It's Time To Get Your Employee Handbook Ready For A.I.

There's no question about it. Now that the use of artificial intelligence has entered the workplace, it will never leave. While other work tools have remained pretty reliable, and pretty static, for years, even decades, you can expect the A.I. tool you are using today will look very different in just a year or two from now.

This change won't be anything like incremental Microsoft Word's updates. Remember Clippy? One day he was there, and the next update, he was gone, and that event might be the biggest change longtime Word users may ever remember. No, the kinds of changes we can anticipate from one A.I. version to the next are likely to be far more dramatic in scale and impact.

Today's customer service chatbot that answers questions with pre-written scripts might soon be able to detect customer frustration, understand tone of voice, and tailor responses to - yes! - actually answer a question.

That forecasting tool you're using might simply project future sales based on last year's numbers. The next version could pull in live market trends, competitor moves, and social media sentiment to instantly adjust those forecasts. And that hiring tool you're using to filter resumés for keywords and dates and degrees could, someday, be analyzing a candidate's communication style, problem-solving aptitude and cultural "fit."

So if you've been holding off on adding an A.I. policy to your company handbook, best do it now instead of waiting for the technology to stabilize.

How should you even begin to get your arms around such a dynamic, ever-evolving technology that's changing the modern workplace? Here are a few thoughts to consider once you have identified how A.I. already is being used in your business.

First, consider the goals of creating an A.I. policy. Why do you want or even need one?

Consider the bigger principles that apply. No matter what your team uses A.I. for, you want its use to not only be productive, but to be ethical. Misuse could expose your company to legal or reputational risk. You must protect your customers' confidential data. Don't sabotage their trust. Protect your own intellectual property, and others', too.

The first rule should be that humans are always involved. All artificial intelligence outputs should be reviewed by a human before being used externally or to make decisions. No A.I. generated social media posts. No contract language. No market analysis.

Only people can weigh context, content, nuance, ethics and consequences in the real world.

As the year comes to an end, you already should be updating your employee handbook for changes in company compensation and benefits, work hours, conduct and workplace behavior, conflict resolution, and so on. So it's a perfect time to address proper and improper use of A.I. in adapting to emerging technologies while protecting your business.

Define which tools employees may use. Is it ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Co-pilot, etc.

What work tasks are employees allowed to use A.I. for? Bullet those out and consider tasks such as: Drafting emails, reports, proposals. Brainstorming ideas. Summarizing non-sensitive reports. Research. Simple set-up and coding for spreadsheets.

Include a clear statement about your review process. A human must review and edit all A.I. outputs before they can be used in official communication, client deliverables and so on.

What uses are prohibited? Certainly, you do not want to use A.I. for creating or sharing proprietary business information, or for confidential information. Do not use it for writing performance evaluations, disciplinary actions or as a replacement for HR. Plagiarizing or posing A.I. content as original thought should be considered serious offenses.

No one should be asking A.I. tools to make decisions that affect your business, employees, clients, contracts and so on. You wouldn't ask a hammer to build your house.

Other considerations:

• Confidentiality and data security. Make it clear that public A.I.-generated data often is stored and used to train future models. Don't expose client or employee data, or any sensitive business information to A.I. platforms available to anyone.
• Don't hide the fact that A.I. was used. You don't have to advertise that a newsletter was drafted with A.I., but employees also should be forthcoming if asked or if a customer wants to know.
• Make managers responsible for oversight and compliance. Encourage them to not only make decisions in line with your rules, but to confer with each other and upper level managers in cases that fall outside of the parameters, raise unforeseen questions, or present unique challenges.
• Consequences of misuse.

Artificial intelligence isn't waiting for anyone to catch up. A strong, clear A.I. policy isn't about limiting its adoption. It's about freeing your staff to use the technology in the best way it can be for your business, employees and customers. Just like the best A.I. queries include guardrails to return the best results, setting clear boundaries to govern its use ensures your business gets the most value without crossing ethical, legal, or reputational lines you have spent years establishing. You are maintaining the human judgment that's the key to success.

Harry H. Kazakian has excelled as the founder, chief executive officer, private investigator, and claims adjuster at USA Express Legal & Investigative Services Inc. Through expertise in insurance claims and criminal and civil matters investigations -- from bad faith consulting to wrongful death -- he and his team at the Los Angeles-based firm have successfully defended various clients across several types of cases. He can be reached at: www.usaexpressinc.com or 877-872-3977