AI Workplace Policies That Could Help Prevent A Crisis For Companies

As AI continues to evolve, it’s increasingly important for companies to have policies in place to help ensure that employees are using the technology the right way and for the right reason. Otherwise, instead of helping workers to be more productive, AI models could inadvertently be used to create a crisis for their organizations. Worst-case scenarios include disclosure of client files and information, the release of fabricated statistics, and questionable advice and decisions.

The Right AI Governance Policies

A good first step in helping to prevent such scenarios from becoming reality is creating AI-related governance policies before allowing AI in the workplace. “Strong governance is the place you have to start, before the rollout. We only allow licensed tools. Non-licensed products like personal ChatGPT accounts are blocked at our firewall. Our governance process maps out expectations and builds automatic controls. Every AI automation is recorded in a register before it’s used, and every run is logged. Passwords never go into an AI tool, even the approved ones,” Chris Cluff, president of Paper Trails, a payroll and HR services company, advised in an email interview.

The company established an in-house AI training course so that employees could learn the best practices and sign a copy of corporate policies for using Claude before they are allowed to access it, according to Cluff. In addition to restricting the use of AI to certain employees, Paper Trails monitors how Claude is used. “So far, we’ve had good success. The new automation governance process worked on day one. It stopped our tax manager from running Claude inside our payroll software and making changes to client tax settings,” he recalled.

It’s better to introduce and enforce strict controls on the use of AI and relax them when warranted, rather than tightening policies and doubling down on enforcement after a crisis that could have been prevented.