Policy summary for staff prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you have a policy nobody reads to the end, such as expense reimbursement, time off or phone use, and you want a one-page version staff will follow. The summary only restates what the policy says. Where the policy is vague, the prompt quotes the line back to you instead of interpreting it, so you can fix the policy rather than let the summary make the rule.
The full policy stays the official version, and the summary says so.
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 [BUSINESS] explain one of its own policies to staff in plain words. Context: Below is our [POLICY NAME], word for word. Staff are [AUDIENCE]. Summarize only what the policy says. Don't add rules, exceptions, examples or legal and tax explanations. Keep every amount, deadline and threshold exactly as written. Where a line is unclear, quote it and flag it instead of interpreting it. Task: Write a staff summary that answers: who it applies to, what to do step by step, the limits and deadlines, and who to ask. Then list the lines that were unclear. Format: Under 200 words, 6th-grade reading level, short sections with plain labels. End with: "The full policy is the official version: [WHERE TO FIND IT]." Then, only for me, the "Unclear lines" list. Here is the policy: [POLICY TEXT]
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name.
[POLICY NAME]- The policy's title as staff know it.
[AUDIENCE]- Who reads the summary and anything that affects wording, such as new hires or people reading on a phone.
[WHERE TO FIND IT]- Where the full policy lives: a shared drive folder, the handbook, the office binder.
[POLICY TEXT]- The current policy, pasted in full. Not an old version, and not your memory of it.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an Expense Reimbursement Form With AI Policy Checks. Maple Street Bookkeeping is the made-up firm in the expense reimbursement form lesson, where an AI agent checks each request against the policy. Here is that policy written out, with a few made-up lines added for the example.
Role: You are helping Maple Street Bookkeeping, a small bookkeeping firm, explain one of its own policies to staff in plain words. Context: Below is our Expense Reimbursement Policy, word for word. Staff are our bookkeepers and office staff, including two new hires. Summarize only what the policy says. Don't add rules, exceptions, examples or legal and tax explanations. Keep every amount, deadline and threshold exactly as written. Where a line is unclear, quote it and flag it instead of interpreting it. Task: Write a staff summary that answers: who it applies to, what to do step by step, the limits and deadlines, and who to ask. Then list the lines that were unclear. Format: Under 200 words, 6th-grade reading level, short sections with plain labels. End with: "The full policy is the official version: Policies folder on the shared drive." Then, only for me, the "Unclear lines" list. Here is the policy: All employees submit business expenses through the Expense Reimbursement Request form. Include what you bought, the business purpose and the amount, and attach a receipt. Requests without a receipt are marked Needs receipt. Expenses of $100 or more need a manager's OK before they are paid. Approved expenses are paid with the next payroll. Reasonable meal costs are covered when traveling for client work. Questions go to the office manager.
What a good answer looks like
- Steps in order: use the form, say what and why, add the amount, attach the receipt.
- The threshold exactly as written: "$100 or more needs a manager's OK," not "over $100."
- "Reasonable meal costs" quoted under "Unclear lines," because the policy never says what reasonable means.
- The closing line pointing to the full policy.
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.
- Match every rule in the summary to a sentence in the policy. A rule you can't find is one the AI wrote.
- Compare amounts and wording that change meaning: "or more" versus "over," "next payroll" versus "within a week."
- Fix the unclear lines in the policy itself, then run the prompt again, so the summary never becomes the rule.
- Have whoever owns the policy read the summary before it goes out.
Practice it in the free lesson
Build an Expense Reimbursement Form With AI Policy Checks: Build an expense reimbursement form in Lovable for Maple Street Bookkeeping and connect it to n8n — the AI agent checks each request against the policy, saves it to Google Sheets and emails the employee the status. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Lovable and n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format
Terms used here
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