What does the future of talent in an AI-first business world look like?

It’s nearly impossible to escape conversations on AI while talking of today’s business transformation and workforce management is at the heart of it. But what does the future of talent look like in an AI-driven business world? How will AI augment the workforce, and what does this mean for HR leaders preparing for this shift?

These were the central themes of the panel discussion, "Vision 2030: Shaping Future Business Realities With Talent at the Core," at the TechHR Singapore 2025 Conference. The panel featured: Melinda McKinley, COO – Talent & Strategy, Standard Chartered; Shayan Hazir, Chief Digital Officer, ASEAN, HSBC; Jaclyn Lee, CHRO, Certis Group, Moderated by Haslam Preeston, Chief People & Culture Officer, CapitaLand.

While artificial intelligence is at the core of business transformation, a number of guardrails still need to be built to realise the full potential of the technology. And companies today are proceeding with caution. From copyright infringement to ethical use, from governance regulations to privacy risks. This is why many companies are starting to adopt AI in lower-risk areas. 

The less risky areas of AI application

Shayan highlighted how AI is already reshaping financial services, “AI is already impacting operations, fraud detection, and risk management…they are enhancing how we manage critical financial services,”

Within talent management, this technology is being used in several areas: hiring, performance management, learning and development, and internal communications. The panellists shared several areas where they are already leveraging AI use cases.

"One of the key HR functions where AI is making a big impact is recruitment, particularly in automating applicant screening. AI helps us process large volumes of applications efficiently, ensuring we find the right candidates faster," said Jaclyn Lee.

At Standard Chartered, the company "introduced Generative AI use cases in HR to transform performance management. AI now helps employees articulate their performance summaries, provides real-time feedback translation, and ensures more structured, actionable feedback—removing friction in the review process." Melinda noted.

Apart from the above use cases, AI is automating HR helpdesks where employees can now get instant answers to policy-related questions, reducing HR workload while improving employee experience. Companies are also using AI-driven tools for curriculum development, helping tailor personalised learning paths and also to track employee sentiment in real-time. 

Higher-order talent challenges

HR is not just adapting to AI - it has the opportunity to lead its strategic adoption. But to do so, HR leaders must move beyond operational AI applications and focus on higher-order challenges like workforce restructuring, future skill planning, and long-term talent strategy.

"HR needs to take the lead in rethinking workforce structures. AI can predict future skill shortages, optimise team compositions, and identify training needs, but only if we start with a problem-first approach," said Shayan.

Sharing an example of the approach from Standard Chartered, Melinda said, "Before implementing AI-driven workforce planning, we analysed the skills we’ll need in the next five years. AI helped us map future talent gaps, classify skills by expertise level, and design a structured workforce roadmap for long-term success."

Start with the business problem

To unlock AI’s full potential make an impact, businesses and talent leaders need to move away from an incremental productivity mindset; they need to think about the application of AI to business problems.

Melinda stressed this point: "Before we introduce AI, we need to ask: What problem are we trying to solve? AI isn’t a strategy on its own—it’s an enabler. If we don’t align it with real business challenges, we risk implementing technology that looks impressive but doesn’t drive meaningful impact."

Shayan echoed this sentiment: “If you start with AI and then look for problems to solve, you’ll end up chasing trends rather than creating real impact. The real transformation happens when we design around business challenges first—then apply technology strategically."

The AI-Human skills gap

Even before AI can be applied to solve business problems, companies need to quickly bridge the AI literacy gap. Without AI literacy, employees won’t know how to leverage AI effectively, and leaders won’t be able to make informed decisions.

"Before investing in new AI solutions, companies should start small with the tools they already have, train employees on practical applications, and scale based on proven impact," Jaclyn said.

Melinda emphasised the importance of human skills alongside AI knowledge: "We need people who come in with an open mindset, curiosity, and adaptability. AI literacy is essential, but equally critical are human skills, like ensuring AI remains ethical, unbiased, and responsible."

Turning on AI is the easy part—it’s a technology switch. But if companies don’t define the human skills needed to augment AI’s capabilities across the value chain, won’t unlock its full potential or achieve the ROI we expect.