--- title: "Document your HR policies once so AI drafts match your handbook" description: "Give AI your policies, handbook voice, compliance sources, and open initiatives so HR drafts fit your company and stop before legal judgment." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-for-hr-managers" date: "2026-01-28" modified: "2026-09-25" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Real estate - Real estate - [Real estate](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - Work - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Prepare your six-question brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prepare-your-six-question-brief) - Build - [Site build, content library with SEO, signal desk](https://scalewithsearch.com/work) - For your business - Trades and home services - [Auto body and collision shops](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/auto-body-and-collision-shops) - [Foundation and home repair contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/foundation-and-home-repair) - 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You ask an AI assistant to draft a paid time off policy. The draft sounds professional, and it is wrong for your company. It proposes unlimited time off, but the company uses accrual. It uses formal corporate language, but the culture is casual. It leaves out the state rules that apply. It does not separate exempt employees from non-exempt employees. You spend 45 minutes on the rewrite, longer than a draft from scratch would take. The assistant knows general HR practice. It does not know this company's policies, culture, or compliance obligations. An HR context file gives it those facts. The file does not give it legal judgment, and the process below keeps that judgment with people. ## Why HR drafts go wrong without context HR documents carry risk. A policy with the wrong language can create legal exposure. A job description that misstates the role wastes the time of every candidate and interviewer. An onboarding email in the wrong tone sets the wrong first impression. A general assistant does not know: - the company's policies for time off, remote work, and benefits; - the handbook's wording and tone; - the state and industry rules that apply to each employee; - the culture and the house style; - the org structure and who approves what; - the policy changes already in progress. Without those facts, each draft needs a rewrite. With them, the draft starts from the handbook. ## What the HR context file holds Store facts that change slowly and apply to many documents: - handbook sections and their exact language; - each policy with its specific terms; - compliance obligations by state, with the source for each one; - the house style for employee communication; - role descriptions and the leveling framework; - benefits plans and provider names; - onboarding and offboarding steps; - current initiatives and their status. Keep every legal rule tied to a source. A rule that is lawful in one state can be unlawful in another. For example, California treats earned vacation as wages that vest as the employee works. A use-it-or-lose-it forfeiture rule is illegal there, although a cap on accrual is permitted ([California Labor Commissioner: Vacation FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_vacation.htm), Labor Code section 227.3, checked 2026.09.25). A context file that states a rule without its source spreads that kind of error into every draft. ## Inspect a sample file This is a synthetic file for an example company. The structure is the point, not the values. ```markdown # HR context: Example Co. updated:: 2026.09.25 owner:: HR manager reviewer:: employment counsel (for items marked counsel) ## Company - 47 employees, business software, headquarters in California. - Remote employees in 12 states. Culture: casual, async-first. ## Time off - Accrual: 15 days in year 1, 20 days from year 3. - Sick leave: separate from vacation; meets each state's minimum. source:: counsel memo 2026-02, per state - Accrual cap and payout at separation: per state law. source:: counsel memo 2026-02 (counsel) - Requests: BambooHR, manager approval. - Blackout: last week of each quarter, sales team only. ## Remote work - Dedicated workspace required. - Core hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific. - Equipment provided: laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse. - One-time home office stipend: see benefits summary. ## Compliance - Track state rules per employee location. - Exempt or non-exempt classification recorded for every role (FLSA). - Written reasonable accommodation process (ADA). - California: meal breaks, final paycheck timing. (counsel) ## House style - Casual but professional. No corporate jargon. - Say "team members", not "employees". Say "we", not "the company". - Active voice, short sentences. ## In progress - New parental leave policy: 12 weeks paid, effective Q2. Draft stage. - Handbook section on AI tool use: draft. - Compliance audit in March: wage and hour focus. ``` The `source::` lines matter. When a draft cites a state rule, the reviewer can check it against the memo instead of trusting the assistant. ## Load the file each session Claude Code reads a file named `CLAUDE.md` from the working folder when a session starts ([Claude Code memory documentation](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory), checked 2026.09.25). Put the HR context there, or keep `CLAUDE.md` short and point to the context file. Obsidian works as an editor, because it stores notes as plain Markdown files. The article on [context file vs CLAUDE.md](/articles/context-file-vs-claude-md-business-project) explains how to split business facts from agent work rules. For HR, the facts are the policies. The work rules say what the assistant may draft and where it must stop. ## Three drafts before and after the file An equipment replacement section is the first case. Without the file, the assistant writes "employees shall submit requests" and names procedures the company does not have. With the file, it knows the voice is casual, requests go through BambooHR, and people are "team members". It writes: "Need new equipment? Submit a request in BambooHR with your manager's approval. We ship it within 5 business days. Send the old equipment back with the prepaid label we include." You approve it with no changes. A job description for a senior account executive is the second case. Without the file, the assistant returns "5+ years of experience" and "excellent communication skills". With the file, it knows the company sells business software, how the sales process works, the pay structure, and the benefits. The draft describes what the role does at this company. You make two edits and post it. A meal break policy for audit preparation is the third case. Without the file, the assistant gives general advice about California meal breaks. With the file, it knows the company is in California and has counsel's memo. It writes a clear policy that states the legal requirement, cites the memo, and describes the company's process in handbook language. You add it to the audit folder. ## A week of HR requests On Tuesday, the CEO wants a sabbatical policy for the leadership meeting on Friday. The request: "Draft a sabbatical policy for team members at 5 years of tenure. 4 weeks paid, taken all at once, 3 months of notice. Match our handbook voice." The assistant uses the handbook structure and the BambooHR request flow. You add one line on how the sabbatical interacts with vacation accrual. On Thursday, a manager asks how to handle a request for a standing desk for a back condition. The assistant drafts an email that explains the accommodation steps and the timeline, in the house voice. The email explains the process. It does not decide the request. On Friday, two new hires start next week. The assistant drafts welcome emails with first-day logistics, equipment, key contacts, and core hours. You personalize two lines in each and send them. ## Keep personnel records out of the file The context file holds policy. It does not hold people. Do not put these in the file or in a session: - medical information from accommodation or leave requests; - performance notes, investigations, or complaints; - pay, bank, or tax details for a named person; - immigration or background check records. The ADA requires employers to keep medical information from accommodation requests confidential, in separate medical files ([29 CFR 1630.14](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XIV/part-1630/section-1630.14), checked 2026.09.25). Other records carry their own rules. The file stays on your computer, but the text Claude Code reads goes to Anthropic for processing. Check your plan's data terms before any employee record enters a session. The [AI memory retention and deletion policy](/articles/ai-memory-retention-and-deletion-policy) guide shows how to set what stays and for how long. ## Stop before legal judgment and before sends The assistant drafts. People decide. Set these stops in the work rules: 1. Stop when a draft states a legal requirement that has no source line in the file. 2. Stop when a draft would change pay, classification, or leave eligibility. 3. Stop before any policy goes into the handbook without HR and counsel review. 4. Stop before any message goes to an employee or candidate. Each stop names the reviewer. The pattern for send approval is in [who approves what an AI agent sends](/articles/who-approves-what-an-ai-agent-sends). For a head-to-head test of assistants on this exact job, see [Claude vs ChatGPT for HR policy work](/articles/claude-vs-chatgpt-hr-policy-work). ## Keep the file current Policies change. When a policy changes, update the file on the same day as the handbook. Mark the old rule as superseded with a date, so a draft never cites it. Review the compliance section on a schedule, for example each quarter and after each new state hire. Remove initiatives when they ship and move their final terms into the policy sections. 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