New research from Workday Partner reveals AI disruption forcing big changes for HR consultancies

80% of HR leaders want consultancies to better integrate AI

LONDON, Nov. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from the dedicated Workday services partner consultancy, Kognitiv has revealed 80% of HR leaders in the UK want consultancies to better integrate AI, while almost half (44%) believe consultancies have been slow to adopt or adapt to AI technology.

The research, conducted among 500 HR decision makers in the UK and Germany, published today as part of Kognitiv's brand new The New Age of Consulting report, exposes a growing frustration with traditional consultancy partnerships and a misalignment between what HR leaders want from consultancies and what is being delivered.

In the UK, 46% of HR leaders believe AI can replace most of the work carried out by consultants, while 70% confessed that AI has already helped cut spend on consultancies. Not only are HR leaders admitting they want AI to be embraced, but they are also already cutting spend in favour of AI.

When asked about what's next for the industry, HR leaders expect more AI, more transparency and fewer traditional consultants. More than half (59%) believe the future of the consultancy model will involve a combination of AI and human expertise, therefore suggesting that AI will be facilitated by human direction and oversight, not replace it.

Mark Grignon, CEO at Kognitiv, said: "Our only focus is solving client problems, period. That means we have to leverage all our deep knowledge and data sets to build the AI models and solutions that make our support smarter and faster. This isn't science fiction; it requires a human in charge, directing the work and maintaining oversight. Firms that aren't figuring this out aren't just limiting what AI can do for you; they're sticking you with the bill for their own slow, expensive payroll"

Paying the Complexity Tax
The research also suggests there is a clear disconnect between the expectations and the delivery of work from traditional consultancies. Almost every UK HR decision-maker surveyed (95%) still work with consultancies in some way, yet only 26% believe them to be essential to their work. While over half (58%) recognise consultancies can be helpful for specific challenges, 16% describe their experience as disappointing.

HR leaders were also asked about the biggest pain points when it comes to consultancies. The most popular answers were:

• Lack of cost transparency (44%)
• Limited flexibility of services (42%)
• Inefficiency (41%)
• Failure to understand business needs (40%)
• Long restrictive contracts (29%).

These frustrations create what Kognitiv is calling 'Complexity Tax', the hidden cost that organisations pay to consultancies when partnerships get tangled up in slow approvals, outdated systems and endless red tape. It's a tax on time, budgets and creativity that means the traditional consultancy model is no longer meeting the needs of the HR leaders employing them, driving them towards AI as an alternative.

Kognitiv's full research report, The New Age of Consulting: Powered by AI, Driven by People, can be downloaded here.

About Kognitiv
Kognitiv is a certified Workday AMS Services Partner delivering flexible, pay-as-you-use consulting that aligns with Workday's innovation and agility. Since 2016, Kognitiv's Post Production Support (PPS) model has empowered Workday customers to get the support they need–when they need it–without being locked into fixed-spend agreements. From ad-hoc ticket resolution and fully managed services to new SKU deployments, custom app development, project management, and change management, Kognitiv supports every phase of the Workday product lifecycle. Clients are backed by world-class consulting teams with the right blend of skills to support the full spectrum of Workday functionality.

Methodology
The survey was conducted among 500 HR decision makers in Germany and the UK. The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in October 2025 using an email invitation and an online survey.

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