There have been many named risks when it comes to AI adoption in the workplace: bias, job loss, role restructuring, “botsitting,” legal challenges, and the list goes on. But what about the impact this tech revolution is having on company culture? In our annual Top Concerns of CHROs study, this year was the first time we surveyed senior-level HR leaders about company culture, and it ranked as the top four concern with 41% in agreement. Rightfully so, as company culture is the fabric of any organization and is often linked to positive (or negative!) employee engagement, retention, and productivity rates. With AI adoption rates increasing—along with AI anxiety—we sought the advice of several CHROs on how they are keeping culture at the forefront.

Chief People Officer of Oversight Jill Sutton says AI should reinforce a company’s culture rather than disrupt it. Sutton explains that when new initiatives are introduced, they have a clear communication plan and actually encourage employee feedback. The company also has an internal AI governance team to monitor how teams are leveraging AI and tracking results.

For Sophie Hurcombe, chief people and operations officer at Lattice, organizations must view readiness as a human challenge rather than a technical one. This calls for putting the cultural work first by defining the values that guide tool selection and implementation. She says if there are underlying gaps in trust and transparency, AI will magnify them. But if there is a strong foundation, AI can amplify strengths.

Kyndryl’s 2026 People Readiness Report finds that 57% of organizations have deployed AI, yet 25% believe their organizational culture is prepared to successfully adopt it. The company’s CHRO Mark Paulek says that without a focus on culture and transparency, organizational readiness gaps emerge. When employees understand and are trained to adopt advanced technologies, potential can be reached and culture only strengthens. At Kyndryl, that philosophy informs an approach called “AIR: Anticipate, Inventory, Reskill and Redeploy,” a framework that focuses on understanding how AI will reshape work.

Be sure to see more from these features in our special Company Culture and AI section.

Until next time,

Debbie

SVP of Content Strategy