Organizational Readiness, Not Employee Resistance to Change, Is the Biggest Barrier to AI Success

Why It Matters

Without addressing process and skill gaps, firms risk squandering AI investments and falling behind competitors. Enhancing organizational readiness directly drives AI ROI and sustainable growth.

Key Takeaways

• Employees increasingly adopt AI, 52% regular use
• Only 6% cite resistance as top AI hurdle
• 76% say processes impede AI implementation
• HR must lead AI strategy and redesign roles
• Lack of expertise and business understanding hinder AI rollout

Pulse Analysis

The conversation around artificial intelligence in the enterprise is evolving from fear of employee pushback to a focus on structural preparedness. Recent Qualtrics data, covering 34,000 workers across 24 nations, shows a majority of staff energized by AI, with more than half using the technology daily. Parallel findings from Celonis, based on 1,600 senior leaders, confirm that resistance ranks at the bottom of AI hurdles, while process inertia and skill shortages dominate the landscape. This shift signals that cultural acceptance is no longer the bottleneck; the real challenge lies in aligning operations with AI capabilities.

Operational readiness demands a holistic overhaul of workflows, data pipelines, and decision‑making frameworks. Over three‑quarters of surveyed executives admit that legacy processes are stalling AI initiatives, and nearly half cite insufficient internal expertise as a critical barrier. Human‑resource functions are emerging as pivotal change agents, tasked with redesigning job roles, incentivizing human‑AI collaboration, and upskilling workforces to interpret algorithmic outputs. By embedding AI considerations into process mapping and performance metrics, organizations can transform friction into measurable value, boosting productivity, compliance, and revenue.

Strategically, companies that prioritize readiness stand to capture superior returns on AI investments. Leaders must allocate resources toward process automation, cross‑functional data governance, and continuous learning programs that bridge the expertise gap. Embedding AI strategy within the broader business agenda—rather than treating it as a siloed technology project—creates an "agentic enterprise" capable of rapid adaptation. As AI continues to mature, firms that proactively refine their operational foundations will secure a competitive edge and sustain long‑term growth.

Organizational readiness, not employee resistance to change, is the biggest barrier to AI success

February 20, 2026 at 10:11 AM GMT · By: Allie Nawrat

Leaders and employees are on board with AI – they aren't scared of change, and they see the AI benefits for themselves as individuals, but also for organizations. However, organizational processes are struggling to keep up and are not managing the AI change well. That's according to two new research reports from Qualtrics and Celonis. UNLEASH delves into the data, and talks to executives from the two tech companies to explore how to fix the AI readiness problem.

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Change is the only constant in this age of uncertainty

As UNLEASH America 2026 keynote Peter Hinssen shared in a recent exclusive interview: “I don’t think we’re ever going to have a normal” – instead, there will be a relentless, “continuous flow” of innovation and disruption. Change and uncertainty is “not a storm” – “this is the climate” for businesses across the world.

The good news is that employees no longer see change as the enemy. That’s according to new data from experience giant Qualtrics.

Qualtrics surveyed 34,000 workers in 24 countries and found that employees are on board with technological disruption. As Qualtrics Chief Workplace Psychologist Benjamin Granger tells UNLEASH:

“Our research shows that employees aren’t wilting under transformation. Actually, it’s the opposite, they’re energized by it.”

“Workers are well aware that the world is changing and if they feel stagnant in their organizations and jobs, it becomes abundantly clear that they’re being left behind.”

Employees are embracing AI in droves; Qualtrics found that 52 % of workers are regularly using AI (up seven points from 2025), because they see the benefits of AI for them and their employers.

Credit: Qualtrics.

The problem is that one in three workers are neutral about AI and still don’t see how it will change their work.

“If change isn’t the real threat, what is? Unmanaged change,” notes Granger.

These conclusions align with recent research from data giant Celonis (survey of 1,600 business leaders). Only 6 % of leaders said resistance to change was the top hurdle to AI ROI – it ranks at the bottom among AI hurdles.

“The biggest barrier to enterprise AI success isn’t ambition or access to technology, it’s a lack of readiness,” adds Celonis SVP for North America, UKI & MEA Rupal Karia, when discussing Celonis’ findings.

This fact must be a wake‑up call for leaders, in HR and beyond. The question that remains is: What actions do they need to take in response?

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How to overcome readiness challenges and reap the AI ROI rewards

Leaders are excited about AI – 89 % of them told Celonis that AI is their biggest opportunity to compete, 83 % believe AI will deliver greater ROI in 2026 than in 2025, and 85 % want to be mature enough with AI to classify themselves as an “agentic enterprise” within three years.

As a result, “leaders no longer need to decide whether to deploy AI, but how they’ll turn their AI ambitions into reality,” notes Karia.

“76 % admit that their current processes are holding them back,” he adds.

Credit: Celonis.

Nearly half (47 %) said their top hurdle in adopting AI was lack of internal expertise, while 45 % noted difficulties with getting AI to understand the business.

“The organizational readiness challenge is as much a people and skills challenge as it is an operational one,” continues Karia.

“HR no longer simply supports AI rollouts but actively shapes AI strategy and implementation,” which means “understanding new ways of working where AI is present and redesigning jobs and incentives around human‑AI collocation,” adds Karia.

Granger from Qualtrics notes that HR and business leaders need to work together to figure out “where employees need to be supported, and what tools and changes help them to adapt and perform.”

Success with AI isn’t about doing more, but doing what matters.

To do this, businesses need to ground “transformation efforts in a clear, data‑driven view of end‑to‑end processes” – these processes must be aligned with “workforce strategies that enable effective human‑AI collaboration and ensure AI removes friction, delivering measurable value for both employees and the organization.”

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About the author

Allie Nawrat – Chief Reporter, UNLEASH

Allie is an award‑winning business journalist and can be reached at [email protected].