
Delivering value with and for people in the age of AI Contents The six characteristicsof Talent Reinventors The barriers toreinventing talent Introduction Reinvent talent strategywith an AI-powered46 Clarity10Intelligent teaming14Talent mobility20Co-learning26 The talent advantage50 42 05 About the research52 Create a culture of48 Lead in new and49 Authors Global Talent Lead,Talent & Organization,Stephen Wroblewski Global Lead,Talent & Organization,Karalee Close Global Resources IndustryGroup Lead and AmericasStrategy Practice Lead,Jessica Van Singel Managing Director,Middle East,Sumreen Ahmad Senior Principal & EuropeResearch Lead,Talent & Organization,Mamta Kapur “The future of AIand companies ishuman in the lead, Julie SweetChair and CEO, Accenture Introduction Research snapshot The last few years have revealed AI’senormous potential and a simple truth:Real value shows up when people and We surveyed 1,320C-suite executives and4,560employees across20industries and12countries Compared to their peers, Talent Reinventorsare 7x more likely to strengthen organizationalculture, 6x more likely to improve employeeexperience, and 4x more likely to enhanceworkforce adaptability. They also report an 11% As AI adoption accelerates, returns areuneven. Many organizations are investingheavily in AI, but have not updated their Our latest research uncovers newopportunities to deliver innovationwith talent.We surveyed 1,320 C-suiteexecutives and 4,560 employees across 20industries and 12 countries between August 18% are delivering real value Talent Reinventors prove the point. Accordingto our research, this group of companies grewrevenue 1.8 percentage points higher and See About the Research at the end of this reportfor details on our methodology. Unless otherwise noted, We call themTalent Reinventors. Outcomes In 2025, they experienced:Higher revenue1.8% Uplift in1.4%11% What sets these organizations apartis a distinctive and more integratedapproach to talent—a human+ AItalent strategy—that reshapes work It gives organizations unprecedentedvisibility into which tasks deservefocus, which skills will matter next This report breaks down sixcharacteristics that are shared byTalent Reinventors. Together, these This strategy is powered by AI anddata, but its purpose is deeplyhuman: to reinvent what and howwork gets done and help people Talent Reinventors share six characteristics that create value for their organizations bycontinually redesigning work and reshapingthe workforce to align around shared goalsand emerging opportunities. They enable Taken together, these six characteristics represent a new mindset for leaders in the AI eraand provide a framework for building a workforce of the future: Most organizations have strengths in some of these areas and gaps in others. What sets Talent Reinventors apart is theireffort to strengthen each characteristic and, concurrently, knit all six together. By focusing on progress over perfection, Alignment across functions allowsa single definition of value and In most organizations, different functional areas set their own goals andpriorities, often working in silos with little cross-functional interaction.Inevitably, upskilling and technology adoption advance at different rates, When access, permissions andexpectations are unclear, agency erodesand progress stalls. This lack of clarityalso undermines confidence and trust.While many leaders express empathy forworkforce concerns, that empathy is nottranslating into confidence or alignment: Only one-third of the respondents to oursurvey indicated their talent strategy isfully aligned with their technology andAI strategy. This misalignment makes “AI has exposed the gap betweenhow fast the business and technologyare evolving and how slowly talentsystems adapt. Workforce planning The consequences are increasinglyvisible at the employee level. Only 24%report having full access to AI tools,just over one in five strongly agree that Senior Technology Leader,Global Energy Company Talent Reinventors, in contrast, bring teams together aroundshared priorities. This alignment sharpens talent decisions—clarifying how roles evolve, which skills to scale and whattraining is required. By aligning HR, technology, data, operations That same clarity benefits the organization and its people, helpingemployees advance their skills and careers—and motivating themto embrace the technology that’s making it possible. AI and dataintegration is key, providing visibility into workflows so Talent Almost all Talent Reinventors (96%) have a talent strategy that isfully integrated with technology and AI through strong HR andIT collaboration. And although AI adoption is a priority at manyorganizations, 93% of Talent Reinventors are actively redefiningtalent strategy to support AI adoption, including operating model Case in point:Volkswagen Group is in the midstof a reinvention shaped by a clear ambition: toevolve from