How HR Can Lead, Not Lag, in the Age of AI

AI is no longer just a future trend. It's here, shifting how we hire, develop, engage, and manage our people. But as the world of work transforms, the question for HR leaders isn’t just what AI can do. It’s how we respond.

Too often, HR is positioned to react to AI strategies dreamt up by tech or innovation teams. But what if HR took the lead?

In our latest episode of The Strategic Leader, we sat down with Naureen Hussain, a specialist in privacy, governance and responsible AI, to unpack this enormous question: how can HR lead the AI revolution?

Start at Strategy, Not at the Tools

Naureen’s advice is clear, don’t start with the tech. Start with your strategy.

“Get your current HR strategy out and stress test it in an AI context,” she advises. “Is it still fit for purpose? Does it align with your organisation’s broader AI direction?”

It’s tempting to focus on tools or shiny new features, especially as HR platforms quietly bake in AI functionality behind the scenes. But resisting that temptation and zooming out to the strategic horizon is what separates reactive teams from strategic leaders.

Why HR’s Role Is Uniquely Positioned to Lead

HR has always had a panoramic view of the organisation. While other functions often work in silos, HR understands the whole system, and is deeply connected to the people who keep that system alive.

That unique positioning means HR is not just invited to the table, it should be driving the conversation.

• What’s the AI strategy at organisational level?

• Who is owning it?

• How will it impact roles, skills and team structures in three to five years?

• And crucially, what’s HR’s role in shaping a response?

Naureen shared that 60% of jobs will be impacted by AI in some way. Not all will disappear, but many will change. Roles will be redefined. Some will require upskilling. Others may vanish altogether. The earlier HR is in the room, the more effectively it can plan for this shift.

Trust and Transparency, More Than Buzzwords

One of the most unexpected takeaways, trust is a strategic enabler of AI adoption.

“If people don’t trust the tech, they won’t use it, or worse, they’ll hide it,” said Naureen.

HR has a powerful role in normalising how AI is used, where it fits (and doesn’t), and ensuring psychological safety in this period of change. Are we encouraging openness or breeding fear? Are we clear on when and how AI tools are being used in recruitment, performance reviews, or employee listening?

Clarity builds trust. Trust builds adoption.

Practical Starting Points for HR

If all of this feels big, it’s because it is. But here’s where Naureen recommends starting:

1. Stress Test Your HR Strategy

Ask, what shifts when AI enters the picture? Which assumptions no longer hold?

2. Audit the Tech Stack

Map where AI is already embedded, both visibly and invisibly, in your current platforms and processes.

3. Prioritise One Use Case

Pick one phase of the employee lifecycle, for example recruitment, and pilot a focused AI use case. Measure it. Learn from it. Iterate.

“It’s better to go deep on one area than scatter efforts across many without tangible value,” says Naureen.

4. Segment Roles by AI Impact

Which roles are likely to be most affected? Think beyond job titles, look at tasks. Which ones are repetitive? Which ones could be assisted or replaced by AI?

5. Consider the Human Impact

From DEI considerations to generational or socioeconomic implications, this shift will be felt unevenly. HR’s lens on equity and inclusion has never been more vital.

Governance Isn’t the Enemy of Innovation

Let’s be honest, governance can feel like a buzzkill. But reframed, it becomes a strategic safeguard.

“Good governance tells you when the assumptions in your strategy no longer hold,” explains Naureen.

It’s not about creating red tape, it’s about creating rigour. Especially in a VUCA world, volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, governance frameworks help HR leaders make confident, strategic decisions with evolving tech.

Final Thought, Be the Critical Friend

AI is often seen as a technical challenge. But at its core, it’s a human one. HR has the chance to step forward, not just to support adoption, but to shape it.

Naureen puts it best:

“HR leaders should act as the critical friend, of technology, of each other, and of the wider business. Ask the hard questions. Challenge assumptions. Make sure we’re not sleepwalking into another Horizon-style scandal.”

As always, strategy doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means asking better questions.

Let’s lead from there.