Bengaluru, Nov 19th : Biz Staffing Comrade Pvt Ltd, a renowned name in the HR realm which provides a wide range of recruitment and selection services to diverse companies released the results of its survey held at the HR Conclave recently. As artificial intelligence moves to the core of enterprise transformation, 59.1 percent of HR leaders believe that lack of trust in AI-driven decision-making is the single biggest barrier to its adoption. 27.3 percent pointed to insufficient communication and change management, indicating that many organisations are struggling to articulate the purpose, impact and expected outcome of AI adoption. 9.1 percent stated leadership hesitation or lack of clarity reflecting uncertainty at the top level around how to steer AI initiatives. While only 4.5 percent cited fear of job loss – challenging the popular belief that resistance to AI is driven by job insecurity.
The insight emerged from Biz Staffing Comrade’s HR Leaders’ Roundtable on “The Human Enterprise in an AI World” moderated by Achyuta Ghosh, Executive Research Leader at HFS Research, which convened more than 30 senior HR and Talent Acquisition leaders from India’s leading product and technology organisations. During the event, several questions were posed to the HR leaders to gain insights into their views on various strategic topics. The dialogue revealed that while Indian enterprises are keen to embed AI into their operations, trust and transparency – not technology – are emerging as the true markers of readiness.
This data challenges a long-held assumption that employee resistance to AI stems from anxiety about automation. Instead, the barrier appears to lie in opacity and unclear communication – a pattern reflected in global studies showing that while AI capability has accelerated, confidence in its governance and explainability still lags behind.
AI Ambition Is High, But Execution Still Trails
While optimism around AI adoption runs high, readiness to scale AI transformation remains limited. Only 8 percent of HR leaders said their organisations were fully prepared and already scaling human + AI collaboration. Around 40 percent described themselves as partially prepared, experimenting in select functions, while 44 percent said they were at the pilot stage with limited adoption. Another 8 percent admitted they had not yet started and were still evaluating possibilities.
These findings place India’s readiness curve close to the global average, where most organisations remain in early or partial stages of adoption. While global enterprises are investing heavily in automation, true differentiation increasingly lies in human capability. For India, this presents an opportunity to convert its demographic and digital strengths into sustainable AI maturity.
Jasvinder Bedi, Managing Partner at Biz Staffing Comrade, said that the focus must now move from intent to implementation. India’s AI opportunity is massive, but it needs speed, structure, and leadership clarity to translate ambition into real adoption.
Building Capability, Not Just Hiring Talent
A key shift highlighted during the roundtable was the move from hiring for skills to building them internally. 38 percent of leaders said upskilling existing employees on AI, related competencies had become their top workforce priority. 25 percent were focused on hiring AI or data specialists, while 21 percent said they were restructuring roles to promote deeper collaboration between humans and machines, and a minority of 16 percent suggested that it is still too early to determine the impact of AI on talent priorities.
This marks a clear reorientation in talent strategy – from “buying capacity” to “building capability.” As AI continues to redefine work, organisations are realising that learning agility has become their strongest competitive edge. Globally, enterprises are shifting from one, off training programs to continuous learning ecosystems that keep pace with constant change.
Puneet Arora, Managing Partner at Biz Staffing Comrade, said
“the shift reflects a deeper evolution in leadership mindset. “Upskilling is no longer an HR initiative – it’s a core business priority. The key to success lies in building a resilient and adaptable workforce, equipped with the skills and mindset to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
Legacy inefficiencies threaten transformation
The discussion also underscored how enterprise debt, the accumulated inefficiencies of legacy systems and siloed processes, continues to slow AI adoption. Many organisations are finding that automation exposes structural weaknesses rather than eliminating them. Globally, such inefficiencies are estimated to represent trillions of dollars in lost productivity each year.
The roundtable concluded that AI may redefine the structure of work, but humans will continue to define its purpose. Technology can deliver efficiency, but enduring value will come from trust, adaptability, and inclusion. Participants agreed that the next decade will not be defined by how fast machines learn but by how wisely humans adapt. Organisations that combine transparency with technological capability, and empathy with efficiency, will lead this new phase of human + machine collaboration.