Have you planned in our 2026 budget for the critical skills you need to drive AI transformation?

By Elizabeth McFarlan Scott

As we wrap up budget planning for 2026, HR leaders must be thinking about their headcount planning in a new way – what skills and capabilities do you need on your team to operate in a rapidly changing world with AI in order to meet your business expectations? Certainly, part of the equation for the organization overall is to ensure you have the right technical talent and skills. Do we have enough data scientists? Who understands machine learning models? Should we be hiring AI engineers straight out of Stanford? These questions matter, but successful transformation does not hinge on deep technical expertise alone.

The organizations that are truly moving forward with AI aren’t led only by technical excellence. They’re propelled by something perhaps less novel and tangible, but far more impactful: the critical human skills that make transformation happen and drive adoption. These are the skills that turn technology into practical business outcomes, that help employees adapt, and that keep the organization moving forward even when AI tools are still imperfect.

And here’s the truth: they’re often the very skills that are underestimated and unplanned for.

Technical Expertise Simply Isn’t Enough

It’s easy to assume that if we invest in AI capability, the rest will follow. But the reality inside most companies looks different. Teams struggle with outdated processes that weren’t designed for automation. Leaders wrestle with questions of fairness, governance, and reskilling long before an algorithm is even deployed. Employees hesitate to embrace new tools when they don’t see the benefit or feel uncertain about their future roles.

None of these challenges are solved by coding ability or algorithmic know-how. They’re solved by critical human capabilities: analyzing work processes, guiding change, building trust, and helping people see the opportunities ahead.

The Critical Skills Needed

As you embark on your own AI journey in your team or organization, these are the critical skills you need on your team to really make the difference in whether AI transformation succeeds or not:

• Business process analysis. AI can’t add value if it’s simply layered on top of broken workflows. The real work starts with rethinking how tasks flow, which ones should be automated, and where human judgment adds the most value. Leaders who can bring that lens to their functions are worth their weight in gold.

  
  

• Change management. No AI pilot succeeds without it. Rolling out a chatbot or predictive tool isn’t just a system implementation. It’s a shift in how employees do their work every day. Leaders need the skill to help teams let go of the old, embrace the new, and understand the “why” behind it all.

  
  

• Judgment and decision-making. AI will increasingly offer recommendations, but it’s humans who decide what to do with them. That means sharpening the ability to weigh ethical considerations, customer impact, and long-term consequences, not just the efficiency gains in the short term.

  
  

• Curiosity and adaptability. The employees who thrive in AI-enabled organizations are not necessarily the ones who know the most about neural networks, but who lean in, experiment with tools, and reimagine their workflows. Leaders must model this behavior themselves and recruit for it in others.

Why HR Has to Lead

HR is uniquely placed to help the organization define, invest and build these skills. Recruiting practices can screen for AI curiosity. Learning programs can equip leaders with the confidence to experiment with AI tools while strengthening their soft skills. Career frameworks can create reskilling pathways for employees whose repetitive tasks are being automated, guiding them toward roles that demand judgment, creativity, and collaboration.

Just as importantly, HR can help the business measure outcomes that matter. Instead of tracking only technical adoption, HR can help track workforce readiness, employee engagement, and the pace of reskilling - the true indicators of whether AI is delivering value in practice.

A Shift in Perspective

Success with AI depends on skills like process analysis, change leadership, and sound judgment that turn AI from a tool into a real business transformation.  As we help the business - and ourselves - plan for 2026, it is critical to build in the strategies and practical steps to build these skills and capabilities in your organization.

Leaders who recognize these often overlooked skills and the HR team that helps elevate their priority alongside technical expertise will be the ones who turn AI into a sustained competitive advantage.