Why do companies spend millions on AI and digital transformation while overlooking the people expected to make those investments successful? In this episode of Business Technology Perspectives, I speak with Elena Varo, founder of Elevatio Tech & Culture, about why the biggest barriers to technology adoption are often human rather than technical, what leaders misunderstand about organizational change, and why companies need to invest in people as seriously as they invest in technology. Elena brings more than a decade of experience across the technology industry, including work with Microsoft, Red Hat, CyberArk, and WSO2. Having worked across Spain, Ireland, and the UK, she has seen how leadership, workplace culture, communication, and organizational structures influence whether technology investments produce meaningful business outcomes. A major theme throughout our conversation is the gap between buying technology and preparing a company to use it effectively. Elena argues that many businesses begin with the wrong question. They focus on which AI platform, cybersecurity product, or cloud provider to purchase before identifying the problem they need to solve and understanding whether employees have the skills, training, information, and support required to adopt new technology. We discuss why AI is creating a leadership challenge that may be harder to solve than the technology itself. Employees want answers to practical questions about training, skills, changing roles, and expectations. When companies fail to communicate clearly or listen to their workforce, uncertainty grows, experienced employees leave, and technology adoption becomes harder. Talent retention is another major part of the conversation. The technology industry frequently talks about skills shortages and recruiting new employees while paying far less attention to why talented people leave. Elena explains why salary alone rarely solves problems caused by unclear responsibilities, poor communication, limited career development, internal competition, and workplaces where employees do not feel safe speaking openly. We also examine the relationship between employee well-being and long-term business performance. Constant technology change, economic uncertainty, demanding targets, and pressure to do more with fewer resources affect employees and managers alike. Companies that want people to collaborate, share knowledge, question assumptions, and develop new ideas need to create working environments where people feel supported and heard. The conversation also addresses diversity in technology and why attracting more women and people from different backgrounds is only part of the challenge. Companies need to improve retention, promotion processes, sponsorship, access to leadership positions, and opportunities for people with different experiences to influence decisions. Elena also shares why she founded Elevatio Tech & Culture and her plans for a technology congress in Córdoba that brings business leaders, technologists, universities, public institutions, and other participants together to discuss technology adoption, organizational culture, talent, leadership, and employee well-being. For CEOs, CIOs, HR leaders, technology executives, and anyone responsible for AI adoption or digital transformation, this conversation provides practical lessons about preparing employees for change, retaining experienced talent, improving communication, supporting psychological safety, and creating workplaces where technology investments can produce better outcomes. Elena’s advice to business leaders is clear: invest in people as seriously as you invest in technology. Technology can be purchased, but building a workplace where people trust their leaders, develop new skills, share knowledge, and want to contribute requires sustained attention.
