Making it work for the team
How do we turn individual AI use into a way the whole team works?
Start with one useful method and ask a colleague to try it on a fresh piece of work. Give them the inputs, instructions, review criteria and a checked example. Use the difficulties they encounter to improve the workflow before asking the wider team to adopt it.
Watch the work around the prompt
A colleague can demonstrate a good result without showing every decision behind it. Ask them to work through a familiar task and explain what they select, leave out, change and check. Notice the steps before and after the conversation with the assistant.
They may know which spreadsheet is current, recognise an implausible figure or rewrite an answer for a particular audience. Record these decisions alongside the instructions. They are part of the method another person needs to understand.
Write enough for someone else to try it
Use a short shared document in a place the team already uses. Keep the actual instructions and an approved example close together. A useful starting record answers the following questions.
| Include | What the colleague needs to know |
|---|---|
| Purpose | What result is needed, for whom, and when this method is appropriate. |
| Inputs and access | Which material and approved tools to use, and how to find the current version. |
| Steps | The instructions, choices and actions in the order they are needed. |
| Review | How to check the result against its sources, with a checked example. |
| Exceptions | When to stop, what to do with missing information and who can help. |
| Handover and ownership | Where the finished work goes and who maintains the method. |
Try a real handover
Ask someone who did not develop the method to use it on a fresh, permitted example. Be available for questions, but let them attempt the work from the shared instructions. Keep a note of where they get stuck and what the original author has to explain.
Compare the finished work with the agreed standard. If an instruction produces plausible text but the colleague cannot check it, improve the source references or the review step. If they cannot find the right input, fix that part of the workflow. A training session alone will not resolve an unclear handover.
An example with research PDFs
Suppose one analyst uses an assistant to prepare a comparison from a set of research PDFs. The shared method could specify the documents to select, the table columns, the requirement for page references and the checks before using the result in a meeting. Missing information stays marked as missing.
A second analyst tries a different set of reports. One report uses a different reporting period; another has an unreadable table. The team records how to handle both cases and revises the instructions. The next colleague receives that revision and the checked example, with the comparison itself still subject to review.
Check whether the work improved
Agree what to compare with the previous approach. Useful measures include time to a checked result, corrections required, missing information caught and how much help a colleague needs. Record the kind of work tested so you can tell whether differences came from the method or an easier example.
Keep a simple record of attempts, including unsuccessful ones. Ask the people doing the work whether the method helps and where it adds effort. Licence counts and prompt counts can describe activity, but they cannot tell you whether this particular workflow is useful.
Give the method an owner
Name someone to keep the instructions and example current, collect problems and decide when the method needs another trial. Review it when the task, tool or source material changes. Retire steps that no longer help.
Extend the method to more people when the handover works and the evidence supports doing so. The next useful step may be practice together, a small process change or a connection between tools. Let the team's experience determine what is needed.
Related reading
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