Essential Work Samples for Evaluating AI Champions in Your Organization

As organizations increasingly adopt artificial intelligence technologies, the need for effective AI champions within departments has become critical. These individuals serve as bridges between technical AI capabilities and practical business applications, driving adoption and ensuring AI initiatives deliver real value. Unlike dedicated data scientists or AI engineers, departmental AI champions must combine domain expertise with sufficient AI literacy to identify opportunities, advocate for solutions, and guide implementation within their specific business contexts.

Evaluating potential AI champions requires assessing a unique blend of technical understanding, business acumen, communication skills, and change management abilities. Traditional interviews often fail to reveal whether candidates can effectively translate AI concepts into practical departmental applications or successfully navigate the human aspects of technological change. Work samples and role plays provide a more accurate picture of how candidates will perform in these multifaceted roles.

The exercises outlined below are designed to evaluate candidates' abilities to identify AI opportunities, plan implementations, communicate with stakeholders, and evaluate AI tools—all essential functions of effective departmental AI champions. By observing candidates in action through these scenarios, hiring managers can better assess not just what candidates know about AI, but how they apply that knowledge to drive organizational value.

These work samples simulate real challenges AI champions face, from identifying high-value use cases to managing resistance from colleagues. By incorporating feedback mechanisms into each exercise, organizations can also evaluate candidates' adaptability and coachability—critical traits for success in rapidly evolving AI landscapes. Implementing these exercises will help organizations identify champions who can effectively bridge the gap between AI's technical possibilities and practical business applications.

Activity #1: AI Opportunity Assessment

This activity evaluates a candidate's ability to identify valuable AI applications within a specific department. Effective AI champions must be able to spot opportunities where AI can solve real business problems, prioritize these opportunities based on feasibility and impact, and articulate their value to stakeholders. This exercise reveals how well candidates understand both AI capabilities and departmental operations.

Directions for the Company:

• Select a department (e.g., marketing, HR, operations) and provide the candidate with information about its current processes, challenges, and objectives.
• Include relevant materials such as process documentation, KPIs, and descriptions of current tools and systems.
• Allocate 45-60 minutes for the candidate to complete the assessment.
• Prepare a rubric that evaluates the candidate's ability to identify practical opportunities, assess feasibility, prioritize based on business impact, and communicate recommendations clearly.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided departmental information and identify 3-5 potential AI applications that could address existing challenges or improve processes.
• For each opportunity, describe:
• The specific business problem or opportunity
• The proposed AI solution and how it would work
• Expected benefits and potential ROI
• Implementation considerations and potential challenges
• Prioritize these opportunities based on potential impact, feasibility, and resource requirements.
• Prepare a brief presentation (5-7 minutes) explaining your recommendations.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "Your identification of the customer segmentation opportunity showed strong understanding of both AI capabilities and marketing needs") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider addressing data privacy concerns more thoroughly in your proposals").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to revise one of their opportunity assessments based on the feedback, focusing on the improvement area identified.

Activity #2: AI Implementation Planning

This activity assesses a candidate's ability to develop a practical roadmap for implementing an AI solution. Successful AI champions must bridge the gap between technical possibilities and organizational realities, creating implementation plans that address technical requirements, change management, and business integration. This exercise reveals the candidate's project planning abilities and awareness of AI implementation challenges.

Directions for the Company:

• Select one AI use case relevant to your organization (e.g., implementing a customer service chatbot, creating a predictive maintenance system, or developing an AI-powered content recommendation engine).
• Provide context about the organization's current technical infrastructure, available resources, and relevant stakeholders.
• Allow 60 minutes for the candidate to develop their implementation plan.
• Prepare evaluation criteria focusing on comprehensiveness, practicality, risk management, and change management approaches.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Develop a detailed implementation plan for the specified AI solution that includes:
• Key phases and milestones with approximate timelines
• Required resources (technical, human, and financial)
• Data requirements and considerations
• Integration with existing systems and processes
• Stakeholder management and training needs
• Potential risks and mitigation strategies
• Success metrics and evaluation approach
• Create a one-page executive summary and a more detailed 2-3 page implementation roadmap.
• Be prepared to walk through your plan and answer questions about your approach.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide specific feedback on a strong element of the plan (e.g., "Your approach to phased implementation reduces risk effectively") and an area needing improvement (e.g., "The plan could better address data quality validation").
• Ask the candidate to spend 15 minutes revising the section of their plan that relates to the improvement feedback, demonstrating how they would enhance that aspect.

Activity #3: Stakeholder Communication Role Play

This activity evaluates a candidate's ability to communicate AI concepts to non-technical stakeholders and address resistance to change. Effective AI champions must translate complex technical concepts into business language, address concerns empathetically, and build buy-in for AI initiatives. This role play reveals the candidate's communication skills and change management approach.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a scenario where the candidate must explain an AI initiative to a skeptical stakeholder (played by an interviewer).
• Create a brief for the interviewer outlining specific concerns to raise, such as:
• Fear of job displacement
• Concerns about data privacy
• Skepticism about AI's reliability
• Questions about ROI and resource requirements
• Resistance to changing established processes
• Provide the candidate with information about the AI solution and the stakeholder's role 24 hours in advance.
• Allocate 15-20 minutes for the role play.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the information about the AI solution and the stakeholder you'll be meeting with.
• Prepare to explain the solution in non-technical terms, emphasizing business benefits relevant to this stakeholder.
• Be ready to address concerns, answer questions, and build buy-in for the initiative.
• Your goal is not to "win" an argument but to demonstrate empathetic listening while effectively advocating for the AI solution.
• Consider preparing visual aids or analogies that make complex concepts accessible.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, provide feedback on an effective communication strategy used (e.g., "Your use of concrete examples made the benefits tangible") and an area for improvement (e.g., "Consider acknowledging concerns more directly before offering solutions").
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to reflect, then ask them to re-approach a specific part of the conversation incorporating the feedback.

Activity #4: AI Tool Evaluation

This activity assesses a candidate's ability to evaluate AI tools and solutions for specific business needs. Effective AI champions must be able to assess technical capabilities, integration requirements, and business fit of various AI solutions. This exercise reveals the candidate's technical literacy and practical judgment when selecting AI technologies.

Directions for the Company:

• Select a specific business need that could be addressed by AI (e.g., document processing, customer sentiment analysis, demand forecasting).
• Prepare information about 3-4 different AI tools or platforms that could potentially address this need, including their features, technical requirements, pricing models, and limitations.
• Include some realistic constraints such as budget limitations, integration requirements, or compliance considerations.
• Allow 45-60 minutes for the candidate to review materials and prepare their evaluation.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the business need and the information provided about potential AI solutions.
• Evaluate each solution based on:
• Alignment with business requirements
• Technical feasibility and integration considerations
• Implementation complexity and timeline
• Total cost of ownership
• Scalability and future-proofing
• Potential risks or limitations
• Create an evaluation matrix comparing the solutions across key criteria.
• Prepare a recommendation with justification for your preferred solution.
• Be prepared to explain your evaluation process and defend your recommendation.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on a strength in their evaluation approach (e.g., "Your consideration of hidden maintenance costs showed strong practical thinking") and an area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how user adoption might affect your evaluation criteria").
• Ask the candidate to spend 10 minutes revising their evaluation criteria or recommendation based on the feedback, explaining how this changes their assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should we adapt these exercises for candidates with different levels of technical background?

For candidates with less technical background, focus more on their ability to identify business applications and communicate effectively about AI. For more technical candidates, you might increase the complexity of the implementation planning or tool evaluation exercises. The key is assessing whether they can operate effectively at the intersection of technology and business, regardless of which side they come from originally.

Should we use real company data and challenges for these exercises?

Using real challenges increases relevance but may raise confidentiality concerns. A good approach is to use anonymized or slightly modified versions of real challenges your organization faces. This maintains authenticity while protecting sensitive information. If using entirely fictional scenarios, ensure they closely mirror the actual challenges an AI champion would face in your organization.

How do we evaluate candidates who propose AI solutions different from what we had in mind?

Focus on the quality of their reasoning rather than alignment with your preconceived solutions. Strong candidates might identify innovative approaches you hadn't considered. Evaluate whether their proposals are practical, address the core business need, and demonstrate understanding of both AI capabilities and organizational realities. The ability to think creatively about AI applications is actually a valuable trait in an AI champion.

What if a candidate has great ideas but struggles with the communication aspect?

Consider the specific role requirements. If the AI champion will primarily work with technical teams, brilliant ideas might outweigh communication challenges. However, if they'll need to build buy-in across departments, communication skills are essential. You might also consider whether communication issues stem from nervousness in the interview setting or represent a genuine skill gap. Providing communication coaching could be an option for otherwise strong candidates.

How can we make these exercises inclusive for candidates from diverse backgrounds?

Ensure scenarios don't require industry-specific knowledge unless truly essential for the role. Provide sufficient context and background information so candidates can demonstrate their AI champion skills without needing specialized domain expertise. Consider allowing candidates to choose between multiple scenarios for some exercises, letting them leverage their unique backgrounds. Also, be conscious of potential bias in how you evaluate responses, focusing on substance rather than style or cultural fit.

Can these exercises be conducted remotely?

Yes, all these exercises can be adapted for remote settings. For the role play, use video conferencing. For the other exercises, provide materials digitally and use screen sharing for presentations. Consider extending time limits slightly to account for potential technical issues. Remote formats may actually better reflect reality, as AI champions often need to communicate about technical topics in virtual settings.

As organizations continue to integrate AI into their operations, identifying effective AI champions becomes increasingly crucial for successful adoption. The work samples outlined above provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating candidates' abilities to bridge technical and business perspectives, communicate effectively about AI, and drive practical implementation. By incorporating these exercises into your hiring process, you can identify champions who will accelerate AI adoption while ensuring initiatives remain aligned with business objectives.

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