Role of HR in Managing Human Side of AI Adoption: McLean & Company

HR teams have a critical role to play in ensuring that AI adoption does not come at the cost of employee trust, engagement and experience, according to a new report from global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company.

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The report, titled The Power of Human-Centricity, examines how HR can help organisations make human-centricity an intentional part of work design, decision-making and technology adoption as AI changes how work is done.

The findings are based on McLean & Company’s Human-Centric HR in the Age of AI Survey 2026. The research points to a gap between how organisations view themselves and how consistently they apply human-centric practices.

According to the report, 82.2% of organisations and 88.1% of HR teams believe they are human-centric. However, only 20% of HR teams consistently assess the impact of AI use cases on human-centricity before implementation.

HR’s Role in AI Adoption

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McLean & Company said HR should have a role in evaluating how technology decisions affect employees, rather than treating human-centricity as a stated organisational value.

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Kelly Berte, Practice Lead, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company and one of the report’s lead researchers, said human-centricity needs to be embedded in how work is designed, decisions are made and emerging technologies are applied.

The report identifies three areas where human-centricity can influence organisational outcomes:

• Technology: Higher adoption, faster AI maturity and less costly rework.
• People: Greater belonging, psychological safety, employee agency and empowerment.
• Organisation: Stronger performance, growth, competitiveness and talent retention.

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Human-Centricity Becomes More Important as AI Expands

The report argues that decisions focused mainly on speed and efficiency can create longer-term challenges related to employee trust, engagement and retention if the human impact is not considered.

Amani Gharib, HR Research & Advisory Services Director at McLean & Company and a lead researcher on the report, said HR has an important role in ensuring that the human element remains part of AI adoption.

McLean & Company also pointed to findings from its 2025 HR Trends Report, which found that organisations whose executive leaders have strong human-centric competencies are 2.2 times more likely to perform highly in achieving strategic goals and objectives.

The new report provides HR leaders with a framework to apply human-centricity to AI adoption, work design, decision-making and HR service delivery.

For HR leaders, the findings suggest that AI adoption is not only a technology question. How employees experience the changes, how decisions affect their work and whether organisations maintain trust will also influence the success of AI initiatives.