Leaders should always be in preparation for change

For Scottish businesses – from financial services to manufacturers managing mounting costs, geopolitical tensions and economic volatility – this tension is pressing. With more change ahead, how prepared are we really?

According to Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change index, 90 per cent of surveyed global business leaders agree that change has accelerated since the start of the year, yet only 42 per cent of these leaders feel very prepared to respond. In the UK, organisations are slightly less confident they can adapt over the next six months, with only 38 per cent feeling very prepared – a gap that must be addressed.

The good news is that UK business leaders are more optimistic about revenue growth than their global peers, which is welcome news amid the country's push for economic growth. A resounding 88 per cent of UK organisations expect domestic revenue growth, and 83 per cent expect international growth in 2025. These leaders are also hyper aware of overcoming major challenges: cost optimisation, supply chain resilience, and adapting the workforce to new environments.

The technological wave

In their quest for growth, leaders are turning to AI – with 83 per cent of surveyed UK executives expected to increase AI investment in 2025. The move towards Agentic AI is already under way (which manifests as an autonomous partner, not just AI tool), with 50 per cent of surveyed organisations already developing agents.

But while optimism about AI is high, it’s tempered by a big dip in workforce readiness. Only 34 per cent of C-Suite leaders plan to upskill employees for AI-enhanced work, and just 10 per cent are redesigning roles.

Employees are also expressing their concerns. Two-thirds of surveyed workers say AI is advancing faster than their organisation's ability to train them. The will is there. In the UK, the workforce is actively experimenting with AI, but only 16 per cent of workers say it has fully transformed their tasks, however 41 per cent say it has made them more creative or strategic.

The disconnect between leadership optimism and employee readiness is a concern. Real value from AI requires a workforce that is not only technically skilled but also confident to work alongside intelligent systems.

The path forward

So, can you ever be fully prepared for change? The answer is complex, but one thing is clear: preparation is a continuous process, not a series of events. Leaders are already concerned by the availability of labour but they’re behind in upskilling the workforce they already have – especially when it comes to new technology.

In this new era, Scottish business leaders must be looking to build a resilient, adaptive workforce – coupled with agile operations and intelligent systems – and ultimately be always willing to learn themselves. The tide of change is here, and those who are successful will be the ones that not just steady ships but anticipate and ride the waves.

David Caskie, Co-lead for Accenture Scotland