A current-state snapshot
A clear, evidence-based view of where your team sits on the AI Use Hierarchy today, including the realistic distribution across your staff. Most teams are not all at one level, and that itself matters.
Where does your team
really sit with AI?
A free, no-obligation AI Capability Check for any team, department or organisation. We place your team on the AI Use Hierarchy and give you two or three prioritised next steps, in a written report you keep.
No prep required.·30 minutes.·A written report you keep.
What the AI Capability Check is
The Capability Check is a focused, free diagnostic for a specific team, department, or faculty. It is built around the AI Use Hierarchy, a five-level framework that describes how staff progress in their AI capability, from first conversations with an AI assistant through to connecting AI into institutional systems.
You do not need to prepare anything. You do not need to have your team complete a survey beforehand (although we can run one if you want a more detailed snapshot). What you do need is 30 minutes with someone who knows the team well enough to answer questions about how staff currently work, what tools are in use, where the friction is, and what would count as a meaningful win.
From that conversation, we produce a written report that you can share with colleagues, take to your senior team, or use to inform your own planning. It is yours to keep, whether or not you ever speak to us again.
The AI Use Hierarchy
- 1
Conversational AI
Using everyday AI assistants to draft, summarise and question. The starting point for most staff.
- 2
Structured Prompting
Applying a framework (Role, Context, Task) to get reliable, repeatable outputs.
- 3
Custom Configuration
Building reusable assistants with set instructions, tone and knowledge.
- 4
Agents and Workflows
Designing agents and multi-step workflows with checks and handoffs.
- 5
Integration and Orchestration
Connecting AI into team and institutional systems, and coordinating several tools.
What you get
Every AI Capability Check produces two things.
A prioritised set of next moves
Two or three specific, achievable steps that would meaningfully shift your team's capability in the next quarter, sequenced sensibly so foundations come before sophistication.
The report is written in plain English, free of jargon, and designed to be useful even if AI is not your specialist area.
Who it is for
The AI Capability Check is for anyone who leads, manages, or has oversight of a team: in a university, college, school or trust, business or public body. That includes heads of department, deans, headteachers, professional services managers, research group leads, and anyone in HR, L&D, or digital roles thinking about staff capability.
It is particularly useful if you are facing a budget conversation, a strategy refresh, an audit, or a senior leadership request for “the AI plan” and you would like to be able to answer that question with evidence rather than impressions.
If you are a senior leader looking for ongoing support with strategy, policy and a phased adoption roadmap, Adoption coaching is the better fit, and a Capability Check is a good way to start that conversation.
How it works
Three steps, from booking to a written report.
01
Book a slot
Choose a 30-minute slot that suits you on our booking page and tell us a little about your team. We will send a short note in advance explaining the kinds of questions we will cover, so you can think about what you want to bring to the conversation.
02
The conversation
A 30-minute call over Teams or Zoom. No slides, no sales pitch, no homework. We ask, you talk, we listen and probe where it helps. The agenda is shaped around your team and what would be most useful for you to leave with.
03
Your written summary
Afterwards you receive a written Capability Check report by email. It is yours to share, file, ignore, or act on, as you see fit. If you want a follow-up conversation to talk through it, we are happy to. If you do not, that is genuinely fine.
What happens after
Some teams take the Capability Check, use the summary internally, and we never hear from them again. That is a perfectly good outcome. The point of the offer is to give you something useful, not to manufacture a sales conversation.
Where teams do want to take next steps with us, the most common routes are a targeted workshop (for example, AI Foundations and Responsible Use for all staff, or a role-specific session for academics, researchers, or professional services), an online course for all staff, or, for senior leaders, Adoption coaching. Every option is mapped to the AI Use Hierarchy, and prices are published on our services page.
You are under no obligation to do any of this. The Capability Check stands on its own.
Ready to find out where your team really stands?
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is the Capability Check really free?
Yes. There is no fee, no commitment, and no requirement to do anything further. It exists because the most useful conversations we have tend to start from a shared understanding of where their team actually is, and the Capability Check is the most efficient way to build that.
Who will I be speaking to?
You will speak with one of the WorkSmart-AI founders, both of whom previously held Digital Skills Lead roles at the University of Exeter before starting the business. You will not be passed to a junior account manager.
What information do you need before the call?
Very little. The booking form asks for your name, organisation, role, the team or department the Capability Check is for, and rough team size. We do not ask for confidential information, and you do not need to send documents in advance.
Can I bring colleagues?
Yes. Many heads of department find it useful to invite an L&D partner, digital lead, or deputy. We would suggest a maximum of three people on the call to keep the conversation focused.
Will you try to sell me a workshop at the end?
No. If something we offer looks like a genuine fit for what you have described, we will say so, and you can decide whether to explore that separately. If nothing fits, we will tell you that too. The Capability Check is the deliverable, not the bait.
What if my team is at a very early stage and I would feel embarrassed to talk about it?
Most teams are at a very early stage. Honestly, that is the median position in higher education right now, and there is no judgement attached to it. The Capability Check is more useful, not less, the earlier you are.
Is this only for universities?
No. We run Capability Checks for universities, colleges, schools and trusts, businesses and public sector organisations. Higher education is our home sector, and the AI Use Hierarchy works the same way wherever your team sits.
Find out where your team really stands.
30 minutes. A written report you keep. No obligation, no sales pitch, no jargon. Just a clear view of where your team is today and two or three next steps.
Or email hello@worksmart-ai.co.uk with any questions before you book.