Research, frameworks, and the evidence base for workforce AI
Every article on this page is referenced against a named source — Gartner, Mercer, Korn Ferry, McKinsey, PwC, or a specific regulatory instrument. No generic AI optimism. No doom scrolling. Just the evidence CHROs need.
Inside the Augmented Role Design Method
How to rebuild a job around the tasks AI can't do — and why O*NET is where you start
Augmented Role Design (ARD™) is a four-step method for redesigning roles for human-AI coexistence. It starts at the task level, not the job level — and that single choice is what makes it defensible in a board conversation.
Four Regulations, One Compliance Calendar
EU AI Act Articles 13-14, Colorado SB 24-205, NYC LL144, UK EHRC — the CHRO's 2026 obligation map
Four concurrent regulatory regimes now create CHRO-specific AI obligations. If you operate in any of these jurisdictions, the question has moved from 'should we' to 'by when'. Here is the calendar, with the teeth on each.
What Stalled AI Projects Share
Field patterns from Rescue & Restart engagements — and why the failure is almost never the model
Nearly 50% of enterprise AI projects are being abandoned. The patterns that cause the stall are remarkably consistent — and remarkably fixable — if the diagnostic starts with the workforce, not the model.
EU AI Act: What CHROs Need to Know Before 2026 Enforcement
Articles 13 and 14 create new obligations for HR teams using AI in workforce decisions.
The EU AI Act's high-risk provisions affect every organization using AI in hiring, promotion, or workforce management. Here's what the transparency and human oversight requirements mean in practice.
The Gallup Manager Effect: 8.8× — The Most Important Number in Your AI Adoption Programme
One Gallup finding should change how every CHRO structures their AI rollout
When managers actively support AI use, employees are 8.8× as likely to say AI helps them do what they do best. That's not a soft finding — it's the strongest predictor of meaningful AI adoption in the current evidence base.
Why Generic AI Training Doesn't Change Behavior — and What Does
Completion rates look great. Behavior change is zero. Here's what's missing.
Most organizations are investing in AI literacy programmes that feel productive but don't move the needle. The problem isn't the content — it's the design. Role-specific, context-embedded learning is the only approach that creates lasting behavior change.
The EU AI Act Workforce Obligations: What CHROs Need to Know Before August 2026
Articles 13–14 create direct workforce transparency and human oversight requirements — not just IT compliance tasks
The EU AI Act's enforcement date for high-risk AI systems is August 2026. Articles 13 and 14 create specific obligations around worker transparency and human oversight that sit squarely in the CHRO's lane — not IT's.
The Rescue Playbook: What We've Learned from Stalled AI Projects
Nearly half of all AI projects are being abandoned. The patterns are remarkably consistent.
After working with organizations recovering from failed AI implementations, we've identified the three root causes that account for the majority of stalled projects — and none of them are technical.
AI Workforce Readiness Is a Leadership Problem, Not a Training Problem
The organizations getting AI adoption right aren't spending more on training. They're leading differently.
When McKinsey reports that only 6% of workers feel effectively prepared for AI, the reflex is to invest more in training. But the data points somewhere else entirely — to leadership, narrative, and institutional trust.
O*NET and the Augmented Workforce: Why Occupational Science Should Drive Your Role Redesign
Role redesign without evidence is just rewriting job descriptions. Here's what evidence-based looks like.
O*NET — the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network — contains task-level data for thousands of occupational categories. It's the most reliable evidence base for AI augmentation analysis, and most CHROs have never heard of it.
Copilot in Financial Services: What the Rollout Data Actually Shows
Large-scale Microsoft Copilot deployments in financial services are producing a consistent adoption pattern — and it's not the one the vendors projected
Enterprise Copilot rollouts in financial services firms are revealing a consistent pattern: strong initial engagement, 60-day plateau, then divergence between teams whose managers actively support use and those who don't. The Gallup data predicted this exactly.
We Built This Because the Other Options Weren't Good Enough
A founding perspective on why workforce AI readiness needs its own specialist — not a slide in an HR tech pitch
The market for AI workforce readiness support is populated by generic L&D providers, HR tech platforms with workforce analytics bolt-ons, and management consultancies who added 'AI workforce transformation' to their capabilities slide in 2023. None of them were built for this problem.