{"id":"mgr-x-headcount-request-evidence","audience":"managers","category":"decisions","track":"data","technique":"grounding","title":"Make the case for one more hire with current numbers","free":false,"task":"You're asking your director for one more support agent. Write the ask and the role in the first sentence, then exactly 3 bullets of evidence, each with a current number from your notes, then the cost of not hiring in one sentence, plain text, under 90 words. Use only this quarter's numbers, with no comparisons to earlier quarters, and leave out the complaints about other teams.","materialLabel":"Your data notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Headcount request - 1 Tier 1 support agent (Brightline Utilities, Customer Support)\nTo: Mara (Director, Customer Ops). Budget review is Mar 20.\n\nMetrics:\n- Tickets per agent per week: Q3 last year 110, Q4 128. THIS QUARTER (Q1): 146.\n- Median first reply time: Q4 5.2 hours. Q1: 8.1 hours. Target is 4 hours.\n- Customer satisfaction (CSAT): Q4 88%. Q1: 81%.\n- Overtime hours: Q1 total 310 hours (about $11,200).\n\nCost of a new agent: about $58k/year fully loaded.\nCost of NOT hiring: overtime is on pace for about $45k/year, and CSAT below 85% triggers a penalty clause in our utility commission service agreement (check with legal on the exact terms before quoting amounts).\n\nComplaints (don't include): billing team keeps sending us their tickets; product changed the outage page without telling us.\n\nMara's style: \"Lead with the ask. Three numbers, max. Don't make me read a story.\"","rules":[{"type":"maxBullets","max":3},{"type":"maxWords","max":90},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Telling the story","why":"The AI writes a narrative of how busy the team is before the ask.","fix":"Add: \"First sentence: the ask and the role.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"each bullet under 14 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Mixing quarters","why":"Several quarters of numbers are in your notes, and the AI may pick older ones.","fix":"Add: \"Use only Q1 numbers.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Too much evidence","why":"The AI lists every metric with headings.","fix":"Add: \"Exactly 3 bullets, each with one number. Plain text.\"","checks":["maxBullets","plainText"]},{"title":"Venting","why":"The complaints sound like reasons, so the AI includes them.","fix":"Add: \"End with the cost of not hiring. No complaints about other teams.\"","checks":["r2"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Puts the ask first","patterns":["first sentence","lead with","the ask","start with"]},{"label":"Uses current numbers","patterns":["q1","this quarter","current","latest"]},{"label":"Limits the evidence","patterns":["\\b(3|three)\\b.{0,15}(bullet|number)"]},{"label":"Leaves out complaints","patterns":["complain","billing","other teams","no venting"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Directors fund requests that lead with the ask and prove it with a few current numbers. Tell the AI that order, which quarter to use, and what to cut.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence asks for 1 Tier 1 support agent","The 3 bullets use Q1 numbers: 146 tickets per agent per week, median first reply 8.1 hours vs a 4-hour target, and CSAT 81% (overtime of 310 hours or $11,200 may replace one), and no Q4 or older figure appears anywhere, even as a comparison","Ends with the cost of not hiring (overtime on pace for about $45k/year and/or the CSAT penalty risk, without quoting a penalty amount), and mentions no complaints about billing or product"]}