Australian Firms Are Sacrificing People for AI gains, Warns New Report

SYDNEY, May 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Australia's largest companies are overlooking people in favour of AI, leading to significant financial losses and a growing governance gap, warns new research report, Executive Priorities for the Next Digital Workplace Era 2026, released today by Staffbase.

The report, which analysed the Executive Scorecards of the ASX 100 companies, found that the companies exceeding their people and culture targets experienced higher revenue growth (17.2%), compared to an average of 5.7% for those who didn't in FY24. The data highlights a strong correlation between prioritising people and stronger financial performance.

"We know that the ASX companies investing in their people are outperforming those that don't, yet for many firms, revenue growth is being left on the table. There is a leadership crisis and governance gap taking place, and it needs to be addressed before it's too late," says Ramak Salamat, Regional Vice President – JAPAC, Staffbase.

The report further canvasses the views of more than 100 Australian business leaders. The research reveals that digital transformation and AI, revenue growth, and resilience dominate the CEO agenda, while people and culture are a lower priority at the bottom of the list. According to the report, the most pressing priority for business leaders is digital transformation (18%), followed by revenue growth (14%), innovation and new products (11%), and operational efficiency (11%). People and culture are at the bottom of the list (6%), along with ESG (2%), and change management (2%).

"Leaders have a responsibility to guide their people through disruption, change, and AI adoption, yet people and culture are a low strategic priority for many. To unlock growth, people and culture accountability must sit at the top of the business agenda with digital transformation and financial performance," says Ms. Salamat.

The report surfaces a growing governance gap in executive priorities, with most ASX firms dominated by financial metrics. Australian firms are not being held accountable for the way they engage their people or how they foster culture, with the majority of the ASX 100 placing only 5–10% weighting on people and culture in their Executive Scorecards. Meanwhile, financial performance accounted for on average 50% of performance metrics.

"Today's leaders are being pulled in all different directions. But the data is clear: prioritise people above AI and it will show up in revenue numbers," says Ms. Salamat.

"And in the race towards AI transformation, unfortunately many leaders are overlooking people and culture. They are trying to evolve with the times yet failing to understand how important people are in the next digital era of business," she adds.

Going forward, there is a timely opportunity for Australian companies to unlock revenue growth and close the governance gap through a people-led approach.

"When people and culture are measured and tied to executive remuneration in the same way as financial performance, companies will see even more considerable financial gains and deeper employee engagement for the future," Ms. Salamat says.

About Staffbase. Staffbase was founded in 2014 with the goal of equipping companies to reach frontline employees with engaging experiences. More than 1,500 enterprises rely on Staffbase to close the gap between strategy and execution by delivering trusted information, proactive communication, and AI-powered support to their entire workforce.                                                                                                                                          

SOURCE Staffbase