AI creates the opportunity. Your people turn it into value.

An AI readiness assessment evaluates whether an organisation is prepared to adopt and gain value from AI. Many assessments focus on technology, data and infrastructure. AI ORA™ focuses on the people and organisational conditions that turn technology capability into business value. It surveys senior leaders, people managers and employees, compares their perspectives, and identifies where direction, confidence and day-to-day practice are aligned or beginning to diverge. The result is a scored report with quantified gaps and a prioritised 90-day action plan.

AI maturity assessments measure the technical foundations an organisation already has in place, such as data, systems, policies and AI capability. They're valuable, but they don't tell you whether your people are ready to adopt and use AI successfully. AI ORA™ measures the human side of AI adoption. It shows whether leaders, managers and employees understand the direction, feel confident using AI, and are experiencing the rollout consistently across the organisation. It's possible to have strong technical capability but still struggle to realise the benefits if people aren't ready, engaged or supported. AI ORA™ helps you identify those opportunities early, so you can turn investment into successful adoption.

There are two key reasons: honest feedback and meaningful benchmarking. When organisations run AI surveys internally, people may hesitate to answer honestly if they're unsure how their responses will be used. Because AI ORA™ is independently managed and all responses are confidential, people feel safer sharing what they really think and experience. The second reason is context. Internal surveys tell you what's happening in your organisation, but they don't tell you how your results compare. AI ORA™ builds on more than 25 years of employee experience measurement through Best Places to Work™ New Zealand, with every assessment contributing to a growing national benchmark. That means you can compare your results with organisations of a similar size and sector, giving you greater confidence in where you're performing well and where to focus next.

If your organisation is in the early or uneven stages of AI adoption, while a formal organisational approach is still taking shape, People Readiness is the better fit. If a formal AI strategy, programme or structured rollout is underway, Organisational Readiness helps you understand how well that strategy is understood and put into practice across the organisation. If you're unsure, we'll help you choose the right assessment.

Very little. AI ORA™ manages almost the entire process for you. We build and host the survey, monitor participation, analyse the results, and prepare your report. Before the survey launches, you'll receive a resource hub with everything you need, including ready-to-use communications for employees and leaders, FAQs, and a simple launch checklist. Your role is to share the survey link and send the communications at the suggested times. There's nothing to create from scratch, and for most organisations, the entire process takes just a couple of hours of internal time.

Most organisations complete the full assessment process within five weeks of signing up. We recommend allowing around one week for internal communication before the survey opens, so employees understand why the assessment is being conducted and how their responses will be used. The survey is typically open for three weeks, although this can be shortened or extended depending on participation. Once the survey closes, we analyse the findings and deliver your report, dashboard and prioritised 90-day action plan within ten days. Throughout the process, the workload for your internal team is intentionally kept light.

Participation starts with good communication. The highest response rates are usually achieved when a senior leader explains why the assessment is being undertaken, how the findings will be used, and reassures people that their responses are safe, independent and confidential. To make this easy, AI ORA™ provides a resource hub with ready-to-use communications, FAQs and a simple launch plan. Throughout the survey period, we monitor participation and provide updates so you can see where a reminder may be helpful. We recommend aiming for a participation rate of at least 60% to ensure the findings are representative of your organisation. If participation is lower, the results can still provide valuable insight, although analysis at a team or role level may be more limited. Where appropriate, the survey window can also be extended to allow more people to take part.

Some employees may wonder, which is why the communication addresses the concern directly rather than leaving people to make assumptions. The assessment is designed to understand how ready people are for AI and what support they need. It is not used to make decisions about individual roles or headcount, and AI ORA™ does not advise organisations on restructuring. Employees also receive a clear explanation from AI ORA™ as an independent party about what information is collected, how confidentiality is protected, and what their employer can and cannot see. Addressing the concern openly helps build trust and supports more candid responses. The employee FAQ provides clear wording that managers can use, so they are not left to answer difficult questions without guidance.

No. The survey is designed for everyone, regardless of their experience with AI, including people who have never used an AI tool. The questions focus on people's experiences, confidence, perspectives and concerns, rather than their technical knowledge. In fact, hearing from people who have little or no experience with AI is just as important. Their responses help identify where support, communication or capability-building may be needed, as well as where there is interest that hasn't yet been explored. To understand organisational readiness, it's important to hear from everyone, not just those who are already confident using AI.

The survey works in a browser on any device, with no login or company account required, so employees can complete it on a personal phone, tablet or computer. A single survey link can be shared across the organisation, and we also provide a QR code for posters, noticeboards or team briefings. Where personal devices are not practical, a shared tablet or computer can be made available during the survey window. This is particularly important for frontline and hands-on teams, whose perspectives are often less visible in organisation-wide decisions. Making the survey easy for them to access helps ensure the findings are inclusive and reflect the wider workforce.

Yes. AI ORA™ is designed to provide useful and reliable findings for organisations with fewer than 100 employees, while protecting respondent confidentiality. Findings are only reported where there are enough responses to support a meaningful interpretation. In smaller organisations, some results may therefore be presented at an organisation-wide level rather than broken down by every team, department or role group. With sufficient participation, the assessment will still show the overall readiness picture, compare the perspectives of leaders, managers and employees, and identify the most important actions to take next.

Survey responses are collected and stored on an established, secure survey platform. Access to the response data is restricted to authorised AI ORA™ personnel who need it to analyse the findings and prepare your report. The survey does not collect respondents' names, email addresses or IP addresses. Your organisation receives group-level findings only and does not receive individual responses. Reporting thresholds and confidentiality rules are applied to reduce the risk of individuals being identified from small groups. Individual response data is not sold or shared with third parties. Anonymised and aggregated results may contribute to the AI ORA™ benchmark base, allowing organisations to compare their findings with relevant peer groups over time.

Whichever assessment you run, the findings are designed to move directly into a leadership conversation and action. You receive an executive brief, a detailed report, an interactive dashboard and a prioritised 90-day action plan. AI ORA™ People Readiness shows where your workforce stands in early or uneven AI adoption, including current sentiment, confidence, capability, concerns, existing AI use and the support people need. The findings help leaders prioritise communication, training, governance and practical preparation. AI ORA™ Organisational Readiness shows how effectively AI strategy is translating into practice. It compares the perspectives of senior leaders, people managers and employees across six organisational execution factors, identifies where leadership intent and employee experience diverge, and sets out the actions needed to strengthen execution. The findings are discussed with your team in a debrief session, helping you understand the evidence, agree priorities and decide what should happen next. The assessment can establish a baseline, measure progress, or evaluate organisational readiness throughout the AI journey.

The AI journey is continuous and AI readiness changes over time. Most organisations repeat the assessment every 6–12 months or after significant changes such as a new AI rollout, governance programme or major training initiative. Repeating the assessment shows whether actions have improved readiness and where new priorities have emerged.

Success isn't a higher survey score. It's knowing where your organisation stands, where the biggest opportunities and execution risks are, and having clear priorities for what to do next. AI ORA™ replaces assumptions with evidence so leaders can invest in the actions most likely to improve adoption and business value.