How to Recruit and Build an AI-Ready Workforce

AI is already reshaping how organizations recruit, onboard, and grow their teams. But preparing your workforce for this future isn’t about filling jobs with high-tech resumes; it’s about building a culture of adaptability, learning, and human-centered innovation.

In her dynamic and engaging session at the Innovation Summit, Kimiya Roesser, Director of Talent Acquisition at HIKE2, walked attendees through a practical roadmap for hiring and retaining an AI-ready workforce. Combining hiring insights, real-world examples, and audience interaction, Roesser offered a clear-eyed look at how organizations can equip themselves for a rapidly evolving talent landscape.

Key Takeaways:

• AI-readiness is about mindset as much as skillset. Technical tools matter, but success depends on adaptability, critical thinking, and collaboration.
• Soft skills are a competitive advantage. Even the most AI-optimized resumes must pass the human test—communication, responsiveness, and initiative still matter.
• Onboarding and upskilling must be intentional and personalized. An AI-literate culture starts with structured training and continuous development for every employee.
• Successful AI adoption requires buy-in at all levels. Without clear communication and inclusive rollouts, even the best systems risk failure due to poor user adoption.

Rethinking Hiring in the Age of AI

The first step to building an AI-ready workforce starts with the job posting itself. According to Roesser, job listings mentioning ChatGPT-related skills have increased over 200-fold since late 2022. But the challenge isn’t just in knowing what to ask for, it’s about aligning what’s written with what’s actually needed.

Many candidates today are savvy to AI-powered applicant tracking systems. They pepper their resumes with keywords to bypass algorithms. But once a resume lands on a real recruiter’s desk, it’s soft skills, like responsiveness, clarity, and problem-solving—that truly differentiate applicants.

Roesser shared how even at a tech-forward firm like HIKE2, traditional human evaluation still plays a key role. AI tools such as LinkedIn Recruiter help identify candidates, but hiring decisions ultimately hinge on more than just technical buzzwords.

Hiring for AI Readiness: Asking the Right Questions

Interview strategies are evolving alongside recruitment tools. Roesser emphasized the importance of assessing candidates’ actual comfort and experience with AI by posing scenario-based questions. For example: “Tell me about a time you used AI to streamline a process.”

The goal isn’t to find AI experts, but rather individuals who show curiosity, adaptability, and real-world application of tools like ChatGPT or automation platforms. Roesser and an audience volunteer demonstrated this approach in a mock interview, highlighting how strong answers involve specific, practical examples—not just theory.

Building Capability from Day One

Hiring is only the beginning. Once new employees are in the door, organizations must cultivate an environment where AI fluency is part of the culture. That starts with onboarding. Roesser recommended embedding AI literacy into onboarding programs, clearly signaling to new hires that this is a priority from day one.

Custom learning paths—tailored to the employee’s role and career goals—can accelerate engagement and relevance. Whether through online courses, hands-on workshops, or mentorship, organizations should avoid one-size-fits-all training models and instead embrace a more personalized, continuous learning mindset.

Participants in the session contributed thoughtful suggestions as well, including using performance incentives for completing AI training and leveraging AI tools themselves to design onboarding plans that are personalized and scalable.

Why Adoption Often Fails and How to Prevent It

A recurring theme in Roesser’s talk was that AI implementation fails not because the tech is flawed, but because people aren’t properly onboarded into its purpose. Change resistance often stems from confusion, poor rollout communication, or a lack of visible value.

She illustrated this with a familiar workplace scenario: a new system gets introduced without explanation or buy-in, employees don’t understand the benefits, and adoption stalls. To avoid this, companies need to include employees early, communicate the “why” behind tools, and gradually integrate them into workflows.

Roesser stressed that successful adoption must be inclusive and transparent. Employees need to understand how AI will support them—not replace them. When teams are engaged in the process, they’re more likely to embrace innovation.

The Human Side of an AI Future

As Roesser reminded attendees, AI isn’t going anywhere. Organizations that embrace it strategically, by investing in their people and systems, will have a powerful edge. But that edge won’t come from technical skills alone.

Building an AI-ready workforce means cultivating employees who can think critically, learn continuously, and collaborate effectively with both humans and machines. It means designing hiring processes, training programs, and internal cultures that prioritize adaptability and learning.

Because at the end of the day, the most valuable AI-ready employees aren’t just those who know the tools, they’re the ones who know how to evolve with them.