Playbook: Alex for HR and People Ops

Your reference for using Alex in talent management, policies, and employee experience. Ready-to-run prompts for recruiting, documentation, communications, and people programs.

What This Guide Is Not

This is not a habit formation guide (see Self-Study Guide for that). This is a people operations toolkit — the specific ways Alex can accelerate your HR work while preserving the human judgment at its core.

Where to Practice These Prompts

Every prompt in this guide works with any AI assistant — ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, or whatever tool you prefer. The prompts are the skill; the tool is just where you type them. Pick the one you’re comfortable with and start today.

For an integrated experience, the Alex VS Code extension (free) was purpose-built for this workshop. It understands HR and people operations context, lets you save effective prompts with /saveinsight, and brings your playbook and practice exercises into one workspace. VS Code is a free editor that takes minutes to set up, even if you’ve never used it before.

You don’t need a specific tool to benefit. You need the habit of reaching for AI when the work is genuinely hard — not just when it’s repetitive.

Core Principle for HR/People Ops

People work is about trust, fairness, and clarity. Alex can help you communicate better, document more consistently, and scale your impact — but it cannot replace your understanding of your people, your culture, or your legal obligations.

The key pattern: maintain confidentiality. Anonymize employee details in prompts. Never include names, identifying information, or sensitive personal data. Alex should help with the how, not have access to the who.

The Seven Use Cases

1. Job Description Writing

When to use: Creating new roles, refreshing existing JDs, reducing bias in language.

Prompt pattern:

Help me write a job description:

Role: [title]
Level: [entry / mid / senior / lead]
Department: [where it sits]
Reports to: [who they report to]
Key responsibilities: [the main work]
Requirements: [must-haves vs. nice-to-haves]
Company context: [growth stage, culture, mission]

Create a job description that:
1. Clearly describes the impact of the role
2. Distinguishes requirements from preferences
3. Uses inclusive, bias-reduced language
4. Reflects our culture without clichés
5. Attracts qualified candidates who might self-select out

Follow-up prompts:

This is too long. What's essential?

Check for gendered or exclusionary language.

Add a section on growth opportunities in this role.

Try this now: You need to create a Senior Product Designer job description. The role reports to the VP of Design, requires strong accessibility expertise, and you want to attract diverse candidates. Your last three design hires all came through the same referral source. Paste your requirements into the JD prompt and ask it to flag biased language, missing inclusive signals, and assumptions about candidate background that might narrow your pipeline.

2. Policy Documentation

When to use: Writing or updating policies. Making policies clear and accessible.

Prompt pattern:

Help me write/update this policy:

Policy topic: [what it covers]
Current state: [paste existing policy if updating, or "new"]
Audience: [who needs to follow it]
Key requirements: [what must be included]
Tone: [formal / approachable / legal-compliant]

Create a policy that:
1. States the purpose clearly
2. Explains who it applies to
3. Provides clear, specific guidance
4. Includes examples where helpful
5. States consequences without being punitive
6. Includes effective date and review cycle

Follow-up prompts:

A manager asks [specific scenario]. Does this policy cover it?

Make this more accessible for employees who aren't native English speakers.

What FAQs should accompany this policy?

Note: Have legal review any policies before publication. Alex can draft, but compliance is your responsibility.

3. Employee Communications

When to use: Announcements, change communications, benefit rollouts, company updates.

Prompt pattern:

Help me write an employee communication:

Topic: [what you're communicating]
Audience: [who receives this]
Key message: [what they need to know]
Action required: [if any]
Sensitivity: [is this good news / neutral / difficult]
Channel: [email / all-hands / slack / intranet]

Write a communication that:
1. Leads with what matters to employees
2. Is clear about what's changing and what's not
3. Acknowledges impact where appropriate
4. Provides clear next steps
5. Opens the door for questions

Follow-up prompts:

This is bad news. How do I deliver it with empathy but clarity?

What questions will employees ask? Prepare an FAQ.

Write the manager talking points to accompany this.

4. Performance Review Writing

When to use: Drafting reviews, providing frameworks for managers, calibrating language.

Prompt pattern:

Help me structure performance feedback:

Review type: [annual / mid-year / project-based]
Performance level: [exceeds / meets / needs improvement]
Key accomplishments: [what they achieved]
Areas for development: [where they can grow]
Goals for next period: [what you want them to work on]

Create feedback that:
1. Is specific, not generic
2. Balances recognition with development
3. Ties accomplishments to impact
4. Makes development areas actionable
5. Maintains consistency with how we evaluate others

Follow-up prompts:

The accomplishments are vague. Help me make them more specific.

This is a difficult conversation. How do I frame the development areas constructively?

Create a template managers can use for their teams.

5. Difficult Conversation Preparation

When to use: PIPs, terminations, conflict resolution, sensitive topics.

Prompt pattern:

Help me prepare for a difficult conversation:

Situation: [what's happening — anonymized]
Conversation goal: [what outcome you need]
Documentation: [what's already documented]
Concerns: [what makes this hard]
Required language: [any compliance requirements]

Create:
1. Opening language that's direct but respectful
2. Key messages to deliver
3. Responses to likely reactions
4. Questions to ask for understanding
5. Closing that's clear on next steps

Follow-up prompts:

They might get emotional. How do I respond?

I need to document this conversation. What should I include?

What if they dispute the facts?

6. Recruiting Process Support

When to use: Interview guides, candidate evaluation, offer letters, rejection communications.

Prompt pattern:

Help me design the interview process:

Role: [what you're hiring for]
Key competencies: [what predicts success]
Interview stages: [how many rounds]
Interviewers: [who's involved]

Create:
1. Interview guide with structured questions
2. Evaluation criteria aligned to competencies
3. Questions to assess culture fit without bias
4. Candidate experience touchpoints
5. Debrief framework for hiring committee

Follow-up prompts:

We need to assess [specific skill]. What questions would reveal that?

Write a rejection email that maintains a positive relationship.

Create an offer letter template for this level.

7. People Programs and Initiatives

When to use: Designing programs, building the case for initiatives, measuring impact.

Prompt pattern:

Help me design a people program:

Program goal: [what you're trying to achieve]
Target audience: [who participates]
Business case: [why this matters]
Resources: [budget, time, people]
Success metrics: [how you'll measure impact]

Create:
1. Program overview and objectives
2. Implementation timeline
3. Communication plan
4. Measurement framework
5. Risk factors and mitigation

Follow-up prompts:

Leadership will ask about ROI. How do I frame the business case?

What are best practices for programs like this?

What should the pilot look like before full rollout?

Your AI toolkit: These prompts work in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini — and in the Alex VS Code extension, which was designed around them. Start with whatever you have. The skill transfers across all of them.

What Great Looks Like

After consistent use, you should notice:

• Faster documentation with more consistency
• Clearer communications that reduce follow-up questions
• Better preparation for difficult conversations
• More scalable programs and processes

The goal isn’t for Alex to do your people work — it’s for Alex to help you scale your impact while staying human.

Practice Plan

Month 2–3

Shift from guided exercises to independent workflows — build templates, integrate AI into your real projects, and create reusable prompt libraries for repeating tasks.

Track Your Growth

/saveinsight Inclusive Hiring Language: [brief description]

/saveinsight Difficult Conversation Frameworks: [brief description]

Continue your practice: Self-Study Guide has weekly challenges to keep building your skills after the workshop ends.

A Note on Employee Data

HR work involves sensitive employee information. When using Alex:

• Never include real names or identifying details
• Use anonymized scenarios (“an employee in the sales team”)
• Don’t paste confidential documents
• Remember that prompts may be logged or used for training
• When in doubt, leave it out

Your employees trust you with their information. Honor that trust.