Julie Teigland, the global vice chair at EY, addressed the challenges companies face in generating productivity improvements through artificial intelligence, stressing that such gains are contingent on significant investment in employees and comprehensive job redesign. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Teigland underscored that organizations cannot expect a return on investment in AI technologies without modifying job descriptions and adapting operational processes accordingly.
Drawing on EY's internal research, Teigland highlighted that around 81 hours of training per employee, when combined with redesigning roles, can potentially lead to approximately 14% gains in weekly productivity. This points to the critical role that workforce development plays alongside the technical adoption of AI.
She further elaborated that the labor market impact of AI will span multiple generations, fundamentally altering entry-level jobs and initial white-collar responsibilities. Employees will need to transition from executing tasks themselves to overseeing and supervising AI-driven processes, effectively becoming "above the loop" in their functions.
Teigland also observed a perceptible shift in the tone of business discussions around AI compared to a year ago. Leaders are adopting more pragmatic perspectives as AI transitions from a phase of hype to practical scaling. Organizations are realizing that implementing AI is not a straightforward plug-and-play endeavor; it requires strategic organizational redesign and structured training, beyond simply introducing new tools.
She noted that many companies have progressed beyond early-stage adoption measures, such as deploying AI copilots and familiarizing staff with the technology, and are now confronting the challenge of advancing past pilot projects and proofs of concept. Teigland warned that becoming entrenched in numerous pilot programs without decisively moving forward can act as a "death trap," stalling organizational progress and diminishing the expected benefits of AI.