The Hidden Frictions of AI Adoption in HR

Why the Human Story Still Gets Overlooked

Jun 12, 2025

Let’s look at what’s really happening with AI in HR today

Everyone’s talking about AI transforming HR. But behind the glossy headlines lies a messier, more human reality full of broken systems, misinformed leadership, and tools that ignore how people actually work and manage change.

Take global mobility, for instance. In many HR platforms, like Greenhouse, when an employee moves from one country to another, the system can’t process it. Instead of transferring smoothly, the individual is terminated in one country and re-hired in another as if they were a brand-new joiner. Forget the fact that they’ve worked in the company for years. Forget their development history, performance data, or internal knowledge. It’s a system that treats people like static entries, not evolving humans. That’s not transformation. That’s friction.

And then there’s the leadership layer. In theory, AI is now on every boardroom agenda. In practice? Many senior decision-makers haven’t touched the tools they’re making policy on. They block AI platforms they don’t understand. They worry about compliance but haven’t explored how these tools actually work. If leaders don’t use the tools, how can they support those who are expected to?

This lack of digital fluency doesn’t just slow down progress it fuels fear-based governance. That fear shows up in places like AI detection software used by some to “verify” whether writing is original. But these tools (often criticised for inaccuracy, including by OpenAI) frequently mislabel thoughtful, human-written content simply because an AI assistant was used in the process. It creates a chilling effect for professionals using AI responsibly to structure, co-write, or ideate. What it misses is that a deeply experienced human using AI is not being lazy or dishonest they’re being intentional. We are punishing the very behaviours that AI is meant to enable like curiosity, augmentation, and efficiency.

Let’s be clear: AI isn’t failing HR. HR is failing AI Why? By treating it as a bolt-on, not a mindset shift.

Research from McKinsey and the World Economic Forum consistently shows that successful AI transformation is organisational, not just technological. Yet many HR teams still deploy AI in isolated functions (recruitment, learning, talent or workforce analytics) without rethinking the broader system design. This reflects a deeper resistance to change and a reluctance to move from process digitisation to operating model reinvention.

MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson argues that the real productivity gains from AI only emerge when companies adopt complementary innovations adjusting workflows, decision rights, and team structures to fit the new capabilities. Until HR leaders start treating AI as a design partner not just a downstream tool the potential of AI will remain limited, and the promise of transformation will stay just that “a promise.”

What needs to change?

▪️Leaders must use before they regulate.

Policy without practice is hypocrisy. When C-suites make decisions about AI without testing tools themselves, they risk enforcing rules based on perception—not reality. Research from BCG and MIT shows that executives who engage with AI personally are more likely to lead effective, ethical, and high-performing AI adoption.

▪️HR tech must support fluid, mobile workers.

Cross-border talent is no longer an exception—it’s the norm in global businesses. Platforms that can’t handle a basic transfer are undermining talent mobility and organisational continuity.

▪️AI use should be transparent and supported—not policed.

If we don’t trust employees to use AI responsibly, we shouldn’t expect them to innovate at all. Empowerment, not surveillance, is how we cultivate the AI-capable workforce the OECD calls essential to economic growth.

▪️Measurement must reflect outcomes, not fear.

Don’t benchmark AI success by adoption rates or usage dashboards. Instead, measure value creation, process equity, employee impact, and business alignment. As highlighted by the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, AI’s success is more about enabling human agency than replacing tasks.

We don’t need more headlines about AI “revolutionising” HR.

We need better questions, braver leadership, and systems that understand humans better than ever before.

Because the future of work isn’t about perfect tech.

It’s about removing the friction that stops good people from doing great things with help from the right tools.

The Hidden Frictions of AI Adoption in HR

Why the Human Story Still Gets Overlooked

Let’s look at what’s really happening with AI in HR today

Let’s be clear: AI isn’t failing HR. HR is failing AI Why? By treating it as a bolt-on, not a mindset shift.

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