For many organizations, the difficult part of adopting artificial intelligence is no longer finding an AI tool. It is getting employees and managers to use those tools consistently, responsibly and with enough judgment to produce meaningful business results.
McLean & Company is addressing that problem with a new Human-Centric AI Program, a workforce capability-building initiative designed around AI fluency, practical application and leadership. Rather than focusing primarily on how to operate individual AI products, the program aims to teach employees how to make decisions, communicate, adapt and lead as AI changes workplace processes.
The launch reflects a growing shift in enterprise AI strategy: from technology deployment toward workforce readiness.
McLean & Company, an HR research and advisory firm, has launched its Human-Centric AI Program, a training initiative designed to help organizations develop the workforce capabilities needed to adopt artificial intelligence responsibly and at scale.
The program is aimed at professionals, managers and executives across functions including HR, IT and operations. It uses a blended, self-paced learning model built around three stages: Foundational AI & Data Fluency, Practical Application, and Leading in an AI World.
The underlying premise is that AI adoption is as much an organizational challenge as a technology challenge.
Companies can purchase access to large language models from providers such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and OpenAI, deploy AI copilots across business applications and experiment with automation. But those investments do not automatically translate into productive adoption.
Employees still need to understand when AI should be used, how outputs should be evaluated, what information can safely be shared with AI systems and when human judgment should override an automated recommendation.
That makes AI literacy increasingly relevant to HR and business leaders—not simply IT departments.
The AI skills gap is becoming an organizational problem
The timing of McLean & Company’s launch reflects a broader challenge in enterprise AI.
McKinsey’s 2025 global survey found that 88% of respondents said their organizations regularly use AI in at least one business function, up from 78% the previous year. Yet most organizations had not moved beyond experimentation and early-stage scaling. Only about one-third reported that they had begun scaling AI programs across the enterprise.
The implication is significant: widespread AI availability does not necessarily produce widespread organizational transformation.
Training can be part of the missing layer.
Traditional technology training often focuses on features—how to use a particular application, write an effective prompt or generate content. Those skills can become outdated quickly as models and interfaces change.
McLean & Company’s approach instead emphasizes capabilities that remain relevant even as the underlying technology evolves.
Critical thinking, decision-making, communication, adaptability and change leadership are not tied to a particular AI model. They are organizational skills that can determine whether employees use AI effectively or simply add another layer of technology to existing workflows.
Three learning paths target different stages of AI adoption
The program is divided into three progressive learning paths.
Foundational AI & Data Fluency is intended to establish basic confidence around AI and responsible usage. For employees who are beginning to interact with generative AI tools, that can include understanding capabilities, limitations and appropriate use.
Practical Application moves from theory into workplace scenarios. The focus is on applying AI to real tasks rather than treating AI knowledge as an isolated technical competency.
The third track, Leading in an AI World, targets managers and executives responsible for organizational adoption. It addresses the leadership component of AI transformation, where decisions involve workforce changes, operating models, communication and sustained adoption.
Each path combines microlearning with practical exercises, real-world scenarios, assessments, tools and credentials. McLean & Company also says the program incorporates live expert-led sessions, peer learning, manager guidance and ongoing support.
That combination is important because enterprise AI adoption rarely happens through training alone.
A worker may complete an AI course and still return to a workplace where policies are unclear, managers discourage experimentation or existing processes make AI difficult to use.
The organizational environment has to change alongside individual skills.
Continuous updates address AI’s unusually short technology cycle
One of the more consequential elements of the program is its commitment to continuously updating the learning material.
That matters because conventional professional training can remain relevant for years. AI tools can change substantially within months.
Large language models are becoming more capable, multimodal systems are expanding beyond text, and AI agents are beginning to move from generating responses toward executing multi-step tasks. Training based around a particular interface or model risks becoming obsolete as those capabilities evolve.
A capability-based model is more durable.
For HR leaders, that means AI training can be positioned less as a one-time certification exercise and more as an ongoing workforce-development program.
The distinction becomes particularly important as organizations establish internal AI policies. Employees need to understand not just what AI can do, but how organizational rules apply to data privacy, intellectual property, accuracy, bias and human oversight.
Human-centric AI is becoming an HR technology issue
The launch also places AI literacy squarely inside the broader HR technology and future-of-work conversation.
HR departments are increasingly being asked to help organizations determine which jobs and skills will change as AI becomes embedded in everyday workflows.
That includes reskilling existing employees, redesigning roles, establishing new competencies and helping managers lead teams where humans and AI systems work together.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identified AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy among the fastest-growing skill areas through 2030. At the same time, analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility remain among the skills employers consider particularly important.
That combination supports the broader argument behind McLean & Company’s program: technical AI knowledge and human capabilities are becoming complementary rather than competing priorities.
The competitive market is moving beyond AI tool training
McLean & Company is entering a crowded corporate-learning market.
Microsoft, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce and other major technology providers already offer AI training, certifications and workforce-skilling initiatives. Consulting firms and universities are also developing executive AI education programs.
The difference is positioning.
Vendor-led programs naturally tend to emphasize the capabilities of a particular technology ecosystem. A workforce-oriented program can instead focus on how people use AI across multiple tools and business functions.
For enterprise buyers, that distinction should matter.
Organizations evaluating AI training should look beyond the number of courses or certifications offered. More useful questions include whether training is tied to actual workflows, whether managers are included, how responsible-use policies are incorporated and whether learning outcomes can be measured.
They should also ask how training will keep pace with the technology.
AI adoption is unlikely to be a single transformation project with a defined completion date. As models, agents and enterprise applications evolve, workforce capabilities will need to evolve with them.
McLean & Company’s Human-Centric AI Program is built around that longer-term premise.
The bigger industry story is that AI adoption is increasingly becoming a people-management problem. Companies may have the models, cloud infrastructure and software. The next competitive advantage may depend on whether their employees know how to use those systems with judgment.
Market Landscape
Enterprise AI has moved rapidly from experimentation into everyday software, but organizational adoption remains uneven.
McKinsey’s 2025 research found that 88% of surveyed organizations regularly use AI in at least one business function, while most have not yet reached enterprise-wide scale.
Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum expects technology-related skills to grow in importance through 2030 while human capabilities such as analytical thinking, resilience and adaptability remain critical.
This is creating a new market for AI workforce enablement. The main approaches include:
- Vendor-specific AI training: Programs from Microsoft, Google, AWS and Salesforce focused on their respective AI ecosystems.
- Technical AI education: Courses aimed at developers, data scientists and IT professionals.
- Executive AI education: Programs designed to help senior leaders understand strategy, governance and transformation.
- Organization-wide AI literacy: Training intended to establish consistent AI skills, responsible-use practices and adoption behaviors across departments.
McLean & Company’s offering is positioned primarily in the fourth category, with a stronger emphasis on human judgment and leadership than conventional software training.
For HR teams, the emerging challenge will be connecting AI learning to workforce planning. Training employees to use AI is only the beginning; organizations also need to determine which processes should change, which skills should be developed and how performance should be measured after AI enters the workflow.
Top Insights
- McLean & Company launched a three-stage AI training program focused on workforce fluency, practical application and leadership rather than individual software tools.
- The program targets employees, managers and executives across HR, IT and operations as AI adoption increasingly becomes an organization-wide workforce challenge.
- Continuous content updates are designed to keep AI training relevant as large language models, copilots and autonomous AI agents rapidly evolve.
- McKinsey reports widespread organizational AI use but limited enterprise-scale deployment, highlighting the gap between technology access and meaningful transformation.
- The initiative reflects a growing HR technology trend toward combining technical AI literacy with critical thinking, adaptability, responsible use and change leadership.
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