This article, originally published in May 2024, discusses how Microsoft Digital is working with its works councils to enhance product development, accelerate deployment, and fully integrate new technologies, like Microsoft 365 Copilot, for its employees. The company’s strong relationships with these councils provide valuable feedback, enabling them to refine products and meet compliance requirements more efficiently.
Microsoft has formalized the use of works council feedback to improve its products. This was particularly helpful when deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot. Works councils agreed to a conditional tolerance, allowing the product’s use with certain restrictions while they assessed it. This approach allowed rapid company-wide deployment while giving works councils time to evaluate if certain features should be blocked or improved.
Works councils, which serve as the voice of employees in some regions, have become crucial in discussions concerning AI’s impact on the modern workplace. Microsoft has evolved its engagement with these councils from informal processes to more strategic opportunities for feedback and collaboration.
Irina Chemerys, a global program manager, streamlined the approval process for new technology across various countries. She proposed a global approach using a single platform for works councils to communicate with Microsoft Digital, product groups, and other departments. This unified approach improved coordination, collaboration, and trust among works councils.
“We built this standardized community, and we were able to discuss Copilot as an AI technology and how we should proceed with this in a globalized setting,” Chemerys says.
This streamlined process was instrumental in the quick evaluation of Microsoft 365 Copilot. It was especially helpful when Germany raised concerns about the product.
The German works council initially expressed concerns about Copilot’s potential to evaluate employee performance or generate inferences about individual employees. Building trust with the works councils was key to creating a collaborative approach to AI technologies.
“In my conversations with works councils, I would emphasize that AI is akin to a speeding train—the technology is evolving faster than we can review all aspects of it,” Chemerys says. “Our best course of action is to prepare and steer its direction.”
The German council eventually agreed to a tolerance phase. Carsten Schleicher, chairman of the Microsoft works council in Germany, said, “From a legal and ethical perspective, generative AI is a tool that could be used to establish performance and behavior control in a company. But we don’t give resistance or feedback because we don’t want AI—we want to address the potential impact of a tool.”
Engineers engaged directly with the works councils. “Another market-wide concern is the potential for AI tools to hallucinate false information it generates without a clear source,” Schleicher says. “AI represents an exciting evolution in our interaction with computers, yet the ultimate decision-making should always remain in human hands, ensuring thoughtful analysis of the insights provided by AI.”
Some works council members participated in the initial Copilot deployment wave. Their feedback helped the councils reach an agreement to continue the deployment, leading to product improvements.
France also implemented a tolerance phase. Juliette Reigner, a manager of works councils in France, said, “We didn’t have all the answers regarding what the impact of Copilot would be. Usually, in a consultation process, we are required to have all the details—but AI requires us to be more agile and flexible in our approach than ever before.”
The French works council created a technology committee with council members involved in testing new technologies. Edith Dubuisson, senior business program manager, said, “We suggested that works council members be part of pre-deployment testing and product planning to be part of innovation, and to better understand the impact of new technologies like Copilot. Copilot is not proactive in what it does—it will not perform tasks that it is not tasked with and has limitations in place to protect workers rights and well-being.”
Final consultations with the French works councils resulted in a green light for Copilot’s continued development and deployment.
Following Germany and France, other countries, including the Netherlands, agreed to a tolerance phase.
Works councils continue to provide valuable feedback in this fast-moving AI environment, serving as partners in product development and innovation.
“If the councils raise concerns about a feature or capability, it’s likely our customers will share those concerns,” Chemerys says. “By capturing their feedback in early stages, we can design better products, so we have shifted to thinking about works councils as competitive advantages and co-innovators.”
Key takeaways for working with works councils on AI product deployment include:
- Works councils can drive digital transformation and represent employee interests.
- They can be co-innovators, early adopters, and business partners.
- Enable works councils to be early adopters and take their feedback seriously.
- Offer training and education.
-
Ensure early involvement and full transparency.
Microsoft’s approach is to treat works councils as essential collaborators rather than mere oversight bodies, viewing their feedback as a strategic asset for improving products. This model has allowed the company to navigate the challenges and complexities of implementing AI technologies like Copilot effectively. By focusing on collaboration, clear communication, and early engagement, Microsoft is better positioned to develop AI products that resonate with its employees and, in turn, its customers.
