AI is transforming HR operations, driving efficiency, and elevating employee experiences. At LACE, our HR AI team is at the forefront of this change, helping organisations move from experimentation to measurable impact. Building on our recent blog with Aisera, we are excited to share how our Pathfinder framework enables clients to unlock the full value of their AI investments.
Why AI value measurement is critical now
Value measurement is critical now, compared to a couple of years ago, for several key reasons:
First, on the macro front, elevated interest rates, continual inflation, and weakening consumer confidence have driven up the cost of capital. At the same time, consumer spending has slowed, putting pressure on enterprise budgets, leading to higher scrutiny of investments.
Second, the AI hype cycle is now at a critical turning point. Three years after the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, mass enterprise experimentation is giving way to more measured assessments. This transition mirrors earlier technological waves like cloud computing in the early 2010s. Back then, huge investments in cloud infrastructure, despite high expectations for agility, often failed to translate into the projected financial returns. This led analysts to document a significant gap between initial projections and realised ROI.
Third, on results, there are signs that AI deployments are not yet delivering at scale. A July 2025 MIT study found that while 40% of organisations surveyed claimed they’d deployed AI tools, only 5% had successfully integrated them into workflows in a scalable way.
Clients often tell us:
“We have implemented AI, but we are not seeing much value” or “We don’t know what value we have delivered from AI” …
The findings from MIT echo this reality, the challenge isn’t normally technology, it’s building a structured approach to measurement, optimisation, and integration to enable adoption.
Introducing Pathfinder: The framework for AI success
Pathfinder is our proven methodology for assessing, maximising, and scaling AI impact in HR. It’s designed to help organisations:
- Measure success with clear, actionable metrics that link back to your objectives
- Identify opportunities for optimisation and innovation
- Build a roadmap and governance for long-term AI value monitoring
Our approach is grounded in our TRUSTED framework, which ensures every AI initiative is evaluated for ethics, technology, regulation, usability, security, transparency, and data quality. This means clients can move forward with confidence, knowing their AI solutions are safe, strategic, and value driven.
How Pathfinder works: A practical, client-focused approach
Pathfinder engagements typically run from four weeks, depending on the scope of AI you want evaluated.
Pathfinder follows three core steps:
1. Understand: We host workshops to map current AI initiatives, clarify objectives, and use our knowledge of HR activity and client maturity to assess areas of value for further investigation, whether that is AI from ERP providers, AI providers or bespoke solutions.
2. Test: Using lagging indicators, we gather baseline and current performance data, conduct experiments (such as A/B testing for recruitment agents), and map KPIs to business outcomes. Our measurement approach combines hard metrics (like time saved) with user feedback on satisfaction and usability. We make sure to get a holistic view of AI’s success across a number of different value drivers.
3. Surface: Insights are visualised for easy consumption, highlighting value, performance, and user experience. We deliver recommendations for optimisation, forecast future ROI, and design governance structures for sustained impact.
Integration with leading vendors
A key strength of Pathfinder is its flexibility. Whether you’re integrating with Aisera’s AI agent library, leveraging Microsoft Copilot, or deploying custom HR solutions, our framework adapts to your technology landscape. We work closely with vendors to ensure seamless data integration, robust governance, and alignment with your strategic objectives.
The LACE advantage: Expertise, independence and action
Our HR AI team combines deep domain expertise with a practical, outcome-focused mindset. We don’t just assess technology, we help you redesign workflows, upskill teams, and embed AI into your operating model. Our independent assessments provide clarity on where pilots are succeeding, where risks exist, and how to improve outcomes.
Clients benefit from:
- Rapid, actionable roadmaps aligned to business priorities
- Reusable measurement frameworks
- Consumable insight reports
- Tailored recommendations for integration and optimisation
Ready to accelerate your HR transformation?
AI in HR is a journey, not a destination. Pathfinder helps you start small, unlock value, and scale with confidence. Whether you are just beginning or looking to optimise existing pilots, our team is ready to guide you every step of the way.
Want to learn more? Contact us via the form below to discover how Pathfinder can turn your AI ambition into measurable results.
Alternatively, if you want support in identifying, prioritising and planning the delivery of high value AI opportunities in your HR team, then check out our AI Explorer, AI Navigator and AI Visionary offerings on our services page.
