HR & People Prompts to Make Better Decisions

You are an HR finance analyst. Build a headcount cost analysis for this department's hiring plan. Department: [Name] Current headcount: [Number] Proposed new hires: [Paste: role title, start date, base salary, location] For each new hire, calculate: - Fully loaded cost (salary + benefits at [X]% + payroll taxes at [X]%) - Partial year cost (based on start date) - Full year run-rate cost - Cumulative department cost Also include: - Total department cost increase ($ and %) - Cost per head trend - Comparison to budget (over/under) Format: Table + summary paragraph. Include "what-if" note: cost impact if all hires delayed 3 months.

You are a hiring manager. Create a structured interview question set for a [role title] candidate. Role level: [Staff / Senior / Manager / Director / VP] Key skills needed: [List 3-5 must-have competencies] Industry: [If specific industry knowledge required] Create 15-20 questions across these categories: 1) Technical accounting (4-5 questions testing knowledge at the appropriate level) 2) Systems and tools (3-4 questions about ERP, Excel, reporting tools) 3) Problem-solving (3-4 scenario-based questions using real accounting situations) 4) Communication (2-3 questions about explaining financial concepts to non-finance people) 5) Process improvement (2-3 questions about how they've improved a process) 6) Culture fit (2-3 questions about work style and team collaboration) For each question: - The question itself - What a good answer sounds like (key points to listen for) - Red flag answer (what indicates the candidate isn't right) - Follow-up question to dig deeper Format: Interview guide with scoring rubric (1-5 scale per question).

You are a Controller. Build a cross-training plan for the finance team to reduce key-person dependency. Team members: [Paste: name/role, primary responsibilities, backup (if any)] Identify: 1) Single points of failure (tasks only one person can do) 2) Critical processes during close (what breaks if someone is out during close?) 3) High-risk knowledge gaps (tribal knowledge not documented) Build a cross-training plan: - Priority processes to cross-train (ranked by risk) - Primary owner and backup trainee for each - Training method (shadow, SOP + practice, formal training) - Timeline (realistic — don't overload people) - Validation (how do we know the backup can actually do it?) - Documentation requirements (SOPs, checklists, video recordings) Also include: - Rotation schedule (if applicable — switch responsibilities periodically) - Emergency runbook (if someone leaves suddenly, what are the first 48 hours?) Format: Cross-training matrix + timeline + emergency runbook.

You are a Controller planning team capacity for next fiscal year. Current team: [Paste: role, name, FTE %, primary responsibilities, estimated hours per month by activity] Anticipated changes: [New projects, system implementations, regulatory changes, growth plans, departures] Analyze: 1) Current utilization by team member (how loaded is everyone?) 2) Peak period analysis (close week, audit season, budget season, tax deadlines) 3) Capacity gaps (where do we not have enough people?) 4) Excess capacity (where are we overstaffed or could automate?) 5) Impact of anticipated changes (what's changing and how does it affect workload?) Recommend: - Staffing needs (new hires, contractors, outsourcing) - Automation opportunities (which manual tasks should be eliminated?) - Rebalancing opportunities (redistribute work more evenly) - Training needs (upskill existing team) - Risk assessment (what happens if we DON'T add capacity?) Format: Capacity analysis table + hiring/automation recommendation memo.

You are an FP&A analyst forecasting headcount and compensation expense. Headcount data: [PASTE: Department | Current FTE count | Salary/comp per employee | Planned new hires (month, role, salary band) | Planned departures | Benefit load %] Forecast for next [PERIOD]: 1) Ending headcount by department — month by month 2) Salary expense — base pay + benefit load; note when new hires' cost hits the run rate 3) One-time costs — severance for planned departures, recruiting fees for new hires 4) Annualized run rate at period end vs. current run rate 5) Headcount budget variance — planned vs. forecast Output: Headcount forecast table + salary expense schedule. Flag any month where headcount cost is projected to exceed budget by more than $[THRESHOLD].

You are an HR analyst preparing the monthly workforce review. Headcount data: [PASTE: Department | Beginning headcount | New hires | Terminations (voluntary/involuntary) | Ending headcount | Open requisitions] Produce: 1) Headcount summary by department — beginning, movement, ending 2) Voluntary turnover rate by department — annualized; flag any department >5 points above company average 3) Tenure analysis — average tenure by department; flag departments where median tenure is <18 months (flight risk) 4) Hiring pipeline health — time-to-fill by role type; flag any role type where time-to-fill exceeds 60 days 5) Succession gaps — departments where 30%+ of team members have <1 year tenure (institutional knowledge risk) Output: Executive workforce briefing. End with the 3 most urgent workforce risks and a recommended action for each. Tone: Direct, data-driven, no HR jargon.

You are an HR manager preparing a compensation benchmarking review. Role data: [PASTE: Job title | Level | Department | Current salary range (min/mid/max) | Market survey source | Market 25th/50th/75th percentile for this role] [NOTE: Use [INDUSTRY] and [REGION] as context for benchmarking] For each role: 1) Compa-ratio: current midpoint ÷ market median — flag roles >15% above or below market 2) Compression risk — roles where junior and senior levels have overlapping salary ranges 3) Equity risk — large salary spread between employees in the same role and level 4) Recommended range adjustments — with rationale and estimated cost impact Output: Compensation review table. Total annual cost of recommended adjustments. Priority order: address externally competitive gaps before internal equity issues.

You are a finance business partner reviewing open headcount requests ahead of budget review. Open requisition data: [PASTE: Role | Department | Level | Salary range | Date opened | Requesting manager's justification | Revenue-generating? (yes/no) | Backfill or new role?] Evaluate each open req on: 1) Business impact if not filled — high (revenue at risk or compliance) / medium (productivity loss) / low (nice to have) 2) Urgency — needs to start within 30 days / 60 days / flexible 3) Financial impact — cost of the role vs. value generated or problem solved 4) Alternatives — could this be covered by contractor, automation, or redistribution? Recommend: Approve immediately / Approve with modified scope / Defer to next quarter / Close (no longer needed). Output: Headcount prioritization table for budget review. Total approved headcount cost vs. budget.

You are a senior HR business partner preparing a 12-month workforce plan. Business inputs: [DESCRIBE: Business growth plan for next 12 months, key initiatives requiring new capabilities, budget constraints] Current workforce: [PASTE: Department | Current headcount | Key skills | Attrition risk (high/medium/low) | Retirement eligible in next 12 months] Build a workforce plan covering: 1) Net headcount change needed by department to support business plan 2) Critical capability gaps — skills the business needs that don't currently exist internally 3) Build vs. buy vs. borrow for each gap: hire externally / develop internally / use contractors 4) Attrition risk — roles/departments most at risk; recommended retention actions 5) Timeline: when do we need each role filled to support the business? Output: 12-month workforce plan summary table + top 5 workforce risks with mitigation actions.

You are an HR manager performing a quarterly HR compliance review. Business context: [DESCRIBE: Company size (headcount), states/countries operating in, industry, any recent significant org changes] Review status against these compliance areas: [PASTE: Requirement | Currently compliant? (yes/no/unknown) | Last reviewed | Owner] If you don't have current status, flag each as "requires review" and note the compliance requirement: - I-9 employment eligibility verification (completed and retained for all employees) - W-4 forms current for all employees - State-required workplace posters posted - Required training completion (harassment prevention, safety, etc.) - Exempt/non-exempt classification review - PTO/leave policy compliance with applicable state laws - Worker classification (employee vs. independent contractor) - Pay equity review Output: Compliance status dashboard. Priority list: High risk (out of compliance) / Medium (unknown status) / Low (compliant, routine review). Action owner and deadline for each.

You are an HR analyst reviewing exit interview data to identify retention insights. Exit interview data: [PASTE: Departure month | Department | Tenure | Voluntary/involuntary | Primary departure reason (from exit interview) | Secondary reason | Destination (competitor/different industry/personal/unknown) | Would they recommend company? (yes/no)] Analyze: 1) Top departure reasons — ranked by frequency 2) Turnover by department — which departments have the highest voluntary turnover? 3) Tenure patterns — are people leaving within 0–1 years (onboarding failure) / 1–3 years (growth ceiling) / 3+ years (compensation/culture)? 4) Competitor intelligence — who are we losing people to? What does that signal? 5) Recommendation score — % who would recommend the company as an employer Output: Retention risk analysis. Top 3 root causes of voluntary turnover with specific retention recommendations. Estimated annual cost of current turnover rate.

You are an I/O psychologist designing STAR behavioral questions. [PASTE: Job description and competency model]. Create 3 questions per 5 core competencies with scoring rubrics (novice/proficient/expert). Flag cultural bias risks. Output interview guide with probing questions and sample answers.

You are a talent ops lead building a blind resume screening matrix. [PASTE: Job description, required/nice-to-have skills]. Extract 8-10 must-have criteria, weight each (0-10 scale), create screening matrix with checkboxes and scoring logic. Output CSV/markdown matrix with guardrails for human override.

You are a compensation strategist preparing offer letters. [PASTE: Candidate profile, benchmarked salary range, benefits, equity data]. Calculate offer (33rd/50th/75th percentile), justify level, design letter, create negotiation talking points with red lines vs. negotiable items. Output offer memo with letter template and negotiation guide.

You are an HR investigator designing reference checks. [PASTE: Candidate resume, interview notes, red flags]. Design 7-10 questions verifying claims and probing gaps, create scoring rubric (strong hire/hire/hire with development/don't hire), provide call script with legal guardrails. Output reference check guide with question bank and legal notes.

You are a diversity recruiting strategist. [PASTE: Current demographics, underrepresented groups, open roles]. Benchmark % of applicants vs. hires from underrepresented groups. Identify 5-7 sourcing channels by group. Design outreach, partnership strategy, hiring team diversity, set targets (X% pipeline → X% hires in 6/12 months). Output sourcing roadmap with channels, templates, and metrics.

You are a competitive talent analyst. [PASTE: 5-10 competitor companies, talent gaps, high-turnover roles]. Identify talent signals (where competitors hire, job posting frequency, employee reviews), gather data, analyze patterns (skills emphasized, comp bands), cross-reference with your flight risk employees. Output competitive talent report (quarterly) with gap analysis and retention risks.

You are a recruiting ops manager. [PASTE: Hiring volumes, time-to-hire, key roles, manager feedback, recruiting team size]. Define core metrics (time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, quality-of-hire, diversity, offer acceptance rate), segment by role/dept/source, set targets, design dashboard, build feedback loops, create reporting cadence. Output metrics charter, dashboard mockup, and reporting templates.