Supporting Workforces Through AI Transformation

Australian HR leaders are operating in an increasingly complex environment. Organisations are under pressure to raise productivity, contain costs and improve the employee experience, while technology is transforming the way work gets done. Generative AI (GenAI) is perhaps the most powerful driver of complexity as it changes the skills required, the speed of decision-making and the way human and digital workforces interact.

At the 2025 Aon Human Capital Insights Conference held in Sydney, a dedicated session explored what this means for workforce planning and HR strategy. The conversation brought together Alex Cass, Partner and Human Capital Client Leader at Aon, and Jane Livesey, President for APAC and Japan at Cognizant. Their discussion revealed both the scale of the changes underway and the opportunities for HR leaders to help organisations adopt AI responsibly, while future-proofing skills and competitive advantage.

Designing the Human–Digital Workforce

A central theme of the discussion was the need to view AI not simply as a set of tools but as a workforce segment in its own right. Livesey explained how Cognizant is already defining roles for AI agents in the same way it does for employees. Each agent is given a position description and clear guardrails so that the scope of decision-making is transparent and aligned with regulation.

“An AI agent actually has a role,” she said. “We need to give agents a role because they need guardrails. With different regulators across jurisdictions, we need clarity on the decision-making an AI agent is responsible for.”

This approach turns AI adoption into an issue of operating model design. HR must define how human and digital workers interact, how responsibilities are shared and how accountability is defined. Livesey emphasised that the challenge is no longer simply automating discrete tasks, but building systems in which digital and human roles complement one another.

“We are increasingly looking at how human and digital workforce interact.”

Jane Livesey, President, APAC and Japan, Cognizant.

Practical Applications to Deliver a Better Experience

Livesey went on to offer examples of how AI agents are already contributing to real business processes. She described a typical HR scenario where a personal event, such as an employee getting married, requires updates across multiple systems based on a wide range of organisational policies. Instead of staff making manual changes, AI agents now coordinate updates across benefits, immigration and compliance systems, prompting human review only when necessary. This approach increases accuracy, reduces administrative delays and improves the employee experience.

“This example demonstrates how AI can streamline complex processes,” she said. “But it remains essential for organisations to define the right checkpoints for human oversight.”

The Dual Role for HR: Transformation and Stewardship

The presence of AI agents in the workforce also changes the HR mandate. Livesey noted that the function must play two important roles, each with a distinct set of responsibilities and tasks. On the one hand, HR are guiding the transformation of the current workforce by planning for how roles will evolve and creating reskilling opportunities. On the other, it must steward the digital workforce, ensuring agents are governed, managed and measured as part of the organisational structure.

“HR’s got two really important roles to play here,” said Livesey. “The transformation of your current workforce relies on helping teams understand what’s going to happen to their roles. And second, they are managing this digital workforce which involves moving people from fear of what this means for them, to enablement and confidence.” This positions HR as both strategist and custodian — responsible for connecting technology adoption with organisational culture, governance and learning.

Building Confidence Through Learning and Experiments

Livesey highlighted the importance of confidence as a driver of adoption. To support this goal, Cognizant staged a company-wide live coding event where more than 200,000 employees registered to experiment with AI tools. Teams were encouraged to use natural-language prompts to generate code or build applications, resulting in projects ranging from mental health apps to fitness trackers. The initiative not only demonstrated the potential of AI but also reduced anxiety among employees by showing them how accessible the tools can be.

Cognizant has extended this approach through its Synapse program, which aims to train one million people globally in prompt engineering, focusing on those roles most exposed to change. For HR leaders in Australia, initiatives like these offer a model for how to reskill at scale while signalling to employees that they are part of the journey.

“There’s going to never be a time that it’s more important to learn. I would strongly encourage you to learn.”
Jane Livesey, President, APAC and Japan, Cognizant

The Pace and Shape of Change

While headlines on potential job losses can be alarming for senior leaders and employees alike, Livesey puts forward a more nuanced perspective. She estimated that within a decade, around 90 per cent of jobs will change in some way as a result of AI. “While some roles, such as software engineering, are already being reshaped by new tools, others, such as clinical professions, are likely to see gradual adaptation rather than replacement,” she said.

This has clear implications for workforce planning. HR leaders must design strategies that anticipate job redesign and skills shifts, rather than reacting to immediate and ongoing disruption. Livesey stressed the importance of clear and direct conversations at the senior executive and board level about whether a business intends to lead, fast-follow or adopt AI at a more moderate pace. Clarity on this helps keep investment, risk appetite and workforce development aligned.

For HR leaders in Australia, taking swift action on these insights is essential. AI adoption is advancing globally, and local organisations must decide how to integrate it within their own operating environments. Clear role definitions for AI agents, robust governance and transparent communication with employees will be essential in building trust.

Equally, investment in reskilling and structured experimentation will help teams move from concern to capability. Australian organisations already operate in a context where regulation, employee expectations and talent competition are shifting rapidly. Positioning AI adoption as a workforce strategy, rather than solely a technology decision, will enable HR leaders to balance innovation with responsibility.

“To manage both the risks and opportunities  AI presents requires both bravery and intention from HR leaders,” says Livesey. “The bravery to experiment and reskill, and the intention to design systems where human and digital workforces complement each other.”

For Australian organisations, success will come from placing people at the centre of this transition, ensuring that skills are developed, guardrails are clear and conversations about AI adoption are open and ongoing. This approach will not only future-proof competitiveness but also strengthen the social contract between employers and their workforce.