A new report from Acorn highlights a growing divide between leadership perceptions and employee realities when it comes to AI preparedness in the workplace. Based on the company’s 2026 State of Learning for AI Fluency Report, which surveyed over 1,200 professionals, 77% of executives felt that managers are prepared to help employees with learning AI skills, whereas 91% of employees disagreed.
The findings indicate that organizations are hastily pouring money into AI projects while not developing role-specific standards that define what AI competence is. Despite these inconsistencies, some companies are still using training completion as an indication of readiness when employees and managers acknowledge feeling relatively unprepared to utilize AI in their daily work.
“What this research makes clear is that there are two workforces experiencing the same AI deployment from fundamentally different positions,” said Blake Proberts. “The deficiency in manager preparedness highlights a measurement infrastructure problem. Managers can’t guide development conversations they have no evidence to anchor on, and without that evidence, employees default to skepticism.”
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The report shows that 58% of organizations admit their development programs are ineffective or only somewhat effective in improving workforce capability. Additionally, 77% of companies still treat training completion as evidence of employee competence, despite widespread uncertainty about whether workers are actually improving their performance.
The findings also point to major gaps in AI governance and workforce planning. Nearly half of surveyed companies have not included AI capabilities in formal performance evaluations, while 34% have yet to define AI competencies at the role level. Another 30% lack formal systems to assess or track AI proficiency among employees.
Employees, meanwhile, appear increasingly unconvinced by corporate AI strategies. Nearly 60% reported low confidence in applying AI within their roles, and many said current tools have delivered only minimal productivity gains. While executives remain largely optimistic about AI-driven transformation, employees expressed skepticism and concern about whether organizations are truly prepared for the shift.
“It is clear AI adoption has outpaced enablement,” said Keith Metcalfe. “We see companies throwing budget at AI without giving their employees the guidance and support required to effectively use it in their roles.”
The Acorn report addresses a bigger issue for companies as adoption of AI continues to grow: the need to develop a standardized structure for linking training, performance expectations and measured results. Without clear goals and well-trained managers, companies may find themselves further disconnect executive aspirations from their employees’ capabilities.
