How to get leadership buy-in for AI

AI is already in your workplace. The question is whether your leadership team is driving it or catching up to it.

Across Australian businesses, employees are using AI tools every day, often without formal approval. According to our recent AI Paradox at Work research, 1 in 3 Australian workers (34%) use AI tools at work without their employer knowing and 44% of businesses report staff using personal AI accounts on the job. This is a signal that demand has outrun policy and that leadership needs a position on AI before they’re forced into one.

If you’re in HR and you can see the opportunity clearly but you’re struggling to get the C-suite across the line, here’s how to frame the conversation.

Start with the business case, not the technology

The biggest mistake HR leaders make when pitching AI is leading with tools. Leadership cares about cost, risk and competitive positioning. Build your case around those three things.

1. Cost

75% of AI users in Australia say it’s improved their productivity at work. When 29% of those workers are putting that saved time toward strategic work, the productivity gains compounds beyond just doing the same tasks faster.

To make that concrete for leadership, use the ROI framework in the objections section below. Run the numbers on one process before you walk into the room.

2. Risk

The shadow AI problem is already a risk your business carries. When employees use personal accounts to process work information, company data leaves your environment without oversight, without audit trails, without access controls and with no visibility over what’s been shared with a third-party model. 

That exposure is created whether or not you have a formal AI policy. Getting ahead of this with a managed approach, approved tools, clear data handling rules and usage visibility, is the risk-mitigation story that resonates with CFOs and legal teams.

Looking for an AI policy for your team? Download our AI policy template here.

3. Competitive positioning

The businesses moving faster are pulling ahead. Our AI Paradox data shows that businesses with AI deeply embedded are growing entry-level headcount more than twice as fast as lower-adoption businesses. That’s the kind of number that gets a CEO’s attention.

Address the concerns you leadership will raise

Before you walk into the meeting, map out the objections you’ll face.

“We don’t know if it’s accurate or safe.” 

This is a fair concern and worth taking seriously. Leadership wants to know the guardrails in place before AI touches anything customer-facing or sensitive. But the more pressing risk is what’s already happening without anyone signing off on it. 1 in 3 Australian workers (34%) use AI tools at work without their employer knowing, which means the absence of a policy is just removing visibility into it.

You can propose a governed rollout consisting of a small number of approved tools, clearly defined use cases and documented data handling guidelines so everyone knows what’s in bounds and what isn’t. 

Doing nothing won’t make the risk go away. Leadership will find out eventually, just later, and with less control over how it plays out.

“Our people aren’t ready.”

The data tells a different story. 61% of Australian workers say AI is helping them build more valuable skills, and that sentiment is strongest among workers aged 35 to 44, the cohort that typically makes up the backbone of most operational teams. 

Your people are likely further along than leadership assumes. The real issue here is likely  the absence of policy and governance to support what’s already happening on the ground.

“What’s the ROI?”

This one is the easiest to answer with numbers. Pick a manual, time-intensive process your team handles regularly. Estimate the hours spent on it per week, multiply by headcount and apply your average salary cost to get a weekly dollar figure. Then model what a 30 to 50% reduction in that time would be worth annually. 

That number alone is your ROI case and it’s calculated before you’ve even accounted for the upside of redirecting that freed-up time into higher-value strategic work.

Give leadership a clear decision to make

Vague proposals get vague responses. You need to be prepared to come in with a specific ask.

A phased approach works well here. Phase one might be an approved tool list and a basic usage policy. Phase two might be a pilot in one function with measurable outcomes. Phase three might be a broader rollout informed by pilot data. Each phase has a clear decision point, a budget and a success metric.

This gives leadership the control they’re looking for by approving a time-boxed pilot with defined parameters. That’s a much easier yes.

Make the skills argument

One angle that often gets overlooked in leadership conversations is the talent and retention dimension. Businesses without a visible AI strategy are going to struggle in the hiring market and increasingly in retention too. 

If your business can’t offer employees the tools and environment to build AI skills on the job, you’ll lose ground to competitors who can, both in attracting candidates and in keeping the people you already have.

What good looks like after you get the yes

The businesses seeing the strongest results are the ones using AI deliberately. That means publishing a clear list of approved tools and what they’re approved for, building AI literacy into your onboarding program from day one and making AI usage a visible part of how you evaluate and develop people.

One important thing to be aware of is that 42% of workers say using AI to complete parts of their job feels like “cheating.” That mindset only changes when leadership makes the organisation’s position on AI visible and unambiguous. Your job after getting the yes is to turn it into a cultural permission structure that every employee can feel.

Turn the AI rollout into a learning program with Employment Hero

Employment Hero’s learning platform lets HR teams assign courses, track completion and report on progress across the workforce, all within the same platform used for recruitment, HR and payroll. If you’re rolling out AI training, you can build it into formal development plans and show leadership measurable progress instead of relying on self-directed learning that’s hard to track. 

Our Employment Operating system also helps HR teams build smarter workflows across hiring, onboarding and performance, so you can spend less time on admin and more time on strategy.

Book a demo to see how Employment Hero supports AI-ready teams.

The information in this article is current as at 30 June 2026 and has been prepared by Employment Hero Pty Ltd (ABN 11 160 047 709) and its affiliates (Employment Hero). The views expressed in this article are general information only, are provided in good faith to assist employers and their employees, and should not be relied on as professional advice. Some information is based on data supplied by third parties. While such data is believed to be accurate, it has not been independently verified and no warranties are given that it is complete, accurate, up to date or fit for the purpose for which it is required. Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracy in such data and is not liable for any loss or damages arising directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on, use of or inability to use any information provided in this article. You should undertake your own research and seek professional advice before making any decisions or relying on the information in this article.