Leading the Shift: How Irish HR Functions Can Build the AI Capability Organisations Need

Artificial intelligence is transforming Irish workplaces faster than most organisations can manage. The CIPD HR Practices in Ireland 2026 survey, conducted with Kemmy Business School at University of Limerick and published on 20 May, finds that just 19% of organisations believe their leaders are fully equipped to lead in an AI-driven environment. Nearly two-thirds cite automation and AI as a leading concern, yet fewer than half have issued clear guidance on AI use, and only one in three has provided any AI training.

The gap between intent and action is central, and HR functions are uniquely positioned to close it. More than two-thirds of HR professionals identify AI skills as their top professional development priority, yet fewer than 6% of organisations have fully embedded AI into HR activity. Three priorities emerge: equipping leaders for AI-driven change, building structured AI literacy programmes, and establishing governance that gives employees confidence in how AI is deployed.

Leadership readiness is the most urgent gap. CIPD Country Director Alison Hodgson noted that AI is evolving at a pace many organisations are still trying to adapt to. When only one in five leaders is considered fully equipped, HR must design the development programmes and learning pathways to close the gap. Leadership capability in the AI era is a people strategy question, not a technology one.

Skills shortages compound the challenge. The survey found nine in ten respondents are facing shortages, with leadership and influencing skills identified as the top capability gap. Irish organisations cannot address the technological transformation of work without investing in human capabilities to navigate it. The two priorities are inseparable, and HR is the function best placed to connect them.

The governance gap is equally pressing. Fewer than half of organisations have issued clear AI guidance, leaving employees to navigate adoption without direction, creating inconsistency, ethical exposure, and missed productivity gains. Organisations that publish structured AI use policies and communicate clearly around AI in people decisions will build the trust that underpins sustainable adoption.

Three actions will allow HR leaders to turn these findings into advantage. First, audit AI capability at every level and design tiered development programmes that treat leadership readiness as a specific priority. Second, build a cross-functional AI governance framework covering policy, ethics, and employee communication. Third, embed AI literacy as a core competency in performance frameworks, ensuring adoption is structured and measurable rather than ad hoc.

The CIPD findings confirm that AI readiness in Irish workplaces is a people challenge, not a technology one. For CHROs and HR leaders, the research is an invitation to lead: organisations that build the governance, capability, and culture to support responsible AI adoption now will be significantly better positioned for the years ahead.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)