PEOPLE

A leave request might touch payroll, a compliance system and a manager’ s inbox before it’ s resolved, with someone checking every handoff by hand. That fragmentation obviously costs money. But evolving the HR operating model, rather than bolting on new tools, could unlock productivity gains of up to 29 %, according to separate Gartner research covering more than 400 chief human resources officers.

From service desk to strategic partner Agentic AI changes what HR can plausibly own. Agents can now run entire workflows end to end, sourcing a candidate through onboarding, or turning a skills assessment into a personalised learning plan, rather than just assisting with single tasks. The Josh Bersin Company has already mapped more than 100 distinct HR agent use cases, and grouped them into what it calls“ Superagent” families spanning recruiting, performance management, learning and workforce planning.

of executives at US $ 1bn + firms still refuse to give AI agents meaningful autonomy

Source: PYMNTS Intelligence

Its research also suggests AI workflow automation could mean up to 30 % fewer HR staff are needed, but the firm frames that as a shift in role mix, rather than a straightforward headcount cut. In other words, once the admin heavy lifting is being handled by agents and bots, CHROs are left to focus on retention, productivity and skills coverage – the things the rest of the company actually wants them to focus on.

The governance gap Adoption isn’ t the same as ownership, though. Eight in ten HR leaders recognise the value of intelligent technology, according to research from The Hackett Group, but fewer than six in ten have a clear road map for implementing it. The gap’ s important, because the approach taken early tends to stick. Deloitte’ s research found that organisations treating AI adoption as a purely technical rollout are 1.6 times more likely to miss their expected return on investment. Peers that build AI around how people actually work fare considerably better. HR can’ t afford to sit back and wait for tools built elsewhere in the business. The functions moving fastest are treating agentic AI as an operating model decision instead of a procurement one. The three organisations profiled overleaf show what that looks like once AI in HR moves past the pilot stage.

104 September 2026