Conor McCarthy & Rory Timlin
CMcC Partner, Head of People and Change, and RT Partner, AI Practice Lead, KPMG
The Human + AI Approach
The US-Ireland business relationship has long been anchored in shared values around innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent mobility. Today, as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the workplace at unprecedented speed, Irish and American businesses face a common challenge – how to retain skilled workers while navigating the most profound technological transformation in a generation.
The demographic dilemma
In Ireland, the demographic dimension adds immediate pressure to this technological shift. According to the KPMG CEO Outlook 2025, nearly one-third of respondents in the Republic and 23% in Northern Ireland cite the combination of retiring employees and a shortage of skilled workers as the labour market factor having the greatest effect on their organisation.
Conor McCarthy, notes that this data reinforces the need for organisations to “shift their thinking from AI replacing jobs, to workforce design around new jobs in a context where the working age is shrinking across many developed countries”. On this basis, Conor contends that “how the jobs of the future augment the new value that will be created in that future is a strategic workforce planning challenge, and so it’s not something that cannot be addressed today”.
CEOs must balance the exit of experienced employees, many holding critical institutional knowledge, with the arrival of younger employees who bring digital fluency but require cultural integration. Upskilling is no longer just about training but a permanent feature of strategy. Some CEOs are experimenting with continuous learning models: rotational assignments, AI-enabled training platforms, and career pathways that blend technical and soft skills.
Building trust through transparency
The cultural side of innovation is often underestimated. Hybrid work, generational expectations, and rapid skill turnover are reshaping the psychological contract between employers and employees. However, if innovation is framed purely in terms of technology, organisations risk alienating employees. But if it is linked to empowerment, sustainability, and professional growth, innovation can become a cultural magnet for talent.
"Executives need to be open and transparent with their employees around AI adoption to outline how it complements organisational strategy and values, is being deployed in a responsible manner and empowers people. This is fundamental to building trust, engaging hearts and minds in adoption and driving value,” notes Rory Timlin. There are practical applications already delivering results in several business operations. In customer operations, generative AI enhances query understanding and response formulation. It improves first-time resolution, prompts next-best actions and automates post-call summarisation. Beyond customer service, AI is producing measurable gains in content generation, localisation, translation, and document summarisation, capabilities particularly valuable for companies serving transatlantic markets.
Success requires moving beyond rhetoric. Organisations must demonstrate value through competitive compensation, and strategic investment in workforce development. The firms that treat workforce development as strategic investment rather than operational cost will secure competitive advantage in an AI-enabled future.
For more insights visit kpmg.ie
Innovation can become a cultural magnet for talent.
