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      The workforce is undergoing a fundamental transformation as organisations navigate the convergence of artificial intelligence, evolving operating models and changing talent expectations. As AI moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption, organisations are rethinking how work is designed, how decisions are made and how humans and digital agents collaborate to create value. The focus is shifting from workforce availability to workforce adaptability, capability development and organisational agility, enabling businesses to remain competitive in an increasingly AI-driven economy.

      This transformation is being accelerated by the emergence of human-agent workforces, where AI agents are becoming active participants in business processes alongside employees. Organisations are redesigning structures, governance models and leadership approaches to manage this new reality while ensuring accountability, trust and productivity. At the same time, investments in skills, leadership development and inclusion remain critical as organisations seek to build a future-ready workforce capable of leveraging AI while maintaining human judgement, creativity and innovation.

      groups

      Human and AI collaboration

      Enabling effective partnerships between employees and intelligent agents

      domain_add

      Future-ready talent and skills

      Building capabilities aligned to AI, digital technologies and changing business needs

      tenancy

      Inclusive leadership and workforce transformation

      Creating diverse, adaptable and high-performing organisations

      At the same time, workforce transformation is increasingly being shaped by broader economic, technological and societal priorities.

      • AI-enabled workforce transformation

        Improving productivity, decision-making and organisational effectiveness

      • Human-agent operating models

        Redefining roles, responsibilities and governance frameworks

      • Workforce redesign and organisational agility

        Enabling faster adaptation to evolving business needs

      • Women in leadership

        Strengthening representation and leadership pipelines across organisations

      • Talent development for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME)

        Supporting innovation, competitiveness and long-term growth

      • Future of work and HR transformation

        Balancing technological advancement with human-centric workplace experiences

      • Continuous learning and reskilling

        Preparing talent for emerging technologies and evolving career pathways

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      Driving growth with Workforce trends

      Sunit Sinha

      Partner and Head – Human Capital Advisory Solutions

      KPMG in India

      • What was once considered the domain of HR, including attrition, employee policies, engagement, and experience, is now a boardroom and business agenda. Workforce decisions today have a direct impact on growth, resilience, innovation, and competitiveness.

        Driving this transformation are four major disruptive forces:

        • The rising tide of disruptive AI
        • Changing workforce expectations
        • Geopolitics and other black swan events
        • Increasing pressures on profitability and productivity
      • HR is at an inflection point. The CHRO of the future will not simply manage the workforce but shape the future of the organisation, understand business levers, own outcomes and translate people, technology and AI into tangible business value.

        As AI, transformation and the future of work converge, roles such as the Chief AI Officer, Chief Transformation Officer and even Chief Futurist in residence will increasingly sit within the CHRO’s purview.

      Maneesha Garg

      Partner & Head – Managed Services, Forensic, F&A, HR, Learning, Insight Led sales, Digital business operations and Sourcing

      KPMG in India

      • Scaling talent with purpose requires more than speed. It requires confidence in who you are bringing into the organisation. Effective due diligence helps identify the right talent, validate trust, and strengthen resilience from day one.

        • Effective employee screening must go beyond routine checks. Digital verification of credentials, documentation, and KYC processes can help ensure faster onboarding while meeting compliance and policy requirements.
        • Independant whistleblower and reporting channels. The earliest warnings of fraud, misconduct, and regulatory breaches almost always come from within the organisation. Investing in trusted speak-up mechanisms is not just good governance. It's smart risk management.
      Sharad Maloo

      Partner

      KPMG in India

      India Inc. is doubling down on growth, technology, and AI. The challenge is that returns are not keeping pace with the scale of investment.

      The issue is not technology. It is how work flows through the organisation.

      AI is implemented, but decisions still live in spreadsheets. Centres of Excellence exist, but accountability is often fragmented. Capacity has increased, but clarity has not.

      Shalini Pillay

      India Leader - Global Capability Centres

      KPMG in India

      As organisations accelerate their AI journey, the ability to build future-ready talent and continuously evolve capabilities will be a key differentiator. India has a unique opportunity to strengthen its position as a global hub for innovation and talent by fostering stronger collaboration between industry, academia and the wider ecosystem. Organisations that invest in workforce readiness today will be better equipped to create long-term value in an AI-driven economy.

      Sunit Sinha

      Partner and Head – Human Capital Advisory Solutions

      KPMG in India

      AI presents organisations with an opportunity to reimagine how work is structured, how talent is developed and how value is created. As enterprises move beyond experimentation, success will depend on their ability to build workforce readiness, redesign operating models and create capability systems that evolve with the pace of change. The organisations that act with clarity and intent today will be best positioned to lead in the AI decade.

      Arun Sharma

      Partner, Human Capital Advisory Solutions

      KPMG in India

      The future of work will be defined by readiness, not just resources. Building deployable skills, fostering continuous learning and strengthening collaboration across industry, academia and government will be essential to creating a workforce that can thrive in an AI-driven economy.

      Sunit Sinha

      Partner and Head – Human Capital Advisory Solutions

      KPMG in India

      Workforce productivity is India's most underleveraged growth lever. The next era of manufacturing competitiveness will not be won only by adding more people or assets, but by fundamentally redesigning how work gets done. Organisations that act now can unlock significant value, accelerate growth, strengthen profitability and help power the next chapter of India's manufacturing journey.

      Sharad Maloo

      Partner

      KPMG in India

      Many organisations continue to face a productivity illusion, where high levels of activity disguise underlying inefficiencies. Sustainable productivity gains will require businesses to simplify structures, strengthen frontline capability, codify critical knowledge and build workforce models that can adapt to changing business needs. Organisations that take a systematic approach to productivity transformation will be better positioned to improve performance and competitiveness.

      Narayanan Ramaswamy

      National Leader - Education and Skill Development, Government and Public Services

      KPMG in India

      Success in the Age of AI requires an integrated approach that brings together work, talent, leadership, governance, and measurement, rather than treating AI as a standalone technology initiative:

      • Value-focused: Impact comes when AI is aligned with business priorities, talent, and workflows.
      • Workflow-led: Organisations must redesign work before deploying technology to unlock the full potential of human and AI collaboration.
      • Human-centric: As AI takes on more tasks, leadership will increasingly depend on empathy, judgement, and effective collaboration.
      • Impact-driven: Success should be measured by tangible business outcomes, not by the number of tools deployed or use cases launched.
      Narayanan Ramaswamy

      National Leader - Education and Skill Development, Government and Public Services

      KPMG in India

      • We believe almost no job is untouched by AI - but very few will be completely replaced or made redundant. This doesn’t mean we can be complacent and assume AI won’t have any impact. There are a lot of enhancements that happen to every job role and augmentations to many, skills for these changes would be crucial for survival.

      • We focus too much on technical skills and how they’re changing - almost ignoring human skills or softer skills that will remain.

        How do we make sure that as AI improves and evolves, we can learn and adapt along with it? We need to evolve a dynamic skills framework - because as AI keeps moving ahead, we can’t afford to stand still

      Ira Gupta Tuteja

      Advisor - CSR, Corporate Citizenship
      KPMG in India                        

      We believe that the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), is a powerful enabler of all other SDGs. Recognising this transformative potential, we support initiatives across education, employment, and entrepreneurship, aligned with our global commitment to empower 10 million disadvantaged youth by 2030, helping them build resilient futures and participate meaningfully in the economy and society.

      Arun Sharma

      Partner, Human Capital Advisory Solutions

      KPMG in India

      For MSMEs, the real strength lies in scale, employing nearly 30% of the workforce. The challenge isn’t participation, it’s productivity. Skills remain foundational, but the pace of improvement is striking, unlocking stronger policy execution and long term growth potential.

      Sunit Sinha

      Partner and Head – Human Capital Advisory Solutions

      KPMG in India

      The future of work will be shaped by organisations that balance technological innovation with human experience. AI can accelerate decision-making and improve efficiency, but lasting impact comes from empowering people with the right skills, insights, and support to adapt and succeed.

      Sameer Salunke

      Partner

      KPMG in India

      AI is changing how work gets done, but it is also changing what organisations expect from HR. Leaders need better workforce insights, employees expect simpler experiences, and businesses need skills that can evolve with changing priorities. Bringing those pieces together is where the next chapter of HR begins.

      Vijay Gogoi

      Partner and Lead, Learning Services

      KPMG in India

      The future of work will belong to those who can combine AI fluency with human judgement, manage risk with confidence, and remain deeply focussed on the people they serve. Upskilling is not just about staying relevant, it is about creating greater impact.

      Akhilesh Tuteja

      Partner & National Leader - Clients and Markets and Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT)

      KPMG in India

      India’s opportunity for globally experienced talent extends far beyond GCCs, spanning SaaS, semiconductors, fintech, logistics tech, auto tech, manufacturing and new energy. Demand is strong at the top and entry levels, with tighter mid tier depth. Compensation gaps with the US are narrowing, but ownership, innovation and India first global impact are the real draws.

      Returnee talent is accelerating product thinking, global go-to-market and frontier AI. GCCs can anchor high skill roles when mandates include true product ownership. To scale this momentum, India will benefit from ESOP clarity, founder fast tracks, relocation support and sustained R&D funding.

      Hemant Jhajhria

      National Head of Consulting

      KPMG in India

      India's rise as a manufacturing and economic leader relies on advancing up the value chain. Moving from basic assembly to innovation-driven manufacturing is essential for sustained competitiveness, requiring stronger industry, investment, talent, and mindset.

      Priorities shaping this shift:

      • Move up the value chain.: Transition from assembly-led models to design, engineering, and innovation-driven manufacturing
      • Increase R&D investment: With spending below 1% of GDP, scaling research and intellectual property creation is critical.
      • Build holistic competitiveness: Success depends on quality, scale, supply chain strength, and reliability, not just cost advantage.
      • Strengthen the MSME ecosystem: Enable growth through formalisation, access to credit, and global supply chain integration.
      • Address the talent gap: Bridge the disconnect between education and industry-ready skills to unlock workforce potential.
      • Shift mindset from executor to creator: Focus on owning design, innovation, and outcomes, rather than following global instructions.
      • Enable risk-taking through financial systems: Strengthen insurance and capital frameworks to support entrepreneurship and long-term growth.
      Nilachal Mishra

      Partner and Head, Government & Public Services (G&PS), National Leader - Government and Infrastructure

      KPMG in India

      India moves toward an AI-driven future, success depends not only on building digital infrastructure but also on preparing its workforce. He noted that India's youth population is an advantage, but it must be matched with large-scale reskilling to meet AI-era demands.

      Key insights:

      • Talent is the core driver of AI transformation: India’s workforce will determine the success of its AI ambitions.
      • Reskilling at scale is essential: Continuous upskilling is needed to make talent AI-ready and future-relevant.
      • Demographic advantage must be converted into capability: A large working population must translate into productive, skilled output.
      • AI adoption is human-centric: Success depends on how effectively people are integrated into AI ecosystems.
      • Manufacturing and AI must evolve together: Industrial growth should be supported by AI-enabled skills and systems.
      Naveen Aggarwal

      Office Managing Partner – Delhi NCR, Corridor Leader, U.S.- India

      KPMG in India

      Accessibility is more than inclusion. Its is economic strategy. When accessibility is done right, it expands the workforce, broadens consumer markets, and unlocks contributions from millions who are often excluded by design, not ability.

      Embedding accessibility into national planning is essential if we are serious about inclusive growth as we move towards Viksit Bharat 2047.

      Hear from the experts

      Hear Sunit Sinha, Partner, KPMG in India talk as workforce expectations, AI, and business demands reshape the future of work, Human Capital Advisory is evolving to help organisations build future-ready talent, leadership, and culture.

      Hear Maneesha Garg, Partner, KPMG in India talk about how we help HR leaders make informed, confident people decisions at every stage of the employee lifecycle.

      Hear Arun Sharma, Partner, KPMG in India, explores how HR can lead workforce transformation by combining technology, talent, and governance to deliver meaningful business outcomes.

      Hear Vijay Gogoi, Partner, KPMG in India, discusses why leadership transformation must precede organisational transformation.

      Hear Sharad Maloo, Partner, KPMG in India, discusses how leadership, organisation design, automation, and AI-enabled diagnostics help enterprises simplify decision-making, clarify accountability, and unlock sustainable productivity gains.

      Purushothaman KG stresses that enterprises must democratise AI skills and ensure upskilling, during his conversation with CNBC TV18.

      KPMG in India proudly collaborated with ETHR World as knowledge partner for the 4th Edition of ET CHRO Annual Conclave.

      For MSMEs, the real strength lies in scale, employing nearly 30 per cent of the workforce. The challenge isn’t participation, it’s productivity. Skills remain foundational, but the pace of improvement is striking, unlocking stronger policy execution and long-term growth potential.

      KPMG in India proudly collaborated with ETHR World as knowledge partner for the 4th Edition of ET CHRO Annual Conclave.

      Sunit Sinha shares his views at the 4th Edition ETHRWorld CHRO Annual Conclave.

      Client testimonials

      Client Testimonial – Kusum Healthcare 


      KPMG in India partnered with Kusum Healthcare to drive digital HR excellence - boosting efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. The results speak for themselves:

      • 40% fewer manual taskz
      • 30% faster recruitment turnaround
      • Improved onboarding & hire experience, leading higher productivity
      • 25% increase in employee satisfaction with reduced costs

      Explore our Workforce insights

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