AI has rapidly evolved over the past two years, moving from a niche tool for savvy employees to a core part of business strategy. Today the question isn’t whether we integrate AI into work but how we do it thoughtfully, inclusively and effectively.
At the heart of this transformation lies a human challenge: building the skills, confidence and culture to thrive in an AI-enabled world. HR leaders are uniquely placed to lead this shift – ensuring people feel empowered, not overwhelmed, by change.
The challenge: Turning curiosity into capability
AI is a powerful force for transformation. But to unlock its potential we need to focus on people as much as platforms. Despite growing interest many businesses still face difficulties when it comes to applying AI meaningfully at scale. Rolling out AI requires nuance – ensuring colleagues don’t feel undervalued by the transition and addressing potential skills gaps. Crucially, responsible implementation is key to building employee confidence during what can be a period of profound cultural change.
At IRIS our approach is centred on creating a culture of enthusiasm and experimentation while putting guardrails in place to ensure tools are used responsibly and securely.
What IRIS did: Spark grassroots innovation with structure and support
We're embedding ‘AI Everywhere’ into our culture, meaning that we’re encouraging its responsible use at every level of the business. That means preparing colleagues not only with skills but with opportunities: through interactive learning, team-led initiatives and forums to explore what AI can really do for them.
Recognising AI’s potential is just the beginning. Making it part of everyday work, safely, meaningfully, and at scale, requires a different level of engagement.
We started with the Made in IRIS AI Competition, which invited colleagues to pitch ideas for how AI could improve their work or enhance the customer experience.
This challenged colleagues to think broadly about the benefits and challenges that AI brings to their day-to-day work, focusing on enhancing both employee and customer experiences as well as our product suite.
This initiative was grounded in the belief that innovation thrives when everybody has a seat at the table. Engaging in conversations across teams, inspired by talks from our vce president of data science, uncovered meaningful insights – from reservations to address to opportunities we could pursue.
The response was overwhelming. More than 100 submissions poured in, each one a testament to our teams’ creativity and curiosity. Our panel of AI experts and executive leaders were able to select 19 winning ideas for implementation and we’re now actively collaborating with these teams to bring their innovations to life. It’s a testament to the power of grassroots innovation when paired with sponsorship.
We followed this with an AI hackathon, creating time and space for employees to experiment hands-on. Feedback was clear: people felt empowered, connected and excited about what they could achieve.
Results: Confidence, creativity and culture change
The competition and hackathon have been powerful catalysts in shifting the way employees engage with AI. They have moved from seeing AI as abstract or intimidating to exploring its real-world potential in their roles. Importantly, colleagues felt involved, heard and supported – which in turn built momentum for further experimentation and learning.
But creating a culture of innovation takes more than one-off initiatives. To support continuous capability-building we’re now launching the IRIS AI Academy – a structured, hands-on learning programme developed with our data science and engineering teams. It focuses on building practical skills in areas like data analysis, machine learning and AI application. Crucially, it opens up new development pathways for colleagues and helps them gain confidence working alongside intelligent tools.
We’re also seeing the nature of roles begin to evolve. Tasks such as content creation, ideation, data analysis and design are being enhanced and accelerated by AI. As a result the skills we need are changing too. While technical understanding remains important it’s critical thinking, creativity and collaboration that are becoming essential for success in an AI-enabled world.
Throughout this journey we've been clear about the ethical guardrails. AI’s integration into the workplace, particularly in HR, raises important questions around fairness and accountability. At IRIS we do not use AI to make HR decisions such as hiring or performance management without human oversight. But we are exploring how it can support better, more equitable decision-making, helping us address challenges like the gender pay gap and social mobility with deeper insight and greater transparency.
The goal is not to remove the human from HR, but to enhance human judgment with better data, clearer patterns and more inclusive thinking.
Looking ahead, our ambition is clear: to embed AI not only in our systems but in our mindset. HR has a critical role to play as a champion for change, a builder of skills and a guardian of culture.
By putting people at the centre of transformation we believe AI can be a force for good, enhancing potential, accelerating progress and helping every team member thrive in a future that’s already unfolding.
Five lessons for encouraging AI use in practice
- Start with people, not platforms
Building enthusiasm for AI begins with creating a safe space for experimentation. Focus on trust, culture and curiosity before rolling out new tools - Create opportunities, not just training
One-off workshops aren’t enough. Use challenges, competitions and hackathons to give employees hands-on, meaningful experiences with AI in their own roles - Encourage ideas from everywhere
Innovation thrives when everyone has a seat at the table. Actively involve employees across functions and seniorities to uncover use cases leadership might miss - Build future-fit skills intentionally
Structured programmes like the IRIS AI Academy help employees build confidence and capability over time – and support long-term talent development - Set ethical guardrails from the start
Be clear about how AI will and won’t be used. Transparency around decision-making and human oversight builds trust and supports responsible adoption.
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