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Dr Lauren Park, Senior HR Research Scientist, SAP SuccessFactors

Shaping the future of HR with AI

Driving value, elevating people, demonstrating impact

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The Future of Work Research Lab is exploring how AI can unlock new value for HR and the workforce. Our programmes focus on helping organisations adopt AI effectively, ensuring HR leads with its uniquely human strengths, and proving the real business impact of AI on people and performance.

The artificial intelligence (AI) landscape is undergoing a fundamental change. To date, generative AI’s impact on productivity has dominated the headlines. But a new form of AI is set to revolutionise how work is carried out: AI agents. Agents are AI applications that assist business users with decision support and task automation that require non-deterministic workflows. The latest insights from the Future of Work Research Lab offer a deeper examination of formulating an agentic AI strategy, from the following three perspectives:

Quick facts

Agents and the employee: A complex push–pull dynamic

55

%

of employees believe AI agents will deliver 2-5x greater value than other forms of AI

52

%

fear that agents will make their jobs completely unnecessary
We have tools, but people do not know how to use them.
HR Manager at a food and drink organisation with over 10,000 employees

Agents within teams: Redefining collaboration

40

%

of employees already turn to AI for emotional support regarding work issues

>50

%

of employees feel more supported by AI than by their human colleagues
I see them as virtual people... if it can think, communicate, and carry out tasks critical to my role, it’s like a direct report.
HRIS Director of a utilities organisation with 5,000–10,000 employees

Agents and managers: Augmentation rather than replacement

80

%

of employees believe AI agents should assist their work rather than supervise it

58

%

of employees say they would hold positive perceptions of their manager if they were to be supported by agents
HR leaders agree on two main areas where agents can enhance managerial effectiveness: Agents can support infrequent but essential management tasks and handle repetitive, low-value administrative tasks.

Delve into the research

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INFOGRAPHIC

Agentic AI: Research findings

SAP surveyed 4,019 employees worldwide and conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with HR leaders to explore how autonomous AI agents are redefining human-AI dynamics at work.

View the infographic

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Explore the complete research

Register for the full report – and learn how to navigate the agentic revolution.

Download now

Keeping the human in human resources: The future of HR in the age of AI

As AI reshapes the future of work, HR must lean into its human strengths—ethics, empathy, leadership, and culture. This report outlines emerging HR archetypes and capabilities needed to thrive alongside AI, urging HR to evolve, upskill, and lead the transformation. The future of HR is more human, not less.

Delve into the research

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Article

Rethinking HR’s purpose alongside AI

A group of 14 global HR executives examined the many changes (and opportunities) brought about by AI for HR

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Video

Hear what SAP SuccessFactors customers have to say

Discover which archetype visitors to SAP Connect feel resonates most with them.

Watch the video

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Explore the complete research report

Register for the full report—and prepare for and ultimately thrive in this rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Examine the results

Investigating the business impact of AI for HR

Organisations need to see tangible value from implementing AI for HR. To this end, the Future of Work Research Lab is partnering with customers to conduct business impact studies and evaluate the measurable impact of AI for HR use cases on employee and organisational outcomes as they are implemented across the suite.

Quick facts

After using Joule:

44

%

of users report they understand how AI can assist them at work

57

%

of users report it makes them feel like their company wants to make their working life easier
Joule made it much easier to complete a task or make an update.
Individual contributor at a software firm

Delve into the research

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ARTICLE

Measuring what matters: What we learnt from studying real-world AI impact

AI is transforming work faster than we can keep pace with. The only way to keep up is to measure what is really happening—and adjust accordingly.

Read the insights

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AI in action: Research findings for HCM

SAP SuccessFactors AI Business Impact Research Studies reveal that AI tools like Joule help employees save time, improve efficiency, and enhance creativity.

Download the document

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Explore the complete research

Access the full research—and learn how AI can have a positive impact and add tangible value at your organisation.

Have a look at the results

HR’s guide to enterprise AI adoption: Strategies for AI governance and workforce engagement

How can HR leaders harness the power of AI to drive meaningful change? This paper provides practical recommendations to establish AI strategy governance, increase adoption, and ensure ethical deployment—supported by insights from the Future of Work Research Lab.

Quick facts

The current state of governance for AI in HR:

67

%

of organisations we interviewed do not have any AI governance model at all

27

%

of organisations we interviewed have a governance model for AI, but not for AI specifically in HR
The number of ideas for AI is limitless. But we don't know how to decide which ideas to really invest in, or whether we have resources to keep them up and running.
A Global Head of HR Technologies at a Mill Products & Mining organisation

Delve into the research

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Article

Overcoming HR obstacles to enterprise AI adoption

Dr Lauren Park shares strategies for AI governance and workforce management.

Read the key points

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Explore the complete research report

Register for the full report—and learn how to improve AI adoption at your organisation.

Download the research paper

HR’s guide to improving AI literacy and AI readiness across the business

Are you ready to lead your workforce into an AI-enabled future? In this paper, the Future of Work Research Lab explores the importance of AI literacy for AI adoption and provides persona-specific strategies based on employees’, managers’, and HR leaders’ unique needs and perceptions of the value of AI.

Quick fact

When it comes to using AI at work, compared to people with high AI literacy, those with low AI literacy were:

6.3

x

more likely to feel anxious

7.0

x

more likely to feel frightened
How do we encourage people to disrupt their own jobs? It’s difficult. Granted, these are bigger, faster changes, but change has happened before: think about the days of maths teachers protesting calculators. We need to help people positively embrace it.
A VP of Global People Strategy & Development at a Consumer Products organisation

Delve into the research

A team of employees bumping fists for accomplishing a goal

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Infographic

SAP research shows mixed attitudes towards AI at work

SAP surveyed over 4,000 managers and employees globally about how AI is reshaping workplace dynamics and HR practices, and the results paint a complicated picture.

Explore the results

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Article

The importance of AI literacy to AI adoption

Dr Autumn Krauss shares how acquiring AI skills requires training and experience. Workers know that success—theirs and their companies’—depends on it.

Read the insights

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Explore the complete research report

Register for the full report—and learn how to improve AI literacy and AI readiness at your organisation.

Download the report

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Future of Work Research Lab

Discover additional research on emerging trends in the future of work and HR.

Explore now

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