Just because you deploy it, doesn’t mean your users will follow. Especially when it comes to building an AI-augmented workplace. That’s why, on June 5, we hosted our 2025 virtual summit, AI & the Workforce: The Adoption Gap, to learn from those who have been there, tried that—and ultimately found success. We dug deep with our panelists to better understand the strategies and tactics that are inspiring users to get the most from AI tools, including Valence’s AI coach, Nadia.

Here are our top 7 takeaways for HR leaders who want to close the AI adoption gap within their organizations, as told by HR leaders. 

1. Find your champions

Want users to try new AI tools? You need internal champions. Getting buy-in from executives, senior leaders, and other departments not only lends credibility, it also increases visibility and piques user interest—which spurs adoption.

“After we had done our pilot, I gave Nadia to our exec team and our CEO, and said, try it out and see what you think.

It gave it a lot of credibility when we did introduce it because we had our CEO introduce it as a strategic asset for people rather than something mandated, and I think that overcame a lot of that potential skepticism.”

- Maree Prendergast, Global Chief People Officer at VML

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“Find your team, find your partners because they matter. When we implemented Nadia to coach managers based on feedback from our employee engagement surveys, that was a direct partnership with my peer in that space.

We worked together, and we said: Here are the survey results. What would we want a coach to talk about? And then how can Valence partner with us to customize that?”
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- Colleen Sugrue, Head of Global Learning and Organizational Capability at AGCO

2. Extend the invitation

Users are more likely to respond to an invitation than a mandate. When “I have to” becomes “I get to,” users approach AI adoption as an opportunity, not another thing on their to-do lists. 

“Start with an invitation instead of an expectation that someone will be required to use a tool that's new and different for them. We found that when we invited people to participate, we had much greater engagement.”

- Jennifer Carpenter, Vice President, Global Head of Talent at Analog Devices

3. Integrate into their flow

At any given moment, your users are toggling between programs to find information and perform tasks throughout their day. Rather than making AI one more tool they have to remember to use, integrate it into their existing workflows so it’s visible when they need it.  

“We have a bespoke tool that sits within Microsoft Teams, and we embedded Nadia into that app within Teams. So it's right in the middle of the workflow. We didn’t say, ‘Here's a link that you can go and check out and get some coaching.’”

- Maree Prendergast, VML

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“We have a tool called QuickView, which brings employee and operational data together. We were able to create an icon for Nadia in that tool so all of our first level managers have access to it in the same tool that they use to determine if there is a flight interruption. It's a place where we get a lot of important traffic, so we position Nadia right there.”

- Tim Gregory, Managing Director of HR Innovation & Workforce Technology at Delta Airlines

4. Leverage key moments in your talent cycle

HR often delivers the good news (like growth opportunities and workshops) and the bad news (like RTO policies and personnel changes). Thanks to AI tools, you don’t have to do it alone.

With an AI coach offering encouragement and guidance to resources, you can consistently reinforce the nuances that get lost in an email subject line. Plus, you create a direct path for your teams to get support and understand the value of your policies throughout the talent cycle.

“We had a mandated RTO of four days a week, and we had three months to get people back and comfortable. We loaded Nadia with all of our RTO policies and FAQs. She was able to coach that and frame it in the way that we messaged it, which was RTO with significant flexibility. 

Nadia really helped give the perspective that, if you need flexibility, it's there. This is how you get it in a constructive way. This is how you help people understand your particular circumstances. It really helped people with sensitive transitions, which we hadn't anticipated originally.” 
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- Maree Prendergast, VML

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“We have a monthly drumbeat of workshops that are timely and relevant to what employees and managers need to be doing. That might be performance discussions that are already happening. We say, “By the way, come to our workshop. We can show you how AI coaching can support you through that.”
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- Jennifer Carpenter, Analog Devices

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https://youtu.be/_4zlKgxkWZQ?si=WIHIk-DXrjsncZdx&t=381s

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5. Share success stories, especially from senior leaders

Users can be unsure where to start with AI, but success stories are a powerful way to reduce hesitation and offer clear use cases. Create an avenue for your users to share their successes, which empowers both the sharer and the listener to engage. Most importantly, make sure your senior leaders are setting the example with their own experience using AI.

“Our senior leaders are using Nadia, and they're sharing what they've got out of it, and they're sharing how they're using it with their direct reports. It's giving others permission to try. We're also lifting up the real voices of our employees, real examples, and not shying away from the parts that may need adjusting as we move forward.”
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- Lisette Danesi, Global Corporate People Lead at WPP

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“There were about 50 of us in that trial that we did. We gave them some prompts: Here are some conversation starters to test with Nadia and see how this goes. Then we would meet monthly and check in. We said, ’How is it going? What are you learning? What are you hearing?’”

- Colleen Sugrue, AGCO

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6. Track metrics

Every time a user interacts with an AI coach, you’re getting an anonymized glimpse into how it’s driving value. Track metrics and leverage that data as a leading indicator of where you should be focusing your L&D curriculum and what your strongest AI use cases are.

“Because of the way Nadia works, we now have anonymized data on what our people are actively working to improve. And what comes through loud and clear? It's not the technical skills. It's setting clear and measurable goals, communicating with clarity, and active listening. 

These are foundational human skills, but they're also critical leadership skills in an AI-enabled workplace. We're using this insight to fine tune our R&D focus and support leaders where it counts.”

- Lisette Danesi, WPP

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“In the last six months, I've just seen adoption do a little bit of a hockey stick. We're tracking sentiment within ADI, and in the last six months, we've seen a 10% increase in positivity and agency, that personal belief in one's ability to navigate the tools.””

- Jennifer Carpenter, Analog Devices

7. Build for inclusivity

Your workforce is diverse—your AI programs should be, too. Inclusivity builds trust, helping users feel more comfortable engaging with AI in a more authentic way.

“There's a kind of fairness and consistency in the approach that the tool can be used for, which I think really helps to drive trust in the technology, rather than a human who is naturally going to have some biases and inconsistencies in the way that they operate. We've got the message across to people that this is actually a way of reducing bias. People were worried AI was going to create some bias, and actually we've demonstrated to people that this is a way of reducing that level of bias.”

- Jonathan Crookall, Chief People Officer at Costa Coffee

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“One of our future work experts highlighted a growing gender gap of AI adoption in a recent conference. In early data, women already are less likely to be using AI tools, and that's concerning, often because they see it as cheating or they feel unsure how to engage with it. So we're really now focusing our work in our employee communities to address that: building confidence, breaking down myths, and ensuring we don't allow another digital divide to emerge.”

- Lisette Danesi, WPP

AI is not only changing how your people work; it’s changing how they work together. But that change really becomes clear when AI is adopted at scale. In a matter of months, HR leaders have gone from experimenting with AI to discovering and scaling new use cases–and these seven strategies are a big reason they’re now driving tangible value throughout their organizations.

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