Here’s what companies like Hilton and Cisco are doing to create a workplace culture where employees feel safe to embrace AI.
AI was top of mind for leaders on a recent Fortune roundtable celebrating the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For™ Europe List.
It’s the right question to ask. An MIT report earlier this year found that 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing. A Wharton survey found that AI is yielding positive returns, but 70% of execs are implementing ROI metrics and demanding more control around AI costs.
Why is this transformative technology failing to connect? Trust.
Nearly half (46%) of job seekers say their trust in hiring has decreased over the past year, and 42% blame AI, per a Greenhouse study. Nearly 74% of workers said that being interviewed by an AI agent would change their perception of the company, according to a separate study.
Employees are noticing a difference between what companies say about AI and their actions around AI, says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work®.
“There’s this thing we’re saying a lot: ‘AI is not going to take your job. It’s a person who knows how to use AI,’” he shared with the Fortune audience. The problem is that employees don’t feel like their employer is preparing them to use AI and maintain their market power in the labor force.
Great workplaces like Cisco and Hilton are making the investment — and relying on their leaders to drive adoption and innovation.
“Employees are two times more likely to experiment with AI if their leaders are experimenting,” says Sarah Morales, senior vice president, people and communities, at Cisco. “So, we’re really doubling down on some programs for employees.” One such program is “Time to Grow,” where employees can take time each month to dedicate to training and learning.
At Hilton, the playbook focuses on “curiosity, learning, vulnerability, courage,” says Laura Fuentes, Hilton’s executive vice president and chief human resources officer. “This is a trust-building moment,” she adds. When employees feel vulnerable to disruption and displacement, leaders who support them build a deep well of trust.
Bush says that leaders should spend time reinforcing connections across teams.
“When people are on a powerful team, which means they are connected to people that they like to work with and that they trust … they are twice as likely to be enthusiastic about AI,” he shared from Great Place To Work’s research.
Creating safe space for innovation
What is the difference between a company where workers adopt AI and a company where AI initiatives falter? Leadership.
“People will ask, ‘What does it take to be a great place to work for all?’” Bush says. “It takes leadership: Leaders … that listen, that want to develop, that want to teach, that inspire, that thank people, that celebrate people, that hire carefully, and make people feel like they care.”
When companies create this high-trust culture, they often find they have more employees who say they can easily innovate. This high innovation velocity ratio is just one of the reasons high-trust cultures have 3.5 times higher stock market returns and 8.5 times higher revenue per employee.
“We believe that innovation is everywhere,” says Fuentes. That means during team meetings, leaders ask frontline team members for ideas about how to improve the experience of guests.
When employees feel they have input and can share their ideas? That’s a recipe for AI adoption. Hilton’s HR team has been focused on peer-to-peer learning, hosting hackathons and workshops where people can share how they are using AI to improve their work and their lives.
AI can help leaders see gaps in how they connect with employees, Morales says of Cisco. “I’m kind of using [AI] every day to help me focus on the things that are most important,” she shares, including using meeting insights on Cisco’s Webex platform to see who is getting left out of the conversation.
At Hilton, Fuentes is trying to help leaders embrace the fun side of AI to counteract the everyday fear that stifles innovation.
“This is a moment where we are all learning,” she says. ‘Let’s learn out loud — sharing the things that are working, the fun ways in which you’re applying AI to your personal lives, and the things that don’t work right.”
