BCG: 40% of Employees Say Their CEO Is Not Transparent Enough on AI
Four in ten employees say their CEO has not been transparent enough about how AI will affect their roles and career opportunities, according to new research from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Only 15% of CEOs worry that their approach to AI transformation could erode employee trust.
- BCG says 40% of employees believe their CEO has not been transparent enough about AI's effect on their roles and careers.
- Nearly 90% of CEOs think employees trust their leadership, but only 46% of employees agree.
- Only 15% of CEOs worry their AI approach could erode employee trust.
- 34% of CEOs have considered stepping down in the past six months, rising to more than 40% at the largest companies.
- Nearly 60% of CEOs plan to replace a C-suite member within six months, with CFOs topping the list.
A wide gap between CEO confidence and employee trust
BCG says CEOs are significantly overestimating how much their employees trust them, especially while they lead AI transformations. The gap reaches beyond AI: nearly 90% of CEOs are confident that their employees trust their leadership overall, but just 46% of employees agree.
The findings come from the second edition of BCG's CEO Insomnia Index. It is based on global surveys of 645 CEOs of leading companies with at least $100 million in revenue and 500 nonexecutive employees, as well as five years of CEO turnover data from the S&P 1200. According to BCG, adding employee perspectives to the Index is meant to help CEOs understand how their leadership is experienced across their organizations and how to build trust during AI-driven change.
Julie Bedard, a BCG managing director and partner and a member of the firm's Global AI Leadership team, said there has always been a perception gap. In her words, "Leadership teams, including CEOs, sometimes overestimate this type of trust, and I think it has only increased as the relationship between employer and employee becomes more transactional in some companies."
What the AI trust gap costs
BCG links trust in a CEO's handling of AI to employee effort. Half of employees who say their CEO's handling of AI has increased their trust are more willing to go above and beyond at work than they were three months ago. Among employees whose trust in their CEO's AI leadership has eroded, fewer than 10% say the same, a difference of more than 40 percentage points.
Matthias Tauber, a BCG managing director and senior partner and regional chair for Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Africa, said employees judge leaders by more than their statements: "CEOs must be realistic in their words and consistent in their actions."
The gap also shows up on well-being. Nearly 70% of CEOs are confident employees trust them to prioritize employee well-being when deciding how to fund critical business priorities. Only 36% of employees agree, a gap of more than 30 percentage points. Even so, 58% of CEOs say they are not concerned about rising employee disgruntlement, with many pointing to existing efforts to keep employees satisfied.
CEO stress, exits and C-suite changes
CEOs report feeling somewhat less stressed. The CEO Insomnia Index stress score fell to 64.2 out of 100, down from 66.7 earlier this year. Still, 34% of chief executives say they have considered stepping down at some point in the past six months, a share that rises to more than 40% among CEOs of the largest companies in the study. The reasons they cite include better health, more family time, improved work-life balance, and a happier life.
Sixty-three percent of CEOs are confident their senior leadership teams can execute their vision over the next two to four quarters. Yet nearly 60% of CEOs, and 70% of those leading the largest companies in the study, say they plan to replace a member of their C-suite within the next six months. CFOs top the list. In the inaugural CEO Insomnia Index, 26% of CEOs identified their CFO as the C-suite colleague who posed the greatest threat to their own job security.
What it means for companies
The research suggests that communication alone may not close the trust gap on AI. BCG's findings point to a link between how employees view their CEO's AI leadership and how much extra effort they say they are willing to give. For leaders running AI programs, the data indicates that being open about the effects on roles and careers, and acting consistently, matters to staff. The full publication is available on BCG's website.
PR Newswire: Forty Percent of Employees Say Their CEO Isn't Transparent Enough on AI
