The new year has arrived and with it technology tools and trials that were not even on the radar a year or two ago. Generative AI is no longer an experiment at the edges; it’s rapidly becoming part of daily workflows in ways unpredicted just months ago.
HR executives tasked with guiding both culture and execution now find themselves helping employees understand how to use these tools confidently and responsibly while assuaging fears that these same tools will render them irrelevant in the workplace.
But a sweet spot is emerging, one that relies on messaging as much as machines. When employees participate in pilots, observe the real pain points addressed, and hear clearly that people — not technology — remain the focus, apprehension tends to give way to comfort and even experimentation.
HR leaders are navigating this revolution in real time. They explain where AI is already embedded in their organizations and how they’re preparing their teams to survive and thrive as these tools grow more capable and more common.
Foster Curiosity To Alleviate Fear
Laurie Butz joined Capital Credit Union ($2.7B, Green Bay, WI) as president and CEO in November 2021. She has been a SHRM Certified Senior Professional in HR since 1995.
Butz says her credit union uses generative AI as an efficiency play, automating routine tasks, improving search accuracy, and supporting faster decision-making. Its tools learn from employee behavior to deliver better procedures, create stronger first drafts for training materials, and automate workflow without impacting IT resources.
Capital also uses AI to analyze feedback from exit surveys to highlight trends and help leaders act on real concerns. In marketing, tools like Jasper support brand consistency, speed up content creation, and provide ready-to-use templates for campaigns and website updates.
How is your organization addressing employee fears and resistance around AI adoption?
Laurie Butz: Employees develop proficiency through hands-on tool usages. Our team members have trained on AI technologies, specifically Microsoft Copilot, under the guidance of a Microsoft-certified AI engineer.
At Capital, we foster a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement, therefore we haven’t encountered a lot of fear and resistance around AI in the workforce. For us, automation and support aren’t a threat to job security, so it hasn’t been perceived as something to be feared.
How important are education and open discussion in addressing barriers? How do you incorporate those strategies?
LB: We had Microsoft come on site and lead AI training for all our leaders. Now, we actively encourage leveraging AI to advance our objectives. We expect our senior leadership team to continuously seek opportunities to integrate AI into our processes and team strategies.
What strategies or tools are effective for upskilling employees and bridging the AI skills gap?
LB: Capital ran workshops to teach team members how to use Copilot for business tasks. The sessions familiarized participants with the tool, including creating AI-generated images. The aim was to show how AI can support their daily work and idea generation.
How are you leveraging AI in HR functions — like recruiting, performance management, or succession planning — while maintaining fairness and compliance?
LB: We’ve enabled BryteAI, an AI module for our HR system designed to help leaders draft job descriptions. We process HR transactions via a conversational bot, and we write performance reviews with AI support.
There Is No AI Skills Gap
Ken Gardner has been with Greater Texas Federal Credit Union ($957.3M, Austin, TX) for 13 years, the past four in his current role as assistant vice president for HR.
Gardner has been helping the HR team adopt AI for daily operations such as drafting communications, improving processes, and strengthening the employee experience across the enterprise and its subsidiary, Aggieland Credit Union, in College Station.
His team is testing 11 custom GPT Assistants from OpenAI for launch in 2026. The assistants will guide employees and managers through policies, benefits, reviews, and core HR processes.
How is your organization addressing employee fears and resistance around AI adoption?
Ken Gardner: We envision AI as augmenting human work much like computers did in the 1980s and 1990s. Just as that technological shift transformed how people worked, AI will do the same. It’s clear that AI will replace some jobs, particularly within large organizations.
For credit unions of our size, we see AI as an opportunity, not a threat. It will help us manage headcount growth as we scale, allowing our teams to focus on higher-value work that requires creativity, empathy, and judgment. That’s why we’re placing greater emphasis on hiring employees who are adaptable and bring strong human skills to the table, skills that technology cannot replicate.
How important are education and open discussion in addressing barriers? How do you incorporate those strategies?
KG: For adoption, it comes down to showing people how AI can make their work better. Demos help, but what truly builds buy-in is giving people tools that solve real, repetitive, and often frustrating problems. Once they experience those benefits firsthand, the hesitation about AI tends to fade and curiosity takes over.
What strategies or tools are effective for upskilling employees and bridging the AI skills gap?
KG: For most employees, there really isn’t an AI skills gap. What they need is exposure to practical use cases. Whether it’s ChatGPT or Copilot, these platforms use plain language prompts that anyone can learn. That accessibility alone eliminates most of the perceived gap. The real challenge isn’t a lack of skill, it’s fear or resistance to change.
When it comes to developing AI internally, design thinking matters far more than coding skills. The real differentiator is thoughtful design: defining a clear use case, creating effective starter prompts, and making smart decisions on the back end to prevent errors and guide users.
For example, in the handbook assistant we recently built, we added clickable starter prompts to help employees begin a conversation. They include, “I’m new to the company, what should I know?” “What should I know about our benefits?” “What are our PTO policies?” and “I want to know more about FMLA.” This kind of design lowers the learning curve and helps employees feel more confident using AI.
As AI takes over more manual and repetitive work, it will naturally create more opportunities for employees to grow their soft skills such as adaptability, problem-solving, and communication. Those are the skills that will matter most in the future, and we are being intentional about hiring and developing people with these skills.
How are you leveraging AI in HR functions — like recruiting, performance management, or succession planning — while maintaining fairness and compliance?
KG: We’ve decided to limit AI in recruiting. Hiring is one of the most human parts of HR, and we want to preserve that personal connection. We are leveraging AI assistants to help create job descriptions, recruiting ads, and interview questions. These tools save time and ensure our materials are clear, consistent, and aligned with our standards.
In performance management, we’re developing an AI assistant that helps employees and managers complete performance reviews. It guides the employee through a series of methodical questions to build their self-review, then uses that input to prompt the manager with targeted questions that weave in relevant themes and feedback.
I’m particularly excited about this because it will significantly reduce the time spent writing reviews and shift the focus toward the actual performance conversation, one that is developmental and engaging rather than just checking the box.
Ultimately, fairness and compliance come from thoughtful design and human oversight. We use AI to streamline processes, not to make final decisions. Our goal is to enhance objectivity and efficiency while keeping people and our core values at the center of every HR process.
Employee Input For Better Output
Ami Iceman-Haueter has been with Michigan State University Federal Credit Union ($8.2B, East Lansing, MI) for seven years and for the past two and half has been chief research and digital experience officer.
Iceman-Haueter says MSUFCU is already using AI in several ways, most notably via virtual assistants Fran and Gene, who respectively support members and employees, enhancing the service experience for both groups.
How is your organization addressing employee fears and resistance around AI adoption?
Ami Iceman-Haueter: MSUFCU has been working with AI partners for several years, and we’ve included our employees in the process every step of the way. Our teams have been involved in everything from designing how our AI systems work to testing them before they’re launched to our members or broader employee base.
We place a strong focus on communication before introducing any new AI-related products or services, helping employees understand how these tools enhance efficiency while emphasizing the importance of keeping humans at the center of our approach.
Involving employees throughout this journey has allowed us to scale several projects, including virtual agents. Sharing the results and impact of these initiatives has been one of our greatest successes.
How important are education and open discussion in addressing barriers? How do you incorporate those strategies?
AIH: Education has been an effective tool, but it alone cannot create change within the organization. That change comes from our leadership team, our employees, and our shared commitment to understanding that AI is part of our toolbox, not a replacement for human talent.
We’ve spent significant time helping employees and managers see AI as a partner in their work while reinforcing that it’s not perfect and we remain responsible for the information it produces. Transparency has been key. Being open about our intent, strategy, and goals for AI has helped our employees feel more comfortable. They understand why we’re embracing AI, how we plan to use it, and exactly where they fit into that strategy.
What strategies or tools are effective for upskilling employees and bridging the AI skills gap?
AIH: We have made AI education a standard part of our training package. We’re also rolling out department-specific use cases and piloting ways to understand what information is most valuable for our managers, leaders, employees, and even interns.
This helps us bridge gaps thoughtfully and tailor AI tools to each access point. Different departments will use AI in different ways, some for automated decision-making and others in service capacities.
The most important part is identifying use cases that support our team’s everyday work. At the same time, we continue to invest in all other areas of training to keep skills and competencies strong across the organization. Our goal is to maintain a healthy balance between problem-solving with AI and problem-solving independently while helping every employee build the skills they need to grow in their careers.
How are you leveraging AI in HR functions — like recruiting, performance management, or succession planning — while maintaining fairness and compliance?
AIH: We’re not currently using AI in recruiting beyond helping to draft job postings. AI supported the development of our performance management program, and some managers might use it as a tool to help complete parts of the process. AI also played a role in creating our succession planning program, and we use it in several of our payroll processes as well.
Fight Fear With Fun
Rachel Schaming is a longtime executive coach and organizational consultant who has served We Florida Financial Credit Union ($719.5M, Pembroke Pines, FL) as its chief human resources officer for the past five years.
Schaming says the Florida shop uses gen AI to streamline loan applications, call center work, and deposit processes. For example, AI cuts loan decisioning time by 50%, speeding up member service and reducing manual review.
In HR, AI tools help create and update job descriptions, craft postings, screen resumes, draft policies, and write newsletter content, saving an estimated 30% of the time spent on these essential HR tasks. The credit union’s Innovation Team has also built two AI apps that give the workforce quick access to procedures, policies, and updates so they can find the information they need without delay.
How is your organization addressing employee fears and resistance around AI adoption?
RS: We use Kahoot quizzes and word searches to make AI technology fun. Our intention is to help employees see that learning new skills can be fun and create new ways to serve our members more efficiently.
What strategies or tools are effective for upskilling employees and bridging the AI skills gap?
RS: Employees are aware that our board requires us to provide a document indicating progress in upskilling with a particular focus on technology and AI competencies. We have an Individual Development Plan (IDP) process that is tied to our performance management software.
How are you leveraging AI in HR functions — like recruiting, performance management, or succession planning — while maintaining fairness and compliance?
RS: Over the past couple of years, we have held team and individual meetings to show employees how AI can enhance their job competencies with increased efficiency. We require all employees to include an AI course in their IDP. Because we require all employees at every level to include technology and AI coursework in their IDPs, we’ve had minimal resistance to learning the new technologies.
Interviews have been edited and condensed.
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