06 Nov
There’s a new kind of operational waste creeping into businesses, and it’s coming from tools we thought would save us time.
Harvard Business Review recently named it what it is: AI-generated “workslop.” The flood of low-quality, half-baked content, duplicated effort, and unclear accountability that shows up when AI is dropped into workflows without actually redesigning them.
MIT Media Lab found that 95% of organizations see no measurable return on their investment in these technologies. Deloitte even had to partially refund the Australian government after an AI-generated report was found to include hallucinated citations.
So what gives?
I’ve long cautioned against implementing technology without strong processes in place—but this moment also highlights something just as critical: process controls.
This topic has been front and center with our clients lately. Leaders are asking:
- When and where do I add process controls?
- How do I do it without over-engineering things?
- How do I avoid looking like I don’t trust my people?
At its core, process controls are the checkpoints, triggers, and feedback loops that keep a process inside its guardrails. They ensure consistency, catch errors early, and make sure no one is coloring outside lines where it could be detrimental to the bottom line or reputation of the organization.
Because here’s what’s really going on with workslop: AI didn’t create the problem. It just scaled the consequences of missing or weak process controls. AI is also not the only area where process controls come into play. Any good process worth its name needs to have controls.
- That quarter where your sales team completely blew their budget? Needs a process control
- That deliverable that was 3 weeks late to the client? Needs a process control
- That invoice that went out with the wrong pricing (again)? Needs a process control
- That time a project was marked complete and delivered before QA reviewed it? Needs a process control.
The right controls aren’t about micromanagement, they’re about making sure your processes don’t rely on heroics, memory, or luck. They protect the business from slippage, missteps, and missed expectations.
The best controls aren’t complicated. They’re simple metrics, checks, or sign-offs that keep the work clean, the flow consistent, and the outcomes aligned with what you actually promised.
If your process doesn’t include controls, it’s just a suggestion.
And if your team keeps getting burned in the same places? It’s time to tighten the system, not the grip on your people.