Employers are now factoring employees' skills on artificial intelligence in deciding promotions and rating performance, as AI skills become a mainstream business priority.

This is according to a new report from HiBob, which polled 1,200 AI decision-makers across the United States, the United Kingdom, DACH, the Nordics, Benelux, and Australia/New Zealand.

It found that 67% of organisations are already linking AI proficiency to promotions, while 50% are tying it to employees' performance ratings.

More than a quarter of the respondents (28%) also said AI skills are explicitly linked to pay decisions.

The findings come as 75% of AI decision-makers expect moderate AI proficiency to be the standard for most non-technical roles by 2028.

"AI is officially a mainstream workforce strategy. No longer a specialist concern, it is reshaping how organisations define performance, make talent decisions, and connect workforce capability to business outcomes," the report read.

Gap between intent, infrastructure

The problem, however, is the huge gap between intent and infrastructure when it comes to AI adoption, according to the report.

Only 68% of firms said they have a strategy to find AI-skilled candidates, while a smaller 23% have internal mobility and reskilling pipelines in place to source AI-skilled staff.

"Companies want AI talent, but they've been trying to build it piecemeal," the report read.

When it comes to upskilling, 73% of the respondents said their organisations invest in AI upskilling, but there is no consensus on what actually works, offering a fragmented mix of tools and upskilling supports instead.

"Organisations know they have to develop 'something' concrete to train their workforces and demonstrate being 'AI-forward,' but AI upskilling remains exploratory and un-systematised," the report added.

Direct managers and team leaders, who are most expected to be in charge of building AI skills in their teams, are also underprepared.

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