The Challenges of Human Behavior & AI Adoption

Hello Community,

AI adoption is accelerating across organizations, but many companies are moving faster with AI tools than they are with AI literacy, governance, and workforce readiness.

All the enterprise surveys conducted recently (Docebo, McKinsey, Writer, GCheck) communicate similar findings:

Organizations identify AI adoption and fluency as a top strategic pressure.

But employees are still struggling to adapt:

The reality is that successful AI adoption depends as much on human behavior, leadership, and governance as it does on technology itself.

🗞 In case you missed it: TODAY, we are hosting the workshop “Wellbeing Won’t Stick in a Culture of Chaos,” led by Dr. Kristi McCann, at 09:00 AM PT. This session will focus on helping HR and business leaders identify the cultural conditions that may be driving burnout, disengagement, stress, and leadership fatigue. You will leave with a simple culture repair framework and one practical next step to improve working conditions!

➡️ Register here

✨ Happening Next week! We are having a workshop on How to Plan an AI Hackathon, and you don’t want to miss it! 📅 June 11, 2026 | ⏰ 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PST | 📍 Live, Virtual with amazing speakers who will share their experiences and tips on how to run one! 👉 Register here

Now, let’s dive into today’s topic...

AI adoption is not only a technology rollout. It is a behavioral and cultural transformation that changes how people work, make decisions, collaborate, and manage risk.

Many organizations are encouraging employees to experiment with AI while expectations, governance standards, and oversight practices are still evolving. This creates inconsistency across teams, uncertainty around responsible use, and growing pressure on managers and employees alike.

Define AI Literacy: Employees need to understand AI’s limitations, evaluate outputs critically, recognize bias and privacy risks, and know when human judgment is required.

Model Responsible AI Use: People watch how leaders use AI. If leaders and managers openly show how they verify outputs and document human review, they normalize oversight.

Activate Team-Level Champions: In every team, there’s often at least one member who tests tools and experiments with AI. Appoint them as your AI ambassadors, people someone can go to with questions and for guidance. Ensure they operate within agreed-upon guardrails so that peer learning reinforces consistency.

Track Adoption tied to Performance: Adoption should reflect real workflow changes. HR leaders can monitor how AI impacts productivity, work quality, and risk signals, not only company-wide, but especially at the team level. If a team relies on AI drafting but customer errors increase, leaders can step in quickly.

Embed Continuous Learning: AI skills improve through repetition. Short refreshers, scenario discussions, and practical case reviews help employees learn from other people’s wins and mistakes and apply sound judgment. Regular reinforcement keeps risk awareness active and prevents careless use.

🧰 Handy Resource: Download the Enterprise AI Governance Policy Template, a ready-to-adapt governance framework covering risk classification, data handling, human oversight, and incident response.

Emtrain launched the AI Governance Training Course, facilitated by Janine Yancey, CEO of Emtrain, to help HR leaders:

➡️ Explore the AI Governance Training Course

Training on AI Governance is a must, and if you are involved in employee training activities, next week, we are having a workshop on how to plan… an AI Hackathon!

📅 June 11, 2026 | ⏰ 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PST | 📍 Live, Virtual Webinar

Companies like Kindred are turning AI Hackathons into their most transformative events.

People leaders are uniquely positioned to drive them.

A well-run hackathon is one of the few moments where HR can shape how AI shows up in the company.

Earlier this year, Veronica Wong, Head of People Operations at Kindred, spearheaded their last AI Hackathon and treated it as a change-management exercise, not just an innovation event.

Veronica is part of a panel of four sharing the framework for planning one at your own company. We'll walk through the four ingredients that make a hackathon actually stick, with people who've done this work.

🎙️ Veronica Wong, Head of People Operations, Kindred (ran Kindred's Hack(AI)thon)

🎙️ Jason Lavender, Co-founder & CEO, Electives (helps companies adopt AI through live learning)

🎙️ Enrique Rubio, Founder & CEO, Hacking HR (leads one of the largest people leader communities)

🎙️ Moderated by Suman Siva, Co-founder, Marco

➡️ JOIN US! Register now

Continue reading to explore all the amazing upcoming events to network and learn from leaders, plus some amazing summer bootcamps to build skills…

June 16 · London · 1 Basinghall Avenue

One day. 200 senior HR leaders in person at 1 Basinghall Avenue. The agenda is locked, the room is filling, and we are inside the final stretch. Co-produced with People Strategy Hub.

Tickets: £199 single · £499 team · Every London delegate gets a free PCSI-GSAIL attempt

➡️ Reserve Your London Seat | 🎁 AIx Attendee Bonus: 3 free months of Read AI

June 17 to 19 | 100% Free to Attend

Three days of focused programming on AI, the workforce, and the next two years of HR. Free to attend from anywhere. Speakers from Microsoft, Moody's, PepsiCo, JP Morgan Chase, IBM, Oracle, Merck, Cloudflare, and more. This event is brought to you by HiBob, Workday, and Papaya Global.

➡️ Register here.

🎁 Bonus for all attendees: 3 FREE months of Read AI access.

September 3, London

HR Analytics Summit is People Strategy Hub's annual summit for HR analytics and people strategy leaders | Register now | Discount code: HACKINGHR (20% off all passes – single passes, group bookings, and Business Passes (for vendors)

Online, live, and hands-on. Each runs for five full days, and by Friday, voilà, you've built everything. Click on each link to learn more and register.

🔥 People Analytics. Build a complete dashboard with AI

🔥 HR OS Bootcamp: Build your entire HR Operating System with Claude

🔥 Build Your Chatbot, AI Agent, and Intelligence Layer in 10 Hours

The Global Strategic AI Leadership Certification by our academic brand, the People & Culture Strategy Institute (PCSI-GSAIL), opens this week! It is the world's first credential built around the leadership layer of AI adoption in HR. Seven assessment domains across human-centered judgment, strategic AI leadership, influence, infrastructure, workflow redesign, responsible governance, and execution. Online proctored exam via Meazure Learning.

Eligibility: Premium+ Hacking HR members. One attempt is included with our membership. $99 per additional attempt. ➡️ Learn more here

Before you leave, a quick word from our unofficial Chief Happiness Officer:

Treat yourself to a little gesture. 🐾

👉 Visit our store

If you are a CMO in the HR Tech space, we’d love to have a conversation with you to understand your goals and how we can serve you, so our community can learn more about your solutions.

Next Friday (and every Friday), we will host a Hacking HR Live Webinar Planning session with Q&A. Join us!

📅 When: June 5, 2026, 08:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

👉 Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with details to join the meeting.