Managing change in your business: Preparing for Generative AI in the workplace

2024 presents unique challenges for businesses across all industries, as business leaders prepare to implement generative AI in the workplace. While AI has been a topic of discussion for many years, recent developments, including the release of Microsoft 365 Copilot, have led to a surge of businesses adopting AI tools and aiming towards completing their digital transformation in 2024. 

Along with the challenge of actually getting these AI tools set up and running, there are numerous other obstacles a business looking to adopt AI should consider before they get started. These vary from security concerns, to managing the expectations and concerns of the employees who will be using AI day to day. 

Who should use generative AI? 

Generative AI can be a game changer across various roles and divisions in your business, useful for creative inspiration, as a productivity tool or a personal assistant. Using Microsoft 365 Copilot as an example, Copilot has been used in finance, HR, IT, marketing, and sales roles, using the power of generative AI to transform the way these roles work. We will be releasing a future blog going into more detail on how Microsoft 365 Copilot revolutionises the way each of these roles work day-to-day. 

Beyond giving professionals a head start in their work, Microsoft 365 Copilot integrates within your Microsoft 365 environment. From here, it helps by seeking out helpful context to work tasks, searching for new, innovative ways to approach your business goals and developing plans for how your business can act going forward.  

Many other GenAI tools on the market work in much the same way, enabling new ways to work and cutting out the repetitive day-to-day tasks that consume so much of your employee’s time. Generative AI’s growing versatility makes it a useful tool for most roles in your business. 

How to prepare employees for your adoption of AI 

There are two key concerns around AI as it pertains to your business’s employees. These are their worries that AI could impact their roles and job security and overcoming the challenge of learning a new technology. It’s important to address both of these concerns to ensure a successful implementation of AI in your business. 

A big misconception in the discourse surrounding generative AI is that it will make certain job roles redundant. While it is true that generative AI is capable of carrying out numerous important tasks across roles and divisions, it is by no means a replacement for the talented individuals who occupy these roles. In fact, a McKinsey survey has found that 57% of businesses are looking to close generative AI skill gaps internally. It suggests that most businesses see training as a more effective solution to the challenges presented by AI than re-hiring or relying solely on AI’s ability to carry out a role. 

AI requires human input in order to complete these tasks, and despite being able to produce increasingly impressive examples of work, an industry expert’s touch is the difference between generative AI taking your business to the next level, and your business falling behind the competition. 

Clarify the role of AI in your business as a tool to enable more creative, collaborative and productive work, and educate your employees on how they can best use AI to achieve a better way of working. This involves introducing best practices when using AI, including fact and sanity checking everything that AI produces. Guidance on what needs to be included in prompts and examples of where AI can be used to enable a better way of working. 

Preparing your work environment for Generative AI 

Adopting AI holds the power to unlock your business’s potential; however, it can also leave your business exposed to various cybersecurity concerns. It’s important to strike the right balance that would enable employees to make the most out of their engagement with AI without leaving your business exposed. This is possible by implementing the correct tools and leveraging their controls to give you visibility and security. 

When it comes to finding the right tools that you’ll need to secure your work environment, our experts are happy to help. Get in touch to discuss your requirements and receive feedback from our cybersecurity specialists. When it comes to Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft’s suite of cybersecurity tools may be just what you need to do this. Watch the first episode of our series covering Microsoft 365 and Azure’s security tools and concepts, which may give you the insights you need to get started. 

Another potential threat with GenAI that you’ll need to consider before adopting is content oversharing. This is where your content could potentially end up in the wrong hands as a result of where it is stored in your ecosystem. The risk of oversharing is particularly relevant where AI is concerned, as AI can dig deep into your work environment to pull information pertinent to your prompt. AI won’t know what can and can’t be shared and as a result, may include sensitive information in response to your prompts. 

Implementing Microsoft’s best practices such as a Zero Trust model with Just Enough Access would be one way to mitigate the risk of falling victim to content oversharing. Just Enough Access is a principle in which a user’s rights are limited to the bare minimum necessary for them to carry out their job requirements. When adopting a tool that will integrate with your work environment, this could be a crucial step in ensuring your sensitive data doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. 

So to surmise, there are a number of considerations to be had before your business completes its digital transformation. From where AI will prove to be most successful, to the expectations and concerns of your employees and cybersecurity concerns. If you need any help planning your business’s implementation of AI, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated experts.