Involve SME employees in codesign on how GenAI can support their daily work and tasks (e.g. which tasks best suit GenAI use for speed and which tasks fit human input)

Foster experimentation through small creative tasks and reflection through discussions to encourage use and build ethical awareness and responsible use of output (e.g. use GenAI for jobs such as writing promotional content, customer replies or design work)

Recognize and reward human judgment and refinement to focus on creativity and ethical responsibility, more than speed and efficiency (e.g. coffee shoutouts, praise, etc.)

Provide short (e.g. 10–20 min only) and hands-on sessions to show SME employees how to write better GenAI prompts, identify weaknesses/biases, and validate outputs to check for accuracy and appropriateness

Pair creative and technical SME employees to exchange expertise (e.g. co-design prompts and jointly evaluate outputs in teams)

Encourage continuous reflection and feedback on GenAI use (e.g. keep notes on recurring problems or ethical concerns)

Use local and industry knowledge to fact-check GenAI output and ensure they align with community or ethical standards (e.g. verify product descriptions and safety standards meet industry or community expectations)

Ask SME employees to consider ideas in a real-world context to ensure applicability, authenticity, and social relevance (e.g. consider “does this sound like our business?” to ensure values alignment)

Create a human–GenAI review process in which SME employees draw on domain knowledge to verify or reject GenAI output or check against trusted references and community benchmarks (e.g. supplier information, trade manuals or local regulations)

Be transparent about where and how SME use GenAI to support trust and accountability in its use (e.g. having open communication about what is working and what is not)

Make a habit of reviewing GenAI work frequently to spot mistakes, tone and misinformation, including potential bias or a lack of alignment with organizational values or ethical standards (e.g. a quick check of all content before posting online)

Use GenAI as an intelligent assistant to spend time on brief ideas or drafts, but SME employees should make the final decision to ensure outputs are relevant to the context and ethically aligned (e.g. show employees how to save time on routines such as compliance manuals)

GenAI should be used following SME specific ethical and quality guidelines (e.g. advertising rules, safety plans, etc.), along with business sustainability plans (e.g. to reduce waste and save time) to ensure the produced output is responsible and compliant

Work with local business groups, TAFE or a university to build practical know-how and support responsible use of GenAI. For example, consider joining low-cost workshops on digital tools and offering student projects on GenAI tasks

Provide a short list of “dos and don’ts” for SME employees to use GenAI safely and fairly, such as providing clear expectations on validation, accountability or ethical uses (e.g. SME employees are always to check facts or not to use GenAI to substitute regulatory manuals, etc.)