6 Ways to Build an
AI-Ready Culture

What an AI-Ready Culture Is and Why It Matters

“You can have the most powerful technology available, but if your organizational culture isn’t designed to use it, it’s just an expensive tool that no one uses.”
Michael Welch, Senior Client Partner, Korn Ferry

An AI-ready culture is not about having the biggest budget or the most advanced tools. And it is not about turning everyone into data scientists.

It is much simpler. It is a culture where people have the mindset, skills, and trust to work confidently with AI. They can experiment without fear of judgment. They're rewarded for outcomes, not hours logged. And they trust that the organization will support them through the transition, not replace them as AI takes on more tasks.

It’s an environment where AI can take root and deliver value. Think of it like soil quality. You can plant the best seeds in the world, but if the ground isn’t prepared, nothing grows. The same goes for AI.

“You can have the most powerful technology available, but if your organizational culture isn’t designed to use it, it’s just an expensive tool that no one uses,” says Welch.

Right now, most company cultures aren’t built for AI.

While 86 percent of employers believe AI will transform their businesses by 2030, not one CHRO says their organization is fully prepared to implement it, Korn Ferry data reveals.

The disconnect is clear. Organizations have the technology but not the environment for it to thrive. Building that environment, an AI-ready culture, takes work.

Here are six ways CHROs can start to close the gap.

6 Ways to Build an AI-Ready Culture

1. Lead with “Should We,” Not “Can We”

“Responsible AI starts with people. They need to know when to trust it and when to pause.”
Sarah Jensen Clayton, Senior Client Partner & Global Lead, Culture, Change & Communications Practice, Korn Ferry

AI can provide answers in seconds. The harder part is knowing when those answers are good enough to use. People need a shared sense of when to trust an output, when to check it, and when to set it aside.

With that clarity, teams pause when something feels off and ask questions sooner. They look under the hood instead of accepting results at face value. Over time, responsible judgment becomes the norm, and trust in AI grows.

2. Shift from Rewarding Activity to Rewarding Impact

Here’s the old playbook.

Show up early. Stay late. Fill your calendar. The busier you look, the more valuable you must be.

AI just made that playbook obsolete.

When AI can draft the report, analyze the data, and schedule the follow-ups, being busy stops meaning anything. What matters now is what actually gets done, including the decisions made, the problems solved, and the value created.

This is a fundamental shift, and most performance systems haven't caught up. Managers still track hours in meetings. Reviews still reward "went above and beyond" without asking, “beyond what, exactly?”

In an AI-ready culture, you measure what someone accomplished with AI as their partner, not how many tasks they personally touched.

A marketing manager who uses AI to generate customer insights in hours instead of days— that’s a win. It gives them time back to focus on higher-impact work.

3. Make It Safe to Experiment with AI

Most employees are caught between two fears. They worry about being replaced by AI or being left behind without the skills to use it.

So they either freeze, sticking to familiar routines, or use AI in secret because they're not sure what's allowed.

Before anyone touches an AI tool, people need to know it’s safe to try and safe to fail. That shows up when:

• Employees can test an AI tool on a low-stakes project without worrying their manager will question their judgment.
• Teams can talk about an AI workflow that didn’t work and share what they learned instead of worrying about blame.
• A mid-level employee can ask in a town hall, “How is this supposed to work?” without being made to feel incompetent.

When that environment exists, behavior changes.

People start experimenting with AI at work instead of after hours. They share prompts that worked and ones that didn't. They ask colleagues for help instead of pretending they've figured it out. Junior employees stop waiting for permission and start trying things.

This is how organizations move from stuck pilots to real AI adoption.

4. Reward Learning Agility Over Tenure

“People need a culture where development is part of the job, not an after-hours activity or a once-a-year workshop.”
Jen Bogdanowicz, Principal, Korn Ferry

The person who understands AI best in your organization probably isn’t in the C-suite. It’s the analyst who figured out how to collapse a two-day task into two hours and hasn’t said a word about it yet.

That should give traditionalists pause. In many organizations, credibility still comes from years of experience. You earn your seat at the table by mastering a domain, proving your expertise, and building a track record. Seniority gets the promotion.

A junior employee with the right AI tools may not match a senior expert’s judgment or depth. But they can close part of the gap faster than ever before. And when that happens, tenure matters a little less. What becomes more important is learning agility—how fast someone can pick up new skills, adapt, and put those skills to work.

Organizations built solely on static expertise will fall behind those built on people who are empowered to learn quickly and given the freedom to keep adapting.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella calls this the shift from "know-it-alls" to "learn-it-alls."

In a growth mindset culture, he argues, curiosity beats brilliance. People who can learn, unlearn, and relearn will outpace those defending what they already know.

And your people get it. In fact, sixty-three percent of employees say they'd stay at a job they hate if it gave them opportunities to upskill quickly. When organizations train people specifically in AI, their discretionary effort—the extra energy people put into their work—jumps by 61 percent.

“They’re not resisting change. They’re hungry for it,” notes Bogdanowicz. “People need permission to experiment. They need time to learn. And they need a culture where development is part of the job, not an after-hours activity or a once-a-year workshop.”

5. Break Down Silos to Unlock AI's Full Potential

AI can analyze millions of data points in seconds. But it can’t break down the walls between your departments. That’s still on you.

Most companies still operate in silos. Marketing doesn’t know what Sales is hearing. Finance runs forecasts without talking to Operations. HR designs programs without input from the business units they support.

It’s not malicious. It’s simply how organizations evolved. Departments own their data, protect their budgets, and focus on their own KPIs.

But AI changes the game. It can pull insights from customer service data and feed them directly into product development. It can connect sales conversations with marketing strategy. It can identify patterns that only show up when you look across functions, not within them.

The technology makes cross-functional thinking possible at scale, but only if your culture rewards it.

When Procter & Gamble (P&G) gave AI tools to their research and development (R&D) and commercial teams, the walls came down. Engineers started pitching brand strategy. Marketers started proposing R&D solutions. AI didn't just connect their data. It connected their thinking.

And teams became three times more likely to deliver breakthrough ideas.

6. Enable People to Make Decisions with AI

When people have access to real-time information, decisions should not wait for a handful of leaders. They can sit with the people doing the work—as long as those people know what good judgment looks like.

Empowerment works when people feel supported and know what to look for in an AI output. When teams understand how to blend AI insight with organizational values, decisions become faster and easier to trust.

Getting Started with an AI-Ready Culture

Leaders set the tone for how the organization will work with AI. Small early steps help people understand what is changing and how everyday decisions should shift. Here are a few practical ways to get started.

• Raise your leadership team’s AI fluency
  No single leader owns AI readiness. Help your senior team build the mindsets and skills they need to guide others with confidence. When leaders learn together, they signal that AI is part of how the whole business moves forward.
• Measure culture in real time
  You cannot shift what you cannot see. Move beyond annual surveys and use real-time insight to understand how people are adapting. Simple pulse checks and AI-enabled tools can highlight patterns, at-risk teams, and where your efforts are having the most impact.
• Start with teams—the closest unit of culture
  Culture lives in teams. Give team leaders clear expectations, practical tool kits, and support to model AI-ready behaviors. Celebrate early wins, so progress spreads more quickly.
• Turn role disruption into a culture-building opportunity
  As AI reshapes work, be intentional about who you hire and how you develop them. Look for people who are curious and eager to learn. Train AI agents to follow the same cultural principles you expect from humans, so technology reinforces the behaviors you want to grow.
• Address fear directly and with honesty
  People cannot build new skills if it feels risky to ask questions. Create open spaces to talk about concerns and expectations. People leaders make the biggest difference when they communicate with clarity, empathy, and consistency.

AI-ready leaders understand that this is not a technology effort. It is human transformation. Culture determines whether AI strengthens your people or leaves them behind. The advantage will go to the organizations whose people can adapt and thrive.

Take the Next Step to Transform Your Culture

Building an AI-ready culture is just one part of the story. Real transformation takes a systematic approach to organizational change—one that reaches leadership, structure, processes, and mindsets at the same time. 

FAQs

How Will AI Affect Workplace Culture? 

AI changes what gets rewarded and who holds power. Organizations that value busyness, keep information within silos, or promote based on tenure will struggle. AI-ready cultures reward impact, encourage transparency, and prioritize learning agility.

As organizations adopt AI, cultural gaps surface quickly. Culture assessments and pulse checks show whether people are experimenting with AI, avoiding it, or using it only in isolated pockets. This helps leaders see where culture is helping, and where it’s holding people back.

What is an AI-Ready Culture?

An AI-ready culture is the foundation of successful AI adoption. It's an environment where people have the mindset, skills, and trust to work confidently with AI. It's not about having the fanciest tools. It's about creating a space where employees feel safe to experiment, leaders model curiosity, and the organization rewards outcomes over activity.

It also means understanding where AI will have the biggest impact. Not every role is equally exposed. Tools such as Korn Ferry’s AI Impact Score and AI readiness assessments help organizations see which jobs will be affected first and where to pilot, reskill, or redesign workflows.

How do You Build an AI-Ready Workplace Culture? 

Start with trust. People need to know they will not be judged for trying, asking questions, or getting things wrong. From there, focus on these six cultural shifts:

• Lead with “should we,” not “can we”
  Help people use AI responsibly by making good judgment the starting point for decisions.
• Focus on impact, not activity
  Reward outcomes, not busyness, especially when AI takes on the routine work.
• Make it safe to experiment with AI
  Create an environment where people can try, learn, and fail without fear.
• Reward learning agility over tenure
  Value people who learn fast, adapt, and stay curious as AI reshapes work.
• Break down silos so AI can do more
  Encourage teams to share insights and solve problems across functions.
• Enable people to make decisions with AI
  Give teams the clarity and support they need to act on real-time insight.

These shifts create the conditions for AI to take root—and for people to use it confidently in their everyday work.

How Does Korn Ferry Create an AI-Ready Culture?

Korn Ferry helps organizations build AI readiness by focusing on four practical steps.

1. Measure where you are
   We use culture assessments to reveal whether people are experimenting with AI, avoiding it, or using it only in isolated pockets.
2. Map which roles AI hits first
   Frameworks like our AI Impact Score and AI readiness assessments highlight which roles will be most affected and where to pilot, reskill, or redesign work.
3. Start small, with teams
   We equip team leaders with the insights and tools to act as early change agents and build momentum.
4. Redesign roles, not just processes
   Using Success Profiles, we clarify what people should focus on when AI takes on routine tasks—strengthening the work only humans can do.

Together, these steps help organizations build the culture, skills, and structures that make AI adoption stick.