Salesforce’s latest research, which surveyed 200 global human resource
executives, reveals that digital labor isn’t just a trend — it’s a business strategy revolution. With AI agent
adoption expected to jump 383% over the next two years, leading to a productivity gain of 41.7%, HR
leaders in India are reimagining the way organizations structure and skill their workforce. The findings
reveal that CHROs in India expect to redeploy nearly a quarter (24.7%) of their workforce as their
organizations implement and embrace digital labor.
The study also highlighted a growing focus on AI reskilling programs. 88% of Indian HR chiefs are or are
planning to reskill their workers to be more competitive in a market shaped by AI agents. Most of these
leaders (81%) also agree that soft skills like relationship building and collaboration will be even more
critical as humans work alongside agents.
Why it matters: 85% of Indian HR leaders agree the workforce will be made up of humans and agents in
the next five years. And yet, 88% say their organizations have yet to implement agentic AI and 63% say
employees don’t yet understand how digital labor will impact their work. As agentic AI reshapes the
workplace — and the skills workers need to succeed — understanding how HR leaders are ensuring
organizational resilience is critically important.
Comments on the news:
“We’re in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime transformation of work with digital labor that is unlocking new
levels of productivity, autonomy, and agency at a speed never before thought possible,” said Nathalie
Scardino, President and Chief People Officer at Salesforce. “Every industry must redesign jobs,
reskill, and redeploy talent — and every employee will need to learn new human, agent, and business
skills to thrive in the digital labor revolution.”
Key insights from the research include:
- HR leaders in India believe digital labor is the future and its integration is critical to their
role
● 85% believe that within five years, most workforces will have humans and AI
agents/digital labor working together.
● 92% of CHROs say that integrating digital labor alongside their existing workforce will be
a critical part of their job.
● CHROs project a 383% growth in agent adoption within their organizations by 2027 (from
12% adoption today to 58% two years from now).
● Once agentic AI is fully implemented, CHROs expect an average employee productivity
gain of 41.7% and a 26.2% reduction in labor costs.
- CHROs in India plan to reskill and redeploy their employees to work alongside agents
● 83% of CHROs believe AI agents/digital labor will transform their organizational structure.
● 93% of CHROs believe AI agents/digital labor will empower them to reassign employees
to new, more relevant roles.
○ They anticipate redeploying nearly a quarter (24.7%) of the workforce to new
roles or teams.
● 88% of CHROs believe redeployment is the more cost-effective approach compared to
hiring outside the business for new roles.
● 88% of CHROs are either already reskilling (15%) or plan to reskill (73%) employees for
roles with better future opportunities.
- With 88% of businesses yet to embrace agentic AI, CHROs in India direct near-term efforts
toward AI implementation — including IT and research and development
● CHROs anticipate research and development (R&D) (59%), IT (51%), and sales teams
(34%) will grow as their business begins to adopt AI agents.
● CHROs plan to reassign employees to governance, compliance, and ethics roles
(60%), like defining standards and monitoring AI inputs, and technical roles (60%), like
data scientists or technical architects, in the near term.
● CHROs believe AI literacy is the number one skill workers need as businesses move into
the agentic economy. - As businesses implement digital labor strategies, CHROs in India believe soft skills and
relationship-building roles will become more valuable
● 81% of CHROs say AI agents/digital labor will increase the need for soft skills at their
organization.
● CHROs also plan to reassign employees to relationship-building roles (54%), like
partnerships and account management and say collaboration and adaptability skills will
be valuable in the agentic economy. - Despite the urgency of digital labor, many Indian HR chiefs are still in early planning
phases with preparing their workforce.
○ Just 12% of Indian CHROs say their organization has fully implemented agentic AI.
○ 63% of Indian HR chiefs say their employees remain unaware of how AI agents will
impact their work
More information:
● Read about Salesforce’s strategy for agentic AI adoption
● Find more data about agentic AI on the Salesforce Stat Library
Methodology
Salesforce conducted an online, double-blind survey in partnership with NewtonX among 200 Chief
Human Resource Officers, Chief People Officers, and other global leads of HR, including 41 in India.