ChatGPT for HR Tasks: 25 Practical Prompts for HR Needs

AI isn’t replacing HR but speeding up the busywork for them worldwide. HR leaders are either actively experimenting with or have concrete plans to implement generative AI tools (like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, etc.) for tasks such as writing job descriptions and internal communications. The secret to good results with ChatGPT is good prompts.

This article will help you make the most of ChatGPT. It includes a list of effective ChatGPT prompts for HR common use cases.

How can HRs write good ChatGPT prompts?

The key to using ChatGPT successfully lies in how you ask it to help. Prompts need to be as specific as possible.

Tracey Beveridge, HR Director at Personnel Checks, says prompts should include not only the task but also the tone, the intended audience, and the organization’s background.

So imagine you want ChatGPT to generate a job description for a software engineer.

A bad and incomplete prompt would be:

Generate a JD for a software engineer.

A more efficient and complete prompt would be:

Generate a job description for a junior software engineer for a fast-growing distributed fintech startup with core values of creativity, candor, selflessness, and inclusion in a bullet format and friendly tone that attracts early-career engineers with 2-3 years of experience in the finance space

With that understanding, now let’s get into the list of prompts.

Use cases and practical ChatGPT prompts for HR tasks

We’ve created a library of ready-to-use ChatGPT prompts for all areas where HRs are benefiting from AI. You can simply copy and paste the prompt and enter a few details to get started. Let’s check out all the prompts and reasons to use it:

Recruiting and hiring

Using AI for hiring saves up to 30% per hire. So when you’re planning your next hire, you can make use of ChatGPT to create job descriptions, send outreach emails, or create agreements. Make use of these prompts to get started:

Drafting job descriptions

Generate a job description for [job title] for a [company background] with [core values or culture] in a bullet format and friendly tone that attracts [any specific quality or experience you need in a candidate]. This job description must highlight [any specific ask].

Creating outreach emails

Create an outreach email for a candidate for [position]. Our company is [company details and background] with [culture and values]. The mail must be in [format] and maintain [tone]. The candidates have [candidate experience and skills]. The email must also include [call to action].

Preparing interview questions

Create a list of interview questions for a position of [role]. The questions must be in line with our [company details and background]. The tone must be friendly but professional. The questions must be a mix of professional and behavioral skills assessing culture fit as per our [culture and values]. Must include questions that assess their [any specific ask].

Generating offer letters

Create a detailed offer for the position of [role]. The letter must be a formal business document in a professional tone. It must include our [company name], [company address] and mention [offer contingencies]. Include start: [start date], [salary], and [benefits].

Generating employment agreements

Create a detailed employment agreement for a position of [role] working as a [type of employment]. It must include our [company name], [company address], and describe our [culture and values]. The offer letter must have mandatory clauses and include [salary and benefits]. Also include a clause on [any specific ask].

Onboarding

Onboarding is where you can lose a new hire. 21% of new hires who quit expected better onboarding. To improve the new hire experience, 38% of HRs are using AI in their practices and workflows as per our data commissioned with YouGov in June 2024. Common applications include:

Create welcome email drafts

Write an onboarding email for [company background], reflecting our [culture and values]. The email must start with warm greetings, have placeholders for key resources/links, and include next steps. Also, include [any specific ask].

Create a personalized onboarding checklist

Create a personalized onboarding checklist targeting new hires with [experiences and skills]. The tasks must be tailored for the [role] in the [company entails and background]. The checklist must be divided into weeks with milestones at the end of 30, 60, and 90 days. Use a professional and friendly tone that is suitable for onboarding communication. Include placeholders for any resources, links, or tools.

Create onboarding training outlines

Create an onboarding training outline for the [role] in [company details]. The candidate will be available [on site/remotely]. The training tasks must include both role-specific activities and training on our culture [culture and values]. It must include interactive role-plays and shadow learning activities.

As an HR, you’re also expected to lay the entire foundation first for the career framework and competencies, and then define training outlines. That’s a huge task, and 35% of HRs are already using AI in employee training as per our internal data. Here’s how you can also use ChatGPT for it:

Training outlines

Create a training outline for [skill name] skills required for [role name] role in a [company details]. The training will be conducted [online/offline]. The training outline must include key objectives of every chapter and assessment details at the end. Keep the assessments in [expected format].

Performance management and feedback

There’s a shift from annual to continuous feedback, and that is definitely increasing the task list of HRs. As a result, 32% of HRs have used AI for performance management. We’ve covered some solid prompts for performance management tasks below to help you make the best use of AI:

Competency descriptions

Create competency descriptions for [skill name] skills in [department] for [company background]. Include descriptions for [number] proficiency levels that increase as per growth in the department. The description must have a measurable KPI for the competency and proficiency level.

Drafting goal-setting frameworks

Write a goal-setting framework for employees at a [company details and background]. The framework must be in a structured format, reflecting our culture: [company values]. Include both individual and team-level goal-setting approaches. Use a professional yet friendly tone.

Writing performance review questions

Create a list of performance review questions to drive the entire review cycle for [company] with [culture]. Include relevant questions for review from self, peers, and managers. Use a professional yet supportive tone.

Creating engagement survey questions

Generate [number of questions] employee engagement survey questions to measure [survey purpose] at a [company] with [culture]. Include a mix of single-choice, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions and use a friendly tone.

Employee communication

Internal communication has a strong impact on employee retention, according to a study by Staffbase. 53% of employees want to hear from their employer daily/weekly. AI can help achieve this speed. Some reference prompt for it below:

Internal announcement emails

Write an internal announcement email for [purpose] for [company details] and values [culture details]. The email must be in a clear, structured format with a subject line, greeting, body, and closing in a motivating tone. It must be targeted towards [employees, managers, or specific teams]. Include [specific ask or any action expected from mail recipients].

External announcement

Write an external announcement for a [purpose] for [company details]. The content must reflect our [branding]. Keep the announcement in a format suitable for [broadcast platform: social media platform, email, etc.]. It targets [intended audience]. Additionally, include [any specific ask/additional material/expected action from the reader].

Employee recognition or feedback messages

Write an email to [employee/manager/team] for [specific situation]. The email body must include [specific feedback]. Keep the tone empathetic yet professional. Additionally, include [any specific ask, e.g., next steps, reflection questions, or suggested actions].

Conflict resolution messages

Write an email to [employee/manager/team] for [specific situation]. The email body must include [expected action, feedback, or resolution approach]. Keep the tone empathetic yet professional. Additionally, include [any suggested actions].

Individual employee follow-ups

Draft a professional yet empathetic email to an employee for [email purpose]. The email must reflect our culture: [culture/values], and be structured clearly with a subject, body, and closing.

HR policy and compliance

AI tools like ChatGPT get access to vast amounts of text on regulations and can summarize it for you. This information helps you create compliant policies and processes. Use these prompts to test it yourself:

Summarizing legal/regulatory text

Summarize the key compliance obligations for employing [employees/contractors] in [country] in simple, employee-facing language.

First draft of workplace policies

Create a draft for [policy name] for [company details]. It must be in line with the legal regulations of [country name] and reflect our culture [company culture]. Keep the language professional but approachable, and divide the draft into clear sections with headers.

Risks of HRs relying on ChatGPT (and solutions)

Using ChatGPT comes with its own risks. We discussed with seasoned HRs and consolidated the common risks they observed. Bonus: we also found solutions for them:

Hallucinations and misinformation

Wendy Makinson, HR Manager at Joloda Hydraroll, says while ChatGPT does save time, it doesn’t always get the facts right. She would always end up double-checking things before using any results to prevent any negative impact.

ChatGPT models tend to hallucinate often due to poor training data. It scrapes anything and everything off the internet without checking its authenticity. In OpenAI’s tests of its reasoning models, the company found the model hallucinating for every one in three requests.

Bias and discrimination

Tracey Beveridge adds that ChatGPT also propagates bias over time based on past historical prejudices in training data. This bias comes in job descriptions, interview questions, and candidate communications. That’s why she uses ChatGPT outputs only as drafts and edits them further.

Legal and compliance risks

Mandi Odom, Director of People Operations at Search Atlas, highlights compliance red flags she found in ChatGPT. For example, ChatGPT suggested PTO policies that are not in line with laws in the target countries or states. You need to double-check every information with compliance implications for your organization.

Data privacy and confidentiality

Sara Green-Hamann often uses ChatGPT to create candidate personas before interviews. But she won’t input any candidate data directly into ChatGPT. She scrubs off identifying information and uses dummy names to get answers. If you mistakenly enter any identifiable employee data, it could go directly into ChatGPT’s knowledge model for training.

Human touch erosion

Makinson also says that sometimes ChatGPT content is way too obvious. Candidates can see that the job descriptions are AI-generated, and the entire experience becomes entirely impersonal. This lack of authenticity in content and the missing human connection can hamper employees’ or candidates’ experiences.

Bring AI into your HR systems with Deel

ChatGPT is a great entry-level tool for HR professionals trialing the power of generative AI. However, it remains a general-purpose tool with limited interactions with HR systems. AI brings the most value when it can leverage internal people data and HR processes.

Deel is already a reputed player in supporting hiring, payroll, and HR operations. Now, we’re reimagining our entire infrastructure so that AI is seamlessly woven into the fabric of our operations. This approach allows us to deliver real-time, scalable value to our customers.

Deel AI is included with every Deel product, so you can get the answers you need faster than ever. Whether you’re stumped about local laws, want to generate a report or a learning course, or need tech support, Deel AI is always ready to help.

Also, we’ve just launched our AI Workforce, AI agents for HR who are ready to take onboarding, PTO, IT, and more tasks and be onboarded to your team.

Deel is already helping HR teams augment their workforce with AI. If you’re ready to see how, book a free demo today.