AI RESEARCH REPORT | WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

Workforce management teams have embraced AI faster than almost any other function. 

98% of UK organisations are using it or planning to, and 86% already use it today. But confidence has run ahead of capability. 83% of leaders feel confident in AI-supported decisions, while only 17% say AI is actually central to how those decisions get made.

That gap isn't just a statistic. Leaders themselves expect wider AI use could save managers up to 15 hours a week and unlock 3–10% in labour cost efficiency, value that's sitting on the table right now, not five years from now. 

As Rotageek's Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Chris McCullough puts it: "The tech landscape is moving so fast, it'll look entirely different in 12 months." The organisations that close the gap first won't just save time, they'll set the pace for everyone else.

This report is the first to measure that gap directly, using data from 400 senior UK workforce management leaders, not vendor speculation.

A full breakdown across 9 chapters, from where AI stands today to a practical roadmap for closing the gap. Here's some of what's inside:

• Where AI is really being used — and why only 28% of organisations have embedded it across most workforce processes, despite near-universal adoption

• The six numbers that define the AI maturity gap — including the one stat (17%) that separates confident organisations from mature ones
• The eight barriers holding teams back, ranked by how often leaders cite them — trust and transparency top the list at 37%
• What mature AI adoption actually looks like, illustrated through real Rotageek customers already seeing results: an 8% cut in labour overspend, a 65% productivity jump in one quarter
• Why younger leaders report far higher AI maturity than older colleagues (17% vs. 3% say they're "far ahead") — and whether that confidence is earned or premature
• A three-step framework for closing the gap, starting with the one high-value problem you can test in weeks, not months

Not just another AI survey

Most AI research asks if you're using it. This report asked something harder: is it actually working? 

We surveyed 400 senior workforce management decision-makers across UK organisations with 500+ employees, and found 86% are already using AI in workforce management today.

To put that in context, we looked at what else is out there: UK Government research (Feb 2026) found just 16% of UK businesses use AI, while Moneypenny (May 2025) put the figure at 39%.

However these compare, one thing is consistent: workforce management is ahead of the wider business landscape when it comes to AI adoption. 

But adoption is only half the picture. What matters is whether it translates into real results. 

Rotageek customers are already proving what mature AI adoption looks like in practice. At Lush, workforce automation drove a 65% increase in productivity in a single quarter and an 8% reduction in labour overspend at its Birmingham flagship store. At The Entertainer, store managers reclaimed hours previously spent on manual scheduling and payroll cross-checks across 170+ stores. 

"Organisations shouldn't have to take a vendor's word for it. They should be able to check."
— Chris McCullough, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Rotageek 

Rotageek holds ISO/IEC 42001 certification for AI management, the international standard for transparent, accountable, human-centric AI governance. 

• Heads of Workforce Management, WFM Directors, and Operations Leaders
• HR and People leaders overseeing AI adoption in scheduling and labour planning
• Multi-site retail, healthcare, hospitality, and logistics leaders managing large frontline teams
• Anyone deciding where to invest AI budget in the next 12 months

• Get ahead of the maturity curve, not just the adoption curve
  86% of organisations already use AI in workforce management — the advantage now goes to whoever moves from using it to trusting it first.
• Benchmark your own organisation against 400 senior leaders
  See exactly where confidence, capability, and investment stand across UK workforce management, and where you sit by comparison.
• Know which barriers are actually holding teams back
  Trust, data quality, internal skills — see the real reasons AI stalls before it reaches everyday decisions, ranked by how often leaders cite them.
• Walk away with a practical framework, not just findings
  Get the three-step approach Rotageek recommends for closing the AI maturity gap, plus real results from organisations already doing it.

Download the full report for the data, the barriers, and the three-step framework to close the gap