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Survey data from Asana suggests employees remain skeptical on the value of AI tools and believe that such tools do not help with collaboration.
Photo description | Stock image: Workflows meant for cross-functional teams, rather than people, will help spread adoption of new tools and technology.
Credit | Getty Images
As companies look to benefit from the rising capabilities of AI and machine-learning technology, they're often meeting a roadblock in the change management process as they seek to drive new behavior among their workforces. A study from Asana released on Tuesday suggests viewing AI as a teammate rather than a tool and meaningfully addressing employee skepticism around new tech in order to scale adoption.
Asana's study noted three key gaps around optimism, workstyle and policy as employees are far less optimistic about the potential for AI than are senior business leaders, who are 66 percent more likely to be early AI adopters than other employees. The threat of job loss and doubt around return-on-investment drive employees' lack of buy-in.
"Skepticism isn't a roadblock—it's a reality. Companies that acknowledge risks, address concerns, and provide concrete examples of AI's real-world benefits drive the strongest adoption," Mark Hoffman, collaborative intelligence lead at Asana's Work Innovation Lab and an author of the report, stated. "If employees don't trust the message, they won't trust the tech."
He added that one reason leaders are more comfortable with AI is because they're more accustomed to delegating tasks.
The survey also found that the lack of an AI policy can prevent people from using AI because they don't know what's allowed. Just 38 percent of workers said their company has an AI usage policy, Asana found. Workers at companies with AI policies were 55 percent more likely to report productivity gains.
On the change management front, Asana noted that 49 percent of AI workflows are built for individual use, which only drives 6 percent of downstream adoption by colleagues and peers. Business leaders should think about designing AI workflows for teams of multiple people, rather than just for individuals, and encouraging AI workflows across different teams as well, to better socialize the technology around the organization.
In terms of seeking internal advocates, an important attribute of any change management initiative, Asana calls the most influential ones "Bridgers," employees who collaborate across functions, like a project manager. AI workflows built by Bridgers are 96 percent more likely to drive AI workflow adoption. Two other personas, "Domain Experts" (with workflows that are 27 percent more likely to be adopted) and "Operations Specialists" (9 percent more likely), were identified to be helpful, but to a lesser degree.
"Scaling AI isn't about getting everyone on board at once—it's about getting the right people on board first," Hoffman wrote. "One of the biggest mistakes companies make is treating AI adoption like a mass training problem—rolling out company-wide programs, pushing AI tools on everyone, and hoping usage spreads organically. It rarely does."
