By Jemma Hirst
Where human expertise meets technology reshaping capability at Grant Thornton Australia
Across learning and development, one message has become clear: emerging technologies are reshaping not only how people learn, but how organisations build capability, culture, and confidence. At Grant Thornton Australia, we’ve approached AI as an enabler of human potential, using it to support better decision-making, improve client outcomes, and create more meaningful work.
AI adoption in our firm is grounded in collaboration, governance and people-centred enablement. We focus on integrating tools in ways that strengthen trust, align with strategy and uphold the human values that make learning effective.
Why AI Matters for Capability Building
AI is transforming the professional services sector by automating routine tasks, giving our people more time to focus on strategic thinking, delivering quality client service, and building relationships with each other, our clients, and our communities. Importantly, we see technology as a way to enhance, and not replace, professional judgement and human connection.
But the real differentiator within our firm is our people-first approach. We’ve focused on creating safe spaces to experiment with AI so people feel confident testing ideas without fear of ‘getting it wrong’. Through hackathons, conferences, internal communities, digital credentials and team workshops, we’re empowering everyone to find meaningful ways to work with AI. This commitment ensures that AI adoption is more than just a technical upgrade, but a firm-wide cultural shift grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Building Confidence Through Enablement
Since we began rolling out AI tools to our people in 2023, we have experienced rapid adoption across the firm. Uptake continues to grow as people experience real productivity benefits in their day-to-day work. Following AI implementation and training our people report improvements in time savings, efficiency and productivity. These gains have supported wellbeing too, enabling more staff to take advantage of our nine-day Fortnight recharge initiative.
Adoption is driven by enablement fuelled by education and training to build confidence with AI and consistent practices. We embed guardrails with approved tools and data protections within Microsoft 365 so innovation does not compromise quality.
Learning by Doing: The Power of Experiential AI Training
One of our most successful initiatives has been our hands‑on “build an agent” training, designed to demystify AI and show people how to solve real‑world problems within their teams.
Our first AI Agent Hackathon was held in 2025 which brought cross‑functional teams together to design solutions directly embedded into their work. Now more than 380 people have participated in subsequent Hackathons, providing practical skills to create their own AI agents and improve their unique day-to-day workflows. This hands-on model mirrors the principles of adult learning – practical, relevant and immediately applicable.
A Human‑Centred Approach to Responsible AI
Traditional ‘general’ AI chat is powerful but not purpose-built for regulated workflows. Our approach to learning and training improves on AI use and specificity in three practical ways:
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Task‑specific tools: Pre‑built Copilot agents deliver predictable, auditable outputs, reducing cognitive load and ensuring reliability.
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Human‑in‑the‑loop: Professional judgment remains essential. AI outputs are reviewed and cross‑checked to maintain trust and reduce risk.
- Built‑in governance and data protection: AI activity occurs within the Microsoft 365 environment, ensuring security, giving users, applications, and systems only the minimum permissions and access rights needed to perform specific job functions or tasks, and ethical innovation based on our values.
Upskilling for the Future
In 2025 we introduced our firm‑wide AI Badges which is part of a credentialing framework recognising confidence and capability across different levels including Explorer through to Advocate and Agent Designer.
These digital credentials sit alongside a curated ecosystem of internal and external learning content that supports skills in prompting, workflow design, and AI agent development. These achievements reflect our commitment to creating smarter processes where human expertise meets AI innovation, and help people build confidence, signal expertise and deepen their understanding of how AI can support their work.
AI at the Intersection of Human and Technology
One of the most powerful messages we share internally and externally is that AI works best at the intersection of human and tech. It’s not about replacing judgement, creativity, or empathy, it’s about amplifying these values.
For example, graduates at Grant Thornton are using AI as an “always-on coach,” accelerating their development and enabling them to contribute meaningfully from day one (you can read more here: How this Grant Thornton graduate uses AI expertise to open doors). We’re also seeing increased accessibility benefits. AI helping people draft, summarise, plan and reflect in ways that suit their working, learning and communication preferences.
We believe technology is only part of the AI story. Our real success is a result of cultivating a learning culture that values responsible, ethical use of AI and empowers every person to feel confident and capable in this new era. For L&D professionals, human-centred innovation means designing learning experiences that use technology to elevate capability, not replace it. At Grant Thornton Australia, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this transformation, proving that when human insight meets technological innovation, the possibilities are limitless.
About the Author: Jemma Hirst
