A 40% Productivity Gap: Talent Strategies Are Essential
Without Enhanced Rewards, AI-Skilled Employees Are More Likely to Leave
A recent survey has found that even with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in companies, productivity can diverge by up to 40% if appropriate talent management strategies are not established.
On December 16, EY Korea, a global accounting and consulting firm, announced the results of its 'EY Work Reimagined 2025' survey, which analyzed the current and future state of jobs. The survey examined the level of AI adoption, talent strategies, and organizational culture among 15,000 employees and 1,500 employers (executives) across 29 countries.
According to the survey, 88% of all employees are using AI in their daily work, but usage is largely limited to simple tasks such as search and document summarization. Only 5% of respondents reported using AI at a level that truly transforms the way they work.
As AI becomes more widespread, employee anxiety is also increasing. Among all employee respondents, 37% expressed concern that over-reliance on AI could undermine their skills and expertise. Additionally, 64% said their workload had actually increased due to performance pressure and other factors. Only 12% of employees said they were receiving sufficient AI training.
Despite the availability of internal AI tools, a clear trend of 'shadow AI'-employees using external AI solutions independently-was observed. Depending on the industry, between 23% and 58% of employees reported using unofficial AI tools for work.
The report analyzed that the main reason AI adoption is not delivering the expected results is due to 'weak talent strategies.' The limited effectiveness is attributed to a lack of organizational culture, inefficient learning systems, and misaligned compensation structures.
In practice, only 28% of companies have achieved a 'talent advantage' by strengthening both their workforce and technology. Organizations with weak talent strategies saw productivity gains from AI adoption that were more than 40% lower than those with a talent advantage.
While investment in AI training showed clear benefits, it also revealed new HR risks. Employees who received more than 81 hours of AI training per year experienced an average productivity increase of 14 hours per week, far exceeding the overall median of 8 hours. However, these employees were found to be 55% more likely to leave the organization, as external opportunities for AI talent were more attractive than internal promotions.
In response, EY Korea emphasized that companies need to strengthen their total rewards strategies-including compensation, technology accessibility, flexibility, and career opportunities to utilize AI skills-to prevent the outflow of AI talent.
The report also suggested that for AI adoption to translate into business performance, five human factors must be strengthened in a balanced manner: AI adoption capability, learning systems, employee satisfaction, organizational culture, and compensation structure.
Kim Suyeon, Partner at EY Consulting, stated, "Along with technology adoption, companies must implement people-centered strategies. Only by creating an organizational culture where employees can learn and grow in the AI era can the full potential of technology be realized."
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