Before hiring an external AI consultant, run this 6-question internal audit. It takes a half day and tells you whether you're ready — and which function to start with.
1. Which functions have measurable, repetitive outputs? Sales (calls made, deals closed), recruiting (placements, interviews), ops (reports shipped, tickets resolved). These are your AI candidates.
2. Where do you hear 'we don't have time for that' most often? That's where AI saves time. Listen for it in your weekly leadership meetings.
3. What workflows touch 3+ tools to complete? Multi-tool workflows are integration-heavy and high-value to automate. Single-tool workflows are usually solved by better config.
4. Which roles are you overdue to hire? If the next hire is mostly doing repetitive work, AI is often a faster, cheaper, more scalable alternative.
5. Do you have stack ownership? If admin access to your CRM, ATS, or PM tool requires committee approval, you're not ready. Sort that out first.
6. Does your top exec have 5 hours/month for this? AI implementations succeed when leadership stays engaged. They fail when delegated to an overwhelmed manager.
Score yourself. 5+ yes answers: you're ready, pick a vendor and start. 3–4: clean up the gaps first. Under 3: solve operational fundamentals before adding AI.