To build a future-ready and agile workforce, it is essential to foster a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
Establishing governance structures, such as AI Councils, helps ensure technological innovation aligns with company values and compliance, which consequently builds trust.
Addressing resource allocation and managing expectations are also important to ensure effective AI implementation.
Recent research from Gartner on the integration of AI into supply chain organisations has shown that high levels of anxiety around AI can lead to lower-than-expected productivity.[1]
Yet a 2024 Gartner survey showed that only 13% of CIOs in EMEA were focusing on mitigating the negative impacts of GenAI on employee wellbeing.[2]
Meet concerns with clarity
So, how can enterprises create an AI-positive culture? To begin with, they need to fight fear and rumour with information.
Jocelyn Zanasi, SVP and General Manager for Professional Services at Salesforce UK&I, has worked extensively with teams implementing AI projects.
“We hear the same reactions we get when we’re talking about a transformation of any kind,” she says. ‘What does it mean for me? Will it make my life easier? Will I be OK as a result? Once we’ve answered those questions, folks tend to move on to ‘OK, what’s the opportunity to be had?’’
Build an AI council
Without an explicit AI strategy and policies, AI usage can become a free for all, with employees using unsanctioned AI tools and potentially leaking information. The best way to combat this is with an AI council. Consisting of key stakeholders from across IT, security, finance and line of business teams, this performs three functions.
Firstly, it sets the tone for AI usage and establishes policies for how it should be used. Secondly, it establishes guardrails around what data is being used, along with where and how.
Finally, an AI council or operations manager keeps humans in the loop, so that they can check that AI copilots or agents are producing accurate results that deliver the expected business value.
This involves continuous testing and refinement of both the agents and the prompts used to control them, setting further guardrails if either throws up risks or ethical concerns.
‘Trust has to have accountability,” says Zanasi. “If you do not have an accountability for AI, being out there with your customers, with your internal employees, you’re going to lose trust almost instantly.”
Setting up an AI council now creates a more stable foundation for future use, as AI projects will evolve from simple, single-task copilots to autonomous agents developed to follow more sophisticated goals.
Develop an agent-ready culture
Organisations should also embrace employee enthusiasm, giving workers a safe space to try new ideas.
“I’m saying ‘go and experiment’. This is where the joy and innovation comes from,” says Zanasi, “but experiment in a sandbox. Experiment with specific parameters on limited data. Experiment and get going, be decisive.”
Through courses, certifications and guided experimentation, employees grow in confidence and develop AI skills. What’s more, they uncover new use cases.
By matching AI agents to tasks that burn time or drain resources, businesses can improve employee buy-in and smooth their path to growth.
‘That’s really the game changer’ says Zanasi, ‘allowing anyone in any role to simply be better at their job and be in a situation where they can do more with their resources.’
Building the right culture ensures AI delivers a positive human and business impact.
“I’ve got to let the human know how it’s going to benefit them and why we’re doing it,” Zanasi adds, “so they can understand it, like any change.”
Build a future ready workforce
By delivering that information with clarity, setting up an AI council, harnessing employees’ excitement around innovation and actively developing their AI skills, firms can build a knowledge-sharing culture that drives AI success. Once workers experience the impact agents have on liberating them from time and resource-draining tasks, they won’t want to go back.
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[1]Gartner: GenAI tools create anxiety among employees, DCVelocity.com, 5/2/25
[2]Gartner Says CIOs Need to Overcome Four Emerging Challenges to Deliver Value With AI, 4/11/24