What AI is already costing professional services firms

In professional services, performance is often measured in billable hours. Employees put their expertise and experience to work for clients, and leadership pays close attention to how to allocate that talent. That’s business as usual for lawyers, accountants, and other professional consultants, because expertise is the product.

But as AI reshapes what expertise looks like and how it’s built, the changing landscape has begun to affect employee engagement. In particular, Culture Amp data shows that scores in development are at risk of declining as new tech has accelerated the need for growth, especially in communication, collaboration, and flexibility. Scores show that professional services employees trust leadership, but they aren't yet convinced that leaders are giving them what they need to learn and grow. 

Softening scores in development are tied to attrition, especially the loss of top talent, who leave for growth opportunities quickest when they aren’t available internally. In professional services, when a strong performer plateaus or a promising associate never quite levels up, it's a billing rate problem, not just a turnover issue.

In this report, we’ll explore:

• Why visible, actionable support for employees and managers is critical in the age of AI 

• Why trust in leaders creates a valuable opportunity for firms to take action

• What professional services leaders can do to keep employees engaged

Clients rely on your employees’ expertise, and to keep client relationships strong, employees must feel engaged with their work and continually build their knowledge. How a firm develops its people directly affects how well it serves clients and what it can charge. With this in mind, firms must take development scores seriously.

Key insights

• Culture Amp data shows that development is the #1 driver of engagement in the professional services industry. And three in four employees in the sector agree they can develop within their current company (75%). But as AI redefines what expertise looks like, that driver is at risk of declining.

• Professional services employees’ high trust in leadership puts leaders in a position to improve employee engagement on at-risk areas like development, but only 53% of employees believe survey feedback leads to real change. Leaders who demonstrate to employees that they are listening to feedback create conditions where development can thrive.

• Employees expect their employers and managers to lead the way on AI, including establishing standards for AI use and providing guidance on effectively incorporating AI tools into their work.

Supporting employees at a critical time for professional services

AI is already changing the professional services work environment, but it's an open question whether it's accelerating employee growth or quietly eroding it. Four of five professionals expect AI to significantly transform their profession within five years (Reuters’ Future of Professionals report, 2025). And Culture Amp data shows that employees are feeling more emboldened to experiment, with 66% of employees saying they feel safe to take risks compared to 63% last year. This suggests that an increasing number of employees are willing to develop alongside the new technology, a step in the right direction. Yet with engagement scores on development at risk of slipping, the pace is not yet quick enough to satisfy.

Improved employee support at the ground level is key to improved engagement. With managers typically promoted for billable strength, the focus hasn’t been on their effectiveness as development leaders for their teams. At a time when employees need guidance from their managers to continue growing, they are left to figure it out for themselves. That gap is where AI's upside for development breaks down. 

The firms that empower managers to identify and rectify development problems on the ground are the ones that will protect both their rates and their relationships with clients. Firms that overlook the powerful impact AI is having on their people will find out the hard way why it matters, as lower engagement numbers show up in delivery quality, attrition, and negative client feedback.

Development is a margin and client-quality issue, not just an HR issue

The bulk of the professional services workforce sits in the two-to-four-year, mid-career band, right where the at-risk development numbers are showing up. A stalled associate is stalled billable capacity internally, and that same associate is sitting across the table from clients externally. A development problem won’t stay internal for long, and an employee who feels unsupported is likely to walk out the door.

Even if your firm currently offers development opportunities, your employees may not know what they are or how to take advantage of them. When Robidus, a business services firm based in the Netherlands, conducted its first survey with Culture Amp, the company found it needed to take action on development. At the time, many employees were unfamiliar with the development opportunities available to them. In response, the company improved communication about internal training and learning paths and encouraged managers to have 1-on-1 conversations about development with their direct reports.

Professional services leaders already have more trust than most industries

How can leaders best support their employees on AI? Our data hints at a potential solution. Professional services employees already trust their leaders more than employees in most industries do. That trust gives leaders real leverage to move engagement scores by consistently listening to feedback on growth.

Leadership trust in professional services beats the global average on every leadership item measured:

But trust alone isn’t the solution. Only 53% of employees believe survey feedback leads to real change, so they don’t have faith that their feedback is heard. And only 53% believe that when it’s clear that someone isn’t delivering in their role, something is done about it. Both of these items contribute to lower engagement.

The good news here is that most professional services firms don't have to build trust in leaders from scratch, which is rare. They just need to use that trust deliberately to show employees that they are listening to their feedback and following it up with action to create the conditions where development can thrive.

The path forward for professional services: Listening and upskilling

For most HR leaders in this industry, it’s not yet clear how the AI transformation is affecting their employees. What is clear is that employees expect their managers and leaders to provide pathways toward success within this massive change. This means measuring engagement, supporting manager/employee conversations and interactions, and then tracking the effects. Tools to support and measure these interactions are key to helping leaders understand how their efforts are working. 

Clients are increasingly expecting faster turn cycles with embedded AI expertise. Being in touch with where your employees are in their engagement with your firm, and whether they will stay, has always been important. AI has made it urgent.

Three concrete moves professional services leaders can take to strengthen engagement:

1. Check in with employees. Culture Amp engagement surveys can offer insights on the impact of AI and show you where action is needed.

2. Close the loop on feedback to reinforce the trust your firm already has. Share survey results with your employees, and follow them up with action. Employees stay engaged most with firms that react to their feedback.

3. Equip managers to have development conversations and provide continuous support to their teams. Tools like AI Coach help managers prepare for these talks, document outcomes, and keep momentum going.

Protect your client relationships and your bottom line

Not all professional services firms are the same, but they all want to retain and advance the teams of employees who work hard to make them successful. Engagement surveys show you how well-positioned or at risk you are with employees, and specifically where to focus. If development is an issue for your firm because of AI, you’ll see that right away. Or you may identify issues elsewhere. The key is to find the issues and take action before they find you. 

No matter what aspects of employee engagement your professional services firm is ready to improve, the Culture Amp platform simplifies the process. Use Engage to add context to your survey results with industry-specific benchmarks, Develop to drive consistent employee growth and motivate employees, and AI Coach to give managers targeted action plans and in-the-moment insights so they can support employees throughout the continuing AI transformation.

Close the development gap

Learn how Culture Amp equips managers to recognize development issues early and actively guide employee growth.

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