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Compute revenue per employee on average headcount

  • For FP&A and financial analysts
  • You practice Setting limits and rules
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You're computing a productivity metric for the board deck. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Average headcount:" and "Revenue per employee:", each with the math. Policy uses average headcount (start plus end divided by 2), not ending headcount. Round revenue per employee to the nearest dollar. Don't mention ending headcount or any peer comparison. Under 50 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Using ending headcount. The AI divides by 40 and gets $300,000. Try: Say: "Use average headcount: (start + end) / 2."
  • Comparing to the CEO's figure. The AI notes the difference from $300,000 or peers. Try: Add: "Do not mention ending headcount, the CEO's figure or peers."
  • No rounding. The AI shows cents or $315.8K. Try: Add: "Round to the nearest dollar."
  • Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the two lines
  • Gives the formula
  • Asks to round
  • Bans side topics
  • Caps length

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