Put an employee offboarding checklist in the right order

About this exercise

You're the HR generalist handling an employee's last day next Friday, and you want a checklist for the team. You want exactly 5 numbered steps in time order, each starting with when it happens and then a verb, under 70 words, plain text. Follow the timing rules in the company's offboarding policy (access must not be cut before the exit meeting), and leave out manager-only tasks. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Cutting access too early. The AI often puts access removal first, which locks the employee out before the meeting. Try: Add: "Access is disabled at 5:00 pm, after the 3:00 exit meeting."
• Getting the paycheck date wrong. The last day is also a payday, so the AI may use Dec 5. Try: Add: "Final paycheck goes on the next payday after the last day: Dec 19."
• Including manager tasks. The AI merges the manager's notes into the HR list. Try: Add: "Only HR steps."
• Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI writes a policy summary with headings. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 5 numbered steps, each starting with when. Plain text."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 9 words."

What a strong prompt includes

• Says how many steps
• Follows the timing rules
• Gets the paycheck date
• Only HR steps
• Sets a word limit

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