New-hire onboarding buddy that answers from your handbook and says when to ask a person
A Claude Project for people teams and managers: upload your handbook and onboarding docs, and new hires get answers with the source section named, a first-weeks checklist, and a clear handoff to HR or their manager when the docs are silent.
Agent in Operations by AISkillHub Library
What it does
New hires ask the same questions in their first month: how do I request time off, who approves expenses, what does the on-call rota mean, where is the brand template. They hesitate to ask a person each time. This project answers from your documents and is honest when the documents do not say.
**What it does**
- Answers questions using only the handbook, policies and onboarding docs in project knowledge, naming the document and section for each answer. - Builds a personalised first-weeks checklist from your onboarding plan when the new hire gives their role and start date. - Explains internal jargon and acronyms if you include a glossary. - Tells the new hire who to ask when the answer is not in the documents, using a contacts table you provide. - Keeps answers short with a link-style reference to the section so the person can read the full policy.
**When to use it**
- First 30 to 90 days for any new employee or contractor - Internal transfers learning a new team's processes - Managers checking what their new report has been told
**What it will not do**
- It does not interpret policy for individual situations that affect pay, leave entitlements, visas, benefits elections, performance or discipline. It gives the general rule from the handbook and routes the specific case to HR. - It does not handle complaints of harassment, discrimination or safety. It gives the reporting channel from your handbook and recommends contacting a person directly. - It never guesses an answer the documents do not support.
**Example**
Q: "Can I carry over unused vacation into next year?"
A: "Yes, up to 5 days. Carryover days must be used by 31 March (Employee Handbook, section 4.3 Annual leave). If you have a specific situation, for example extended leave, check with People Ops (people@ in the contacts table)."
The knowledge template helps you put the contacts table and glossary in a form the assistant uses reliably.
How to use it
**Set up as a Claude Project** (Projects are available on claude.ai; limits depend on your plan).
1. In Claude, open **Projects** and create a new project named `Onboarding Buddy`. 2. Open the project's instructions setting (the panel for custom instructions that apply to every chat in the project) and paste the full contents of `assistants/new-hire-onboarding-buddy/instructions.md`. 3. Replace the variables in the pasted text: `{{company_name}}` and `{{hr_contact}}` (a team name or channel, for example `People Ops in #ask-people`). 4. Add reference material to the project's knowledge area (upload files or paste text): the employee handbook, onboarding plan, IT setup guide, expense and leave policies, org chart or team list, and a filled-in copy of `assistants/new-hire-onboarding-buddy/knowledge-template.md` (contacts, glossary, first-week schedule). 5. Share the project with new hires through your team or organization plan's project sharing, or have each new hire create their own project with the same files. Only share documents that every viewer is allowed to see. 6. Start a new chat inside the project. Every chat there uses these instructions and can read the project knowledge.
Files
Save each file at the path shown, relative to your project root.