what they can do to help cultivate it on their teams, and HR doesn’t always have the bandwidth or guidance on how to help them. There are, however, practical actions managers can take to begin building psychological safety on their teams. We’ve summarized three of these actions in the article below, or for an in-depth overview, watch the following video of our webinar, "Building Psychological Safety on Your Team." We’ve summarized three of these actions in the article below, or for an in-depth overview, watch the following video of our webinar, "Building Psychological Safety on Your Team." Continue reading to learn how to begin building psychological safety on your team or share with your managers to help them get started. What is psychological safety? Broadly speaking, psychological safety means that a team has a common understanding that they can take risks, share their thoughts and worries, ask questions, and acknowledge errors without fear of negative consequences. It is having confidence that no one will embarrass, belittle or reject them for speaking up. When we have psychological safety, people feel easy about asking for the help and getting the support they need to be successful in their job. In short, psychological safety is the key foundation for healthy, high-functioning teams who are able to be agile, creative and happy. Microsoft People Scientist Craig Ramsay researches employee wellbeing and belonging in the workplace. He identifies psychological safety as a key component of employee wellbeing needs and says a “psychologically safe environment promotes interpersonal trust and higher team performance.”[2] It’s safe to acknowledge that psychological safety is a net positive. But how crucial is it for work? Is this a nice-to-have or is it a critical component for high-functioning teams? The data on psychological safety speaks volumes about its significance. Psychological safety is perhaps the most crucial foundation for successful and engaged teams and should therefore be something that managers actively work on. While the task of beginning to build psychological safety on your team might feel intimidating, we have three strategies to help you get started. 1. Check your negative reactivity One of the first steps to fostering psychological safety is to check reactivity that is defensive or negative. Negative reactivity is an impulsive response often characterized by knee-jerk reactions. This can look like anything from a sudden feeling of defensiveness, racing heart, irritation, feeling insulted, flash of anger, or a desire to reject or shut down the person by explaining why they’re wrong. Managers who react this way teach their employees that it isn’t safe to express their questions, concerns, or feelings. Conversely, managers who react to their employees with openness, curiosity, and respect help foster an environment of inclusion. There are two guideposts to help you begin working on checking your negative reactivity: 1. Build self-awareness a. If you notice yourself feeling activated (irritated, insulted, etc.) by something one of your employees is saying, take a step back (“let’s circle back to this later”). Slowing down and pausing to self-reflect often provides greater clarity & allows more precision in your response. 2. Resist taking it personally a. It’s natural to relate things back to yourself, but strong leadership means recognizing that while sometimes it is about you, sometimes it’s not. Ask follow-up questions to resist taking things personally and to get more insight into what your employee is expressing. This kind of response replaces blame with curiosity and supports a safe and honest environment for everyone. 2. Listen without agenda Another strategy for cultivating psychological safety is to listen without agenda. Listening without agenda is a practice where the listener’s primary focus is on understanding and empathizing with the speaker rather than problem-solving or explaining. Managers often fall into the trap of thinking that listening to their employees is either to get new information or to solve their problems. But listening is also about being with people, seeing and hearing them, and being humans together. Listening without agenda is a strategy for putting this into practice by cultivating genuine curiosity and openness to the speaker’s message without trying to control the conversation or impose one’s own ideas. This kind of listening builds trust between managers and their employees by demonstrating respect for people’s perspectives and experiences. When leaders actively listen without judgment, they signal that they value their employees’ contributions and are open to learning from them. 3. Model the vulnerability you hope to see Lastly, model the vulnerability you hope to see. Trust is cultivated over time and cannot be achieved by simply declaring oneself a safe manager and expecting immediate, complete transparency from the team. People are more inclined to risk vulnerability when they see it’s received well, when they see that it’s not punished, interpreted as weakness or dismissed. Managers can model this to employees by admitting and normalizing mistakes. Emphasize the growth that comes from mistakes by sharing what you’ve learned and how it impacts future decisions. In short, model to employees that the emphasis is on growing, learning, becoming better and not getting it 100% right every time. This practice makes room for human error and invites risk-taking and creativity. By admitting fallibility, leaders build a foundation of trust where it’s safe to make mistakes, to not know something, and to have room to improve. Modeled vulnerability encourages team members to share their own vulnerabilities, leading to a more open and authentic workplace. Conclusion Building psychological safety on your team is essential for fostering a productive and innovative work environment. By checking your reactivity, listening without agenda, and modeling the vulnerability you hope to see, managers can create a culture where team members feel safe to express their thoughts, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences. These practices not only enhance team dynamics but also contribute to an inclusive and innovative work environment where everyone can thrive. To learn more, access our latest resource on this topic here: Earn a badge by taking our “Build Psychological Safety” learning pathway [1] 2024 Work in America Survey: Psychological Safety in the Changing Workplace (apa.org) [2] Craig Ramsay, “Employee Happiness and Success in the New World of Work,” People Success 2.0 Research. April 2024
