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Employee incident report prompt: a factual HR write-up, no verdicts

Hiring and HROperationsWorks in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot

Updated · By Robert Breen

To write an employee incident report with ChatGPT, paste the prompt below with your notes from the conversations: the date, what was reported, each person's account and the policy section involved. You get a neutral HR write-up that separates what each person said, cites the policy by its own words and lists next steps, without deciding who is right. Written fast and angry, that record can become the problem.

This is a drafting aid for HR, not a decision. Discipline, investigations and anything that touches discrimination, harassment or leave follow your policy and employment law, so HR or an employment attorney reviews the write-up. For an injury or property damage, use the incident report prompt.

Have a professional review it. This prompt helps you draft, not decide. Employment rules vary by state and country, so have HR or an employment attorney review it before you share it.

The prompt

Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.

Role: You are helping [YOUR ROLE] at [BUSINESS] write an internal employee incident report. You record; you do not judge, discipline or decide what happened.
Context: The incident in one line: [INCIDENT BASICS]. The policy section that may apply, in its own words: [POLICY TEXT]. Use only my notes below. Label each account by role and name. Never describe anyone's character, motive or feelings unless they said it, and then quote them.
Task: Write the report: date, time and place, who was involved and who was spoken to, each person's account in turn, the policy text quoted, what has been done so far, and open questions. Then list possible next steps for HR to decide, such as further interviews, without recommending an outcome.
Format: Headed sections in that order. Short factual sentences. Quotes in quotation marks. Under 400 words. No words like "hostile," "unprofessional" or "aggressive" unless someone is quoted saying them.

My notes:
[CONVERSATION NOTES]

Fill in the blanks

[YOUR ROLE]
Who writes it, such as "the HR manager."
[BUSINESS]
Your business name and size.
[INCIDENT BASICS]
One plain line: what was reported, by whom and when. No conclusions.
[POLICY TEXT]
The exact handbook wording that may apply. Paste it; don't paraphrase.
[CONVERSATION NOTES]
What each person told you, labeled by name. Leave out health details, home addresses and anything the record does not need.

Example, filled in

A made-up example from the free lesson Answer Employee Policy Questions Instantly Using Airia. Northwind Partners is the made-up 60-person firm in the Airia HR policy agent lesson, where Maya is the HR manager and the handbook lives in one place. Here a team lead reported a shouting match in a client prep meeting. The names and notes are an illustration.

Role: You are helping the HR manager at Northwind Partners, a 60-person professional services firm, write an internal employee incident report. You record; you do not judge, discipline or decide what happened.
Context: The incident in one line: on Monday a team lead reported raised voices between two analysts during a client prep meeting. The policy section that may apply, in its own words: "Employees are expected to treat colleagues with respect." Use only my notes below. Label each account by role and name. Never describe anyone's character, motive or feelings unless they said it, and then quote them.
Task: Write the report: date, time and place, who was involved and who was spoken to, each person's account in turn, the policy text quoted, what has been done so far, and open questions. Then list possible next steps for HR to decide, such as further interviews, without recommending an outcome.
Format: Headed sections in that order. Short factual sentences. Quotes in quotation marks. Under 400 words. No words like "hostile," "unprofessional" or "aggressive" unless someone is quoted saying them.

My notes:
Team lead (Sam Ortiz): Monday about 3pm, Room B. Rina and Leo raised voices over slide numbers. Sam ended the meeting early.
Analyst (Leo Grant): "She changed my numbers without asking." Says he did not shout.
Analyst (Rina Shah): "He said my work was sloppy in front of everyone." Says she fixed an error.
Two others in the room not yet spoken to.

What a good answer looks like

  • Three accounts, each labeled with role and name, quoting "She changed my numbers without asking" and "He said my work was sloppy in front of everyone" as said.
  • Leo's statement that he did not shout recorded as his account, not as fact or as a lie.
  • The handbook sentence quoted exactly, with no claim that anyone broke it.

How to check it before you use it

An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.

  • Read every sentence and ask: who said this? If no one did, delete it.
  • Make sure nothing in the draft describes motive, attitude or character.
  • Keep the report in your HR system, not in a shared folder or a chat history.
  • Have HR or an employment attorney review it before any action, especially if harassment, discrimination or leave is involved.

Practice it in the free lesson

Answer Employee Policy Questions Instantly Using Airia: HR answers the same time-off and benefits questions all day. Give Airia your handbook, build a no-code agent that answers from it, test it, then share it with your team. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Airia, and nothing touches your real accounts.

Start the free lesson

Also useful: Answer an Employee's Leave Questions Without Overpromising using ChatGPT for Recruiting & HR · Catch Made-up Facts Before They Reach Customers using ChatGPT

Terms used here

Employee handbookHuman in the loopPersonally identifiable information (PII)

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Frequently asked questions

How do I write an employee incident report?
Record the date, time and place, who was involved, each person's account in their own words, the policy text that may apply, what has been done and the open questions. Keep it factual and leave the decision to HR.
Can ChatGPT write an HR incident write-up?
It can draft one from your notes if you tell it to use only those notes, label every account and avoid judging words. HR still checks every line and decides what happens next.

All free prompt templates · AI glossary