Self-Improving Human-Resources

Captures policy gaps, compliance risks, recruiting process issues, onboarding friction, retention signals, candidate experience problems, and offboarding gap...

Self-Improving HR Skill

Log HR-specific learnings, process issues, and feature requests to markdown files for continuous improvement. Captures policy gaps, compliance risks, recruiting bottlenecks, onboarding friction, retention signals, candidate experience problems, compensation anomalies, and offboarding gaps. Important learnings get promoted to policy documents, onboarding checklists, interview scorecards, or compliance calendars.

First-Use Initialisation

Before logging anything, ensure the .learnings/ directory and files exist in the project or workspace root. If any are missing, create them:

mkdir -p .learnings
[ -f .learnings/LEARNINGS.md ] || printf "# HR Learnings\n\nPolicy gaps, compliance risks, recruiting insights, onboarding friction, retention signals, and offboarding gaps captured during HR operations.\n\n**Categories**: policy_gap | compliance_risk | process_inefficiency | candidate_experience | retention_signal | onboarding_friction\n**Areas**: recruiting | onboarding | compensation | compliance | performance | offboarding | dei\n\n---\n" > .learnings/LEARNINGS.md
[ -f .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md ] || printf "# HR Process Issues Log\n\nCompliance risks, process failures, candidate experience issues, and policy violations.\n\n---\n" > .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md
[ -f .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md ] || printf "# Feature Requests\n\nHR tools, automation capabilities, and process improvement requests.\n\n---\n" > .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md

Never overwrite existing files. This is a no-op if .learnings/ is already initialised.

CRITICAL — PII PROTECTION: NEVER log personally identifiable information in any learnings file. This includes SSNs, salary details, medical information, performance ratings for specific individuals, home addresses, dates of birth, or any data that could identify a specific employee or candidate. Always anonymize examples. Use role titles, department names, or anonymized identifiers (e.g., "Employee A", "Candidate #12") instead of real names.

If you want automatic reminders, use the opt-in hook workflow described in Hook Integration.

Quick Reference

Situation	Action
Compliance audit finding discovered	Log to .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md with compliance_risk
Candidate drops off at pipeline stage	Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category candidate_experience
New hire leaves within 90 days	Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category retention_signal
Policy gap found (missing or outdated)	Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category policy_gap
Exit interview reveals recurring theme	Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category retention_signal
Benefits enrollment error	Log to .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md with process_inefficiency
I-9 verification issue	Log to .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md with compliance_risk
Onboarding step causing delays	Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category onboarding_friction
Offer rejection spike	Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category candidate_experience
Recurring issue across multiple entries	Link with **See Also**, consider priority bump
Broadly applicable HR insight	Promote to policy document, checklist, or compliance calendar
Process improvement idea	Log to .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md

OpenClaw Setup (Recommended)

OpenClaw is the primary platform for this skill. It uses workspace-based prompt injection with automatic skill loading.

Installation

Via ClawdHub (recommended):

clawdhub install self-improving-hr

Manual:

git clone https://github.com/jose-compu/self-improving-hr.git ~/.openclaw/skills/self-improving-hr

Workspace Structure

OpenClaw injects these files into every session:

~/.openclaw/workspace/
├── AGENTS.md          # Multi-agent workflows, delegation patterns
├── SOUL.md            # Behavioral guidelines, personality, principles
├── TOOLS.md           # Tool capabilities, integration gotchas
├── MEMORY.md          # Long-term memory (main session only)
├── memory/            # Daily memory files
│   └── YYYY-MM-DD.md
└── .learnings/        # This skill's log files
    ├── LEARNINGS.md
    ├── HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md
    └── FEATURE_REQUESTS.md

Create Learning Files

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/.learnings

Then create the log files (or copy from assets/):

• LEARNINGS.md — policy gaps, onboarding friction, retention signals, candidate experience, process inefficiencies
• HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md — compliance risks, I-9 issues, benefits errors, policy violations, discrimination claims
• FEATURE_REQUESTS.md — HR automation, compliance tools, recruiting pipeline improvements

Promotion Targets

When HR learnings prove broadly applicable, promote them:

Learning Type	Promote To	Example
Onboarding patterns	Onboarding checklists	"IT setup must be completed 2 days before start date"
Interview insights	Interview scorecards	"Structured behavioral questions reduce bias by 40%"
Compliance findings	Compliance calendars	"I-9 re-verification due dates for visa holders"
Policy gaps	Policy documents	"Remote work policy for international contractors"
Recruiting patterns	Recruiting playbooks	"Offer acceptance improves 15% with 48-hour deadline"
Workflow improvements	AGENTS.md	"Run compliance check before generating offer letter"

Optional: Enable Hook

For automatic reminders at session start:

cp -r hooks/openclaw ~/.openclaw/hooks/self-improving-hr
openclaw hooks enable self-improving-hr

See references/openclaw-integration.md for complete details.

---

Generic Setup (Other Agents)

For Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, or other agents, create .learnings/ in the project or workspace root:

mkdir -p .learnings

Create the files inline using the headers shown above.

Add reference to agent files

Add to AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or .github/copilot-instructions.md:

Self-Improving HR Workflow

When HR process issues, compliance gaps, or people-operations patterns are discovered:

1. Log to .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md, LEARNINGS.md, or FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
2. Review and promote broadly applicable learnings to:
   • Policy documents — compliance rules, employment policies, handbook updates
   • Onboarding checklists — step-by-step new hire processes
   • Interview scorecards — structured evaluation criteria
   • Compliance calendars — deadline tracking and regulatory reminders

Logging Format

Learning Entry [LRN-YYYYMMDD-XXX]

Append to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md:

## [LRN-YYYYMMDD-XXX] category

**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: low | medium | high | critical
**Status**: pending
**Area**: recruiting | onboarding | compensation | compliance | performance | offboarding | dei

### Summary
One-line description of the HR insight or pattern

### Details
Full context: what was discovered, why it matters for the organization,
what the correct process or policy should be. Include anonymized data points.

### Impact
- **Affected population**: e.g., "all remote employees", "engineering new hires"
- **Risk level**: compliance, financial, retention, reputational
- **Estimated scope**: number of employees or candidates affected

### Suggested Action
Specific policy update, process change, or compliance remediation step

### Metadata
- Source: audit | exit_interview | hris_report | candidate_feedback | manager_report | benefits_system
- Jurisdiction: federal | state_CA | state_NY | multi_state | international (if applicable)
- Regulation: FMLA | ADA | EEOC | FLSA | COBRA | HIPAA | WARN | state_specific (if applicable)
- Related Files: path/to/policy.md
- Tags: tag1, tag2
- See Also: LRN-20250110-001 (if related to existing entry)
- Pattern-Key: policy_gap.remote_work | compliance_risk.i9_expiry (optional)
- Recurrence-Count: 1 (optional)
- First-Seen: 2025-01-15 (optional)
- Last-Seen: 2025-01-15 (optional)

---

Categories for learnings:

Category	Use When
policy_gap	Missing or outdated policy, handbook section not covering a scenario
compliance_risk	Regulatory deadline missed, audit finding, legal exposure
process_inefficiency	HR workflow taking too long, manual step that should be automated
candidate_experience	Recruiting pipeline friction, offer process delays, poor communication
retention_signal	Early attrition, exit interview theme, engagement survey pattern
onboarding_friction	New hire setup delays, missing documentation, unclear first-week plan

HR Process Issue Entry [HRP-YYYYMMDD-XXX]

Append to .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md:

## [HRP-YYYYMMDD-XXX] issue_type_or_name

**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: high
**Status**: pending
**Area**: recruiting | onboarding | compensation | compliance | performance | offboarding | dei

### Summary
Brief description of the HR process issue

### Issue Details
What went wrong or was found. Include anonymized specifics:
timeline, affected group size, business impact.
NEVER include names, SSNs, salary figures, or medical details.

### Root Cause
What process gap, system failure, or policy omission caused this.

### Remediation
Specific steps to resolve this issue and prevent recurrence.

### Compliance Impact
- **Regulation**: FMLA | ADA | EEOC | FLSA | COBRA | HIPAA | WARN | N/A
- **Exposure**: fine amount range, lawsuit risk, audit failure
- **Deadline**: remediation deadline if applicable
- **Audit trail**: what documentation is required

### Context
- Trigger: audit | complaint | hris_alert | manager_escalation | exit_interview | benefits_error
- Jurisdiction: federal | state | local | international
- Department: affected department(s)
- Headcount impact: number of employees affected

### Metadata
- Reproducible: yes | no | unknown
- Related Files: path/to/policy.md
- See Also: HRP-20250110-001 (if recurring)

---

Feature Request Entry [FEAT-YYYYMMDD-XXX]

Append to .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md:

## [FEAT-YYYYMMDD-XXX] capability_name

**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: medium
**Status**: pending
**Area**: recruiting | onboarding | compensation | compliance | performance | offboarding | dei

### Requested Capability
What HR tool, automation, or process improvement is needed

### User Context
Why it's needed, what HR workflow it improves, what risk it mitigates

### Complexity Estimate
simple | medium | complex

### Suggested Implementation
How this could be built: HRIS integration, compliance automation, workflow tool,
reporting dashboard, calendar integration

### Metadata
- Frequency: first_time | recurring
- Related Features: existing_tool_or_process

---

ID Generation

Format: TYPE-YYYYMMDD-XXX

• TYPE: LRN (learning), HRP (HR process issue), FEAT (feature request)
• YYYYMMDD: Current date
• XXX: Sequential number or random 3 chars (e.g., 001, A7B)

Examples: LRN-20250415-001, HRP-20250415-A3F, FEAT-20250415-002

Resolving Entries

When an issue is fixed, update the entry:

1. Change **Status**: pending → **Status**: resolved
2. Add resolution block after Metadata:

### Resolution
- **Resolved**: 2025-01-16T09:00:00Z
- **Approved By**: [role title, not name — e.g., "VP People Operations"]
- **Notes**: Updated employee handbook section 4.3 / Added to compliance calendar

Other status values:

• in_progress — Actively being remediated
• wont_fix — Decided not to address (add reason in Resolution notes)
• promoted — Elevated to policy document, checklist, or compliance calendar
• promoted_to_skill — Extracted as a reusable skill

Detection Triggers

Automatically log when you encounter:

Recruiting Pipeline Issues (→ learning with candidate_experience):

• Offer acceptance rate drops below target
• Time-to-fill exceeding SLA for a role family
• Candidate drop-off spike at a specific pipeline stage
• Offer letter generation or approval delays

Retention Signals (→ learning with retention_signal):

• New hire leaves within first 90 days
• Multiple departures from the same team within a quarter
• Exit interview themes recurring across departments
• Engagement survey scores declining in a business unit

Compliance Deadlines (→ HR process issue with compliance_risk):

• I-9 re-verification deadline approaching or missed
• FMLA leave tracking errors or ADA accommodation past deadline
• EEO-1 or VETS-4212 filing deadline approaching
• COBRA notification timelines missed

Benefits and Compensation (→ HR process issue with process_inefficiency):

• Benefits enrollment errors during open enrollment
• Payroll discrepancy reported
• Compensation band misalignment discovered
• 401(k) contribution errors or match calculation issues

Onboarding Issues (→ learning with onboarding_friction):

• IT equipment or access provisioning taking more than 1 business day
• Missing or outdated onboarding documentation
• Background check delays blocking start dates
• Required training not completed within compliance window

Offboarding Gaps (→ learning with process_inefficiency):

• System access not revoked on termination date
• Final paycheck or PTO payout delayed
• COBRA notification not sent within 14-day window

Priority Guidelines

Priority	When to Use	HR Examples
critical	Compliance violation, discrimination claim, active legal exposure	EEOC complaint filed, I-9 audit failure, wage theft allegation, harassment report, WARN Act violation
high	Retention crisis, significant policy gap, regulatory deadline imminent	3+ departures from one team, missing state-required policy, EEO-1 deadline in <30 days, ADA accommodation overdue
medium	Process improvement, onboarding issue, moderate compliance gap	Onboarding takes too long, offer letter template outdated, benefits enrollment friction, interview scorecard missing
low	Documentation update, minor process tweak, cosmetic policy edit	Handbook formatting, job description template refresh, org chart update, minor workflow optimization

Area Tags

Use to filter learnings by HR domain:

Area	Scope
recruiting	Job postings, sourcing, screening, interviews, offers, candidate communication
onboarding	Pre-boarding, first day, orientation, training, 30-60-90 day milestones
compensation	Salary bands, equity, bonuses, pay equity analysis, total rewards
compliance	Employment law, regulatory filings, audits, I-9, FMLA, ADA, EEOC, OSHA
performance	Reviews, PIPs, goal setting, calibration, promotion criteria
offboarding	Resignations, terminations, exit interviews, knowledge transfer, final pay
dei	Diversity metrics, inclusion initiatives, ERGs, bias training, pay equity

PII Protection Rules

These rules are non-negotiable and apply to every entry in every file:

1. NEVER log names — use "Employee A", "Candidate #12", "Hiring Manager in Engineering"
2. NEVER log SSNs, tax IDs, or government identifiers
3. NEVER log specific salary figures — use band levels ("Band L5", "above midpoint")
4. NEVER log medical information — reference only the accommodation type, not the condition
5. NEVER log performance ratings for identifiable individuals
6. ALWAYS use department/role/level for context instead of identifying details
7. ALWAYS redact before logging — if in doubt, leave it out
8. Aggregate data is acceptable — "3 of 12 new hires in Q1", "engineering attrition at 18%"

Promoting to Permanent HR Standards

When a learning is broadly applicable (not a one-off incident), promote it to permanent organizational standards.

When to Promote

• Same compliance gap found in consecutive audits
• Onboarding friction reported by 3+ new hires
• Exit interview theme appears across 2+ departments
• Policy gap affects 10+ employees or creates legal exposure

Promotion Targets

Target	What Belongs There
Policy documents	Employment policies, handbooks, leave policies, remote work guidelines
Onboarding checklists	Pre-boarding tasks, day-one setup, 30-60-90 day milestones
Interview scorecards	Structured evaluation criteria, competency rubrics, bias mitigation
Compliance calendars	Filing deadlines, re-verification dates, posting requirements
AGENTS.md	Automated HR workflows, compliance checks before actions
Recruiting playbooks	Sourcing strategies, offer negotiation frameworks, pipeline stage criteria

How to Promote

1. Distill the learning into an actionable policy update, checklist item, or calendar entry
2. Get approval — HR policy changes typically require VP/CHRO sign-off
3. Add to appropriate target (policy doc, checklist, compliance calendar)
4. Update original entry:
   • Change **Status**: pending → **Status**: promoted
   • Add **Promoted**: onboarding checklist (or policy document, compliance calendar, interview scorecard)

Promotion Examples

Learning (verbose):

New hires in engineering consistently report that IT equipment is not ready on day one. Average setup time is 5 business days. 4 of the last 8 hires had no laptop on start date.

As onboarding checklist item (concise):

## IT Equipment Provisioning
- [ ] Laptop ordered and configured 5 business days before start date
- [ ] Software licenses activated 2 business days before start date
- [ ] Building access badge prepared 1 business day before start date

Learning (verbose):

I-9 re-verification deadline for visa holders was missed for 3 employees.

As compliance calendar entry (actionable):

## I-9 Re-Verification Tracking
- Set HRIS alert 90 days before work authorization expiry
- Escalate to immigration counsel at 30 days if no renewal documentation
- Complete Section 3 of I-9 on or before expiry date

Recurring Pattern Detection

If logging something similar to an existing entry:

1. Search first: grep -r "keyword" .learnings/
2. Link entries: Add **See Also**: HRP-20250110-001 in Metadata
3. Bump priority if issue keeps recurring
4. Consider systemic fix: Missing policy, broken process, HRIS gap, or training need

Periodic Review

Review .learnings/ at natural breakpoints:

When to Review

• Before annual compliance audits
• After each open enrollment period
• At quarter-end (compensation, headcount reviews)
• When turnover spikes in any department

Quick Status Check

grep -h "Status\*\*: pending" .learnings/*.md | wc -l
grep -B5 "Priority\*\*: high" .learnings/HR_PROCESS_ISSUES.md | grep "^## \["
grep -l "Area\*\*: compliance" .learnings/*.md
grep -B2 "retention_signal" .learnings/LEARNINGS.md | grep "^## \["

Review Actions

• Resolve remediated compliance issues
• Promote recurring patterns to policy documents
• Link related entries across files

Simplify & Harden Feed

Ingest recurring HR patterns from simplify-and-harden into policy documents or compliance calendars.

1. For each candidate, use pattern_key as the dedupe key.
2. Search .learnings/LEARNINGS.md for existing entry: grep -n "Pattern-Key: <key>" .learnings/LEARNINGS.md
3. If found: increment Recurrence-Count, update Last-Seen, add See Also links.
4. If not found: create new LRN-... entry with Source: simplify-and-harden.

Promotion threshold: Recurrence-Count >= 3, seen in 2+ departments, within 90-day window. Targets: policy documents, onboarding checklists, compliance calendars, AGENTS.md.

Hook Integration

Enable automatic reminders through agent hooks. This is opt-in.

Quick Setup (Claude Code / Codex)

Create .claude/settings.json in your project:

{
  "hooks": {
    "UserPromptSubmit": [{
      "matcher": "",
      "hooks": [{
        "type": "command",
        "command": "./skills/self-improving-hr/scripts/activator.sh"
      }]
    }]
  }
}

This injects an HR-focused learning evaluation reminder after each prompt (~50-100 tokens overhead).

Advanced Setup (With Error Detection)

{
  "hooks": {
    "UserPromptSubmit": [{
      "matcher": "",
      "hooks": [{
        "type": "command",
        "command": "./skills/self-improving-hr/scripts/activator.sh"
      }]
    }],
    "PostToolUse": [{
      "matcher": "Bash",
      "hooks": [{
        "type": "command",
        "command": "./skills/self-improving-hr/scripts/error-detector.sh"
      }]
    }]
  }
}

Enable PostToolUse only if you want the hook to inspect command output for compliance keywords, violation indicators, and HR process failures.

Available Hook Scripts

Script	Hook Type	Purpose
scripts/activator.sh	UserPromptSubmit	Reminds to evaluate HR learnings after tasks
scripts/error-detector.sh	PostToolUse (Bash)	Triggers on compliance terms, violations, HR process errors

See references/hooks-setup.md for detailed configuration and troubleshooting.

Automatic Skill Extraction

When an HR learning is valuable enough to become a reusable skill, extract it.

Skill Extraction Criteria

Criterion	Description
Recurring	Same process issue in 2+ audit cycles or departments
Verified	Status is resolved with confirmed remediation
Non-obvious	Required actual investigation or legal research
Broadly applicable	Not location-specific; useful across business units
User-flagged	User says "save this as a skill" or similar

Extraction Workflow

1. Identify candidate: Learning meets extraction criteria
2. Run helper (or create manually):

   ./skills/self-improving-hr/scripts/extract-skill.sh skill-name --dry-run
   ./skills/self-improving-hr/scripts/extract-skill.sh skill-name
   

3. Customize SKILL.md: Fill in template with HR-specific content
4. Update learning: Set status to promoted_to_skill, add Skill-Path
5. Verify: Read skill in fresh session and confirm it is PII-free

Extraction Detection Triggers

Use conversation signals ("This compliance issue keeps coming up", "Save this onboarding process as a skill") and entry signals (multiple See Also, high-priority resolved items, recurring compliance_risk/policy_gap) to identify extraction candidates.

Multi-Agent Support

Agent	Activation	Detection
Claude Code	Hooks (UserPromptSubmit, PostToolUse)	Automatic via error-detector.sh
Codex CLI	Hooks (same pattern)	Automatic via hook scripts
GitHub Copilot	Manual (.github/copilot-instructions.md)	Manual review
OpenClaw	Workspace injection + inter-agent messaging	Via session tools

Best Practices

1. Log immediately — compliance details and process observations fade fast
2. Anonymize always — never include names, SSNs, salaries, or medical info
3. Specify jurisdiction — federal vs. state vs. local matters enormously
4. Note the regulation — cite FMLA, ADA, EEOC, etc. by name
5. Follow chain of approval — HR policy changes need sign-off before implementation
6. Check multiple jurisdictions — a compliant federal policy may violate state law
7. Review before audits — check .learnings/ for open compliance items

Gitignore Options

Keep learnings local (per-user, recommended for HR due to sensitivity):

.learnings/

Track learnings in repo (team-wide, only for anonymized operational patterns): Don't add to .gitignore — learnings become shared knowledge.

Hybrid (track templates, ignore entries):

.learnings/*.md
!.learnings/.gitkeep

Recommendation: For HR data, default to .learnings/ local and untracked.

Stackability Contract (Standalone + Multi-Skill)

This skill is standalone-compatible and stackable with other self-improving skills.

Namespaced Logging (recommended for 2+ skills)

• Namespace for this skill: .learnings/hr/
• Keep current standalone behavior if you prefer flat files.
• Optional shared index for all skills: .learnings/INDEX.md

Required Metadata

Every new entry must include:

**Skill**: hr

Hook Arbitration (when 2+ skills are enabled)

• Use one dispatcher hook as the single entrypoint.
• Dispatcher responsibilities: route by matcher, dedupe repeated events, and rate-limit reminders.
• Suggested defaults: dedupe key = event + matcher + file + 5m_window; max 1 reminder per skill every 5 minutes.

Narrow Matcher Scope (hr)

Only trigger this skill automatically for HR signals such as:

• policy violation|onboarding|offboarding|performance review
• payroll issue|retention risk|compliance training|workforce planning
• explicit HR intent in user prompt

Cross-Skill Precedence

When guidance conflicts, apply:

1. security
2. engineering
3. coding
4. ai
5. user-explicit domain skill
6. meta as tie-breaker

Ownership Rules

• This skill writes only to .learnings/hr/ in stackable mode.
• It may read other skill folders for cross-linking, but should not rewrite their entries.