Associate Client Partner
AI in the Workplace
Assessing AI-Ready Skills with Success Profiles
AI is changing what great talent looks like. Here’s how Australia's leading organisations are using success profiles to navigate the shift.
May 08, 2025
Getting Ahead of the AI Skills Shift with Success Profiles
The growing popularity of AI means that it will augment the skills required for most roles, while replacing others completely. Roles with a lot of administrative or data analytics elements will be impacted more significantly than those focused on building relationships.
But Australian workers are divided on the impact of AI. While 41% feel certain their role will be replaced by AI and technology in the next three years, 51% think using AI as part of their role will bolster their value. Critically, AI will enable people to do what they do well: focus on adding more value.
For example, the technology is already replacing the need for analytics skills, allowing people to spend time on deriving actionable insights from data instead. For sales teams, AI removes administrative tasks, such as prospecting, customer outreach, and CRM updates—freeing up talent to solve complex problems and build trusting relationships.
It’s likely new roles will also emerge as organisations race to make the most of AI’s full potential—just like the rise of data analysts thanks to big data.
“AI will affect different functions and roles quite differently, and at different speeds,” says Cyrus Cavina, Associate Client Partner at Korn Ferry. “To understand the elements that will be impacted, you need to look at the many different tasks and work people need to get done within their roles.”
Evolving Success Profiles with a Focus on AI
As AI evolves, the combination of skills and capabilities organisations need to deliver on strategies will too. That’s why companies need a clear picture of what great looks like across every role.
Many organisations in Australia are currently reviewing their success profiles to understand AI’s impact on the talent they need now and in the future. Leaning on Korn Ferry’s library of more than 11,000 success profiles, these organisations can unpack the distinct capabilities and technical skills each role requires, as well as the underlying traits and drivers that make someone successful in roles as diverse as network engineer, marketing specialist, or customer service support.
“Our library and talent assessment tools are backed by rigorous research, which allows organisations to develop robust success profiles and assess talent against these at a fraction of the time,” Cavina shares.
Korn Ferry is helping design these organisations’ success profiles for the entire enterprise for both current and emerging roles and creating relevant assessments for each one. This allows organisations to easily assess new candidates—and identify gaps and development opportunities for existing employees in these roles.
Talent Traits for the Future
AI is starting to change the composition of most success profiles.
“We’re seeing the increasing importance of skills in how to use technology and data more effectively, and are starting to build them into success profiles as standard,” Cavina explains.
While the technical skills that talent needs are rapidly changing, as technology advances at an increasingly breakneck speed, the competencies and traits for success stay the same.
For example, having a mindset that is open to change helps people think about opportunities to use technology to solve problems, be more efficient, and connect with customers. This includes learning agility—the ability to learn from previous experience and leverage that in a new way, across different situations.
Pull quote: “AI is changing so quickly. Being able to continually take on new information, learn from it and decide what to do quickly will be essential traits,” says Cavina.
But these approaches alone won’t help companies deliver on future strategies. Leaders also need to make sure their people feel supported to experiment. That’s how learnings turn into new ways of working.
Our latest workforce trends data shows that 55% of Australian workers are excited by AI, but 47% feel their leaders don’t understand it.
“If your leaders don't understand AI, they’re not leading with an open to change mindset. And this can potentially restrict your people’s roles, careers, and what they can achieve,” suggests Cavina.
Unlock Your Workforce’s Potential
AI is set to impact every role in every industry around the world. It will augment some skills and may replace others. Understanding the gaps between the talent you have and the talent you need will provide a competitive advantage to succeed in the future. Because when you have a clear picture of what ‘great’ looks like, and a blueprint for how to get there, you can build an unstoppable workforce for the future.
Related Insights
