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Lucent Search research | AI & Data Leadership Report 2025–2026
Hiring and retaining AI and data talent
Can your organisation attract, develop and retain the people its AI strategy requires?
An AI strategy depends on having the capability to deliver it. That includes people who understand the business problem, develop and integrate solutions, manage risk and support changes to how work gets done.
Lucent’s research found that hiring and retaining talent were substantial challenges for the leaders surveyed. Respondents also differed in their expectations of whether securing talent would become easier or harder.
For executive teams, the findings raise questions about how capability is planned, what the organisation offers prospective employees and how effectively it develops the people already in place.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
What the research found
91% found securing top talent challenging
54.8% of respondents rated securing top talent as very challenging, while 36.6% found it moderately challenging.
The intensity of this response deserves attention: more than half selected the highest difficulty category.
The finding describes respondents’ experience of hiring. It does not establish which capabilities were hardest to secure or whether difficulty arose from availability, remuneration, role requirements or the recruitment process.
86% found retaining top talent challenging
45.2% rated retention as very challenging, with a further 40.9% finding it moderately challenging.
Hiring and retention therefore both warrant consideration in capability planning. Securing a new employee addresses an immediate requirement, while maintaining capability depends on the experience they have after joining.
Reported retention difficulty does not establish an employee turnover rate or identify why individuals leave.
44% expected securing talent to become harder
44.1% expected hiring to become harder, 31.2% anticipated no change and 24.7% expected it to become easier.
These responses capture expectations at the time of the survey. They provide context for workforce planning and should be read alongside the research dates.
Percentages describe survey respondents and are rounded where stated. “Challenging” combines moderately and very challenging responses.
BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS
What this means for the business
A capability gap can affect more than the delivery date of one project. It may concentrate responsibility in a few individuals, increase dependence on external support or limit which opportunities the organisation can pursue.
Understanding the gap is therefore an important executive decision.
Some requirements call for external recruitment. Others may be addressed through development, internal movement, a different allocation of responsibilities or specialist support for a defined period.
The appropriate response depends on how urgently the capability is needed, how central it is to the business and whether the organisation can develop it within the time available.
Retention belongs in the same discussion. Recruiting successfully while losing experienced colleagues can leave a team repeatedly rebuilding knowledge and working relationships.
DELIVERY
Rebecca’s perspective: examine what the organisation is asking people to join
I would look closely at the work, the expectations and the conditions around the role before concluding that a difficult search is solely a market problem.
Candidates need to understand what they will contribute, who they will work with and what support they can expect. Existing employees need credible opportunities to develop and use their expertise.
A strong proposition has to be supported by the actual experience of working in the organisation.
I would examine four areas.
The capability requirement
Define what the person needs to achieve and which skills or experiences are essential from the outset.
Separate those requirements from capabilities that can be developed or provided elsewhere in the team. An unnecessarily broad brief can make a role harder to fill and obscure what matters most in assessment.
For specialist work, be clear about the level of expertise required. For leadership roles, establish how technical understanding, business judgement and team development need to combine.
The credibility of the opportunity
Explain the role with sufficient detail for a candidate to assess it.
That includes the business priorities, the maturity of the function, available resources and the challenges they will inherit. Where aspects of the role are still being established, be explicit about what is agreed and what they will be expected to shape.
This gives both parties a stronger basis for deciding whether the opportunity fits.
The experience after joining
Examine whether the organisation delivers the conditions described during recruitment.
Consider access to data and systems, clarity of priorities, management support, workload and the ability to make progress. Where employees repeatedly encounter unresolved barriers, understand their effect on both delivery and the working experience.
Retention conversations should explore individual motivations alongside these organisational conditions.
Development and progression
Identify which capabilities the organisation can build internally and what that will require.
Training may need to be accompanied by supervised experience, time to practise and access to relevant work. Progression should recognise both specialist expertise and management contribution.
Where external appointments are needed, consider how they will strengthen the wider team through coaching, knowledge sharing and the development of others.
LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS
Questions for your leadership team
Use these questions when reviewing capability gaps or persistent hiring and retention difficulties.
Which capability is affecting delivery?
Can we describe the work that is delayed or constrained?
Does the hiring brief reflect the real requirement?
Are we distinguishing essential experience from preferences and development opportunities?
Is the opportunity credible?
Do the scope, remuneration, resources and expectations fit together?
What are candidates and employees telling us?
Are we examining consistent feedback about the role, process and working environment?
What can we develop internally?
Have we provided the time, support and practical experience needed?
Who is accountable for building the team?
Does the leader have the management capability and organisational support to hire, develop and retain people?
HIRING IMPLICATIONS
What this means for leadership appointments
A senior AI or data leader may need to build capability while delivering against immediate business priorities.
Assessment should therefore examine how candidates have developed teams in relevant circumstances. What expertise did they hire? What did they build internally? How did they manage performance, create progression and address the reasons people left?
The organisation should also be clear about the support available. Recruitment capacity, remuneration decisions, development investment and commitments from other functions can all affect what the leader is able to achieve.
These responsibilities should inform the role before the search begins.
Lucent’s Leadership Requirement Diagnostic examines the existing team, capability gaps and conditions for success. It helps define the leadership experience required to strengthen the function and deliver the business outcomes expected.
EXPLORE RESEARCH
Explore related findings
Structuring AI and data teams for delivery
How responsibilities, capability and organisational relationships support the work required.
The skills AI and data teams need to deliver
The technical, commercial and organisational capabilities highlighted by respondents.
AI leadership retention and succession
The career intentions of senior leaders and the implications for continuity.
Explore the full AI & Data Leadership Report →
ABOUT
About this research
This page draws on the team structures section of Lucent Search’s AI & Data Leadership Survey Results 2025–2026, covering team size, geographic distribution and the discussion of team capabilities.
The findings describe the participating leaders’ circumstances at the time of the survey. They do not establish a preferred organisational structure or staffing ratio.
CONNECT
Appointing a leader to build AI or data capability?
The requirement may involve strengthening an existing team, establishing new expertise or improving the conditions for delivery.
Speak to Rebecca about what the business needs, where capability is constrained and what the senior appointment must achieve.
Lucent Search · AI & Data Leadership Report 2025–2026