{"id":"wri-hr-pto-balance-reply","audience":"hr","category":"customer-replies","technique":"grounding","title":"Explain an employee's time-off balance with the math","free":false,"task":"An employee asked in Slack why her PTO balance shows 6 days instead of 9. Reply under 60 words, plain text. The first sentence answers with the math, then explain the carryover cap in one sentence using the correct number, and end with the link to the PTO page, hr.example/pto, with nothing after it. Write a prompt that gets that reply.","materialLabel":"Her message and the HR records (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"SLACK DM from Nora Blake:\nHi! My PTO balance in the HR portal says 6 days but I'm sure I have 9. Did something get deducted by mistake? I'm trying to plan a trip in March.\n\nHR RECORDS (Nora Blake)\n- Earned this year: 15 days. Used: 6 days. Balance before pending requests: 9 days.\n- Pending: 3 days (Dec 22-24) submitted Nov 2, waiting for her manager's approval. The portal subtracts pending requests from the \"available\" balance.\n- 9 - 3 pending = 6 available.\n\nPOLICY\n- Carryover: up to 5 unused days roll into next year. (The old handbook said 3 days; updated to 5 in January 2026.)\n- Unused days over the cap are lost on Dec 31.\n- New year's 15 days are added Jan 1.\n\nOTHER\n- Her manager, Ken, is slow on approvals.\n- If Dec 22-24 is approved, she'll have 6 days left; 5 can carry over.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":60},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 60 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part: \"3 sentences, each under 16 words, then the link.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Hiding the answer","why":"The AI opens with \"Great question!\" and explains the portal before the math.","fix":"Say it: \"Sentence 1: 9 days minus your 3 pending days is 6.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Using the old cap","why":"The notes mention the old 3-day carryover. The AI may use it.","fix":"Add: \"Up to 5 days carry over.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Ending with chatter","why":"AI Slack replies end with \"Let me know if you have other questions! 😊\" instead of the link.","fix":"Add: \"Last line is hr.example/pto, nothing after it.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Forgetting where it gets pasted","why":"AI adds bold and headings by default, which show up as ** and # clutter in Slack.","fix":"Add: \"Plain text, no bold, no headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]},{"label":"Leads with the math","patterns":["first sentence","9","pending","math"]},{"label":"Uses the current cap","patterns":["\\b5 days","carry.?over","current"]},{"label":"Ends with the link","patterns":["hr\\.example/pto","last line","end with"]},{"label":"Asks for plain text","patterns":["plain","no bold","no markdown","no formatting","no headings"]}],"hint":"Employees asking about their balance want the math first. Tell the AI the order, the right cap and how to end.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence (after a greeting) explains the math: 9 days minus 3 pending days (Dec 22-24) = 6 available, so nothing was deducted by mistake","Says up to 5 unused days carry over to next year (not 3)","The last line is the link hr.example/pto with nothing after it, and the reply says nothing about her manager being slow"]}