I suspect that several of our administrative employees are secretly using unauthorized AI tools to write client emails and analyze reports because they are afraid of being micromanaged. How do we bring this shadow IT out into the open and turn it into a standardized process on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Do not punish your team for finding a faster way to do their jobs. If your employees are secretly using AI, it means they have found a practical solution to a cumbersome operational bottleneck. Your goal is to legitimize these tools and build them into your standardized workflows.

Bring this issue to your next Level 10 Meeting and address it openly. Let your team know that experimenting with technology to save time is highly encouraged, provided it does not compromise client data. Create a safe space for them to demonstrate exactly how they are using these tools.

Once you see what is working, standardize the process. Update your company manual to include the specific AI prompts and workflows that yielded the best results. This ensures that the time saving trick discovered by one employee becomes a capability shared by the entire department.

Finally, update the relevant seats on your Accountability Chart. If an administrative assistant has used AI to cut their reporting time in half, do not let them just sit on the saved hours. Redefine their role to include higher value strategic tasks, and ensure they still GWC their updated position. This is how you convert hidden employee experimentation into documented company capacity.