Every high-performing business embraces AI now - but here's what else they're doing right

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The embrace of artificial intelligence (AI) is now a common denominator among high-performing companies. But there's a lot more to the story than expensive technology solutions -- high performers concentrate on human-centered innovation in a big way. 

It's a tech-era variation on Peter Drucker's tried-and-true observation about business: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." In this case, the 2024 follow-up is "Culture eats technology for lunch." 

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In general, leading organizations "view disruptions as opportunities for reinvention, skillfully identifying what's broken, preserving what works, and proactively evolving their work methods," according to a new report from the Upwork Research Institute, which analyzed the practices and attitudes of more than 1,500 global business leaders. 

In its survey, the Upwork team teased out 27% of businesses that were consistently outpacing the overall sample. These companies were "twice as likely to be confident in their organization's future" and averaged a 32-point higher satisfaction rate than their counterparts in their financial performance. 

These high-performing companies "trust their workforce to be productive regardless of location, are early adopters of AI-based technologies, and strategically look for external talent to enhance in-house capabilities," the survey's authors, Upwork's Kelly Monahan and Gabby Burlacuis, observed.

"Organizations that embrace internal transformation in the face of external shocks are better equipped to thrive," the researchers state. "However, instead of reinventing work models to facilitate ongoing innovation, many leaders remain fixated on maintaining the status quo, pursuing efficiencies, or merely reacting to industry changes."

Overall, across all organizations in the survey, there is a significant gap between AI adoption and workforce readiness. Nearly half (46%) of survey respondents report that only a small portion (25% or less) of their workforce is prepared to work alongside AI. In addition, most say that a similar portion of their employees have AI skills. 

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There are notable distinctions in AI approaches between high performers and underperformers, the Upwork researchers point out. For example, 63% of high performers make workforce upskilling a central focus of technology implementation, compared to 37% of the rest. In addition, 38% of high-performing companies focus on the convergence and integration of new technologies, compared to 23% of their peers.  

The higher performers reported 30% lower operating expenses, the survey finds. They are "focused on optimizing human-driven processes and reducing manual labor costs, which they achieved in part through AI-based technology and automation. This enabled them to scale resources up and down effectively."

Cutting-edge organizations "address resource constraints by fully understanding how technologies like generative AI can maximize human labor amid growing financial pressures and skill shortages," Monahan and Burlacuis observed. "They conduct thorough assessments of the AI-related skills within their workforce and actively pursue upskilling and reskilling initiatives to close gaps." 

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The high performers also have learned to align their existing technology to business growth. "When organizations chase the shiny-new-object implementation without adequately considering how they'll integrate it into their existing technology infrastructure, they face an uphill battle," the researchers observed. "Their disparate systems often don't work together and confuse employees about what to use and when. Leaders should assess the current state of their internal technology stacks to identify gaps, redundancies, and opportunities for integration. This technology audit will provide a roadmap for aligning technologies in a cohesive manner."

High performers also keep a sharp eye on the evolving technology landscape. "They understand that, for example, generative AI may be in the limelight now, but that doesn't mean they should ignore other emerging technologies and their possible roles throughout the organization -- even if exploring these possibilities is uncomfortable and occasionally takes longer," Monahan and Burlacuis observed.

"For instance,' they continued, "Upwork platform data reveals growing demand not only for AI but also for robotics and Internet of Things technologies, with job postings for these skills having tripled since 2020. Cloud computing is more advanced among these companies than their non-innovator counterparts."

A forward-looking corporate culture is just as vital to higher performance as adoption of the latest and greatest technologies. High performers prioritize a human-centric approach to technology adoption, the survey also shows. Almost all, 89%, "strive to keep employees informed about the benefits and impacts of technology adoption," versus 76% of the underperformers. In addition, 92% solicit feedback throughout the process, versus 71% of the rest. 

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And, importantly, 90% build robust training and support resources -- compared to 74% of the rest.

Also, 90% of high performers "celebrate milestones and successes related to tech adoption," versus 76% of the rest, the study shows.    

"If an algorithm can outperform a human at a task, work innovators want to know about it -- and they're prepared to restructure operations and jobs to integrate these efficiencies," Monahan and Burlacuis state. "While they are more likely to provide training and support when introducing new technologies, they do so as part of a broader system that unlocks their people's innovative potential. This system involves asking the right questions -- not only about technology but also about how distributed and flexible work practices integrate with it -- and building the answers into a unified operating model."