A policy question for HR: the handbook answers, the sensitive case does not
By Team Two · Last updated September 23, 2026 · 2 min read
This is an example, not a customer story, and not a measured result.
14:05 in #ask-hr. A new hire asks: "How many weeks of parental leave do I get in Sweden, and do I need to tell my manager a date before I apply?" The answer is in the handbook. The handbook is what almost nobody opens.
The question the agent should answer
This agent has one knowledge source, the employee handbook, and a Slack reply in that channel. It searches the handbook, finds the parental-leave section, and answers with the numbers and the notice rule that are written there. The reply names the section, so the employee can open the same page.
It does not add a friendlier number. If the handbook says the statutory weeks plus a company top-up, the answer says both, and it says the top-up is the company policy, not a legal opinion.
The question it should hand back
An hour later someone asks: "Is Alex still on leave, and can I see the medical note?" That is not a policy question. The agent does not have Alex's file, and it should not be given a tool that reads one colleague's record for another colleague's chat.
The reply is a redirect: ask HR in a private thread. The agent posts nothing about Alex. If you have connected Heartpace, that connection belongs on an HR agent's private workspace, used by HR, not in a channel the whole company can prompt.
Scheduling is a second agent, if calendar is connected
Interview scheduling is not the handbook bot. If Google Workspace is connected through the MCP catalog, an agent can look at calendars, propose slots, and draft the confirmation. The recruiter confirms the schedule before the invite goes out. No Workspace connection, no calendar claim. The handbook agent stays the handbook agent.
Why a channel full of employees cannot read HR's files is the same rule as everywhere else: Who is in control.
Frequently asked questions
Can it process a signed policy PDF?+
Yes. PDF parsing is built in. Put the file in the knowledge base or hand it to the agent in a workspace it is allowed to read.
Should one HR agent do policy, payroll, and recruiting?+
Split them. Policy can sit in a company channel. Payroll and employee records should not.
