set-up-my-people-info - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: set-up-my-people-info description: "Tell me how you do HR - values, leveling (IC and manager, L1-L5), comp bands, review-cycle rhythm, policy canon, escalation rules, voice, and hard nos - so I can give you sharp drafts and answers. This is the foundation doc every other people Action reads first." version: 1 category: People featured: yes image: busts-in-silhouette integrations: [googlesheets, googledocs, notion]

Set Up My People Info

One doc every skill in agent reads before producing substantive output - offer, performance improvement plan (PIP), policy answer, retention score, review cycle. Owned at context/people-context.md. I draft, you decide. Never set comp bands or lock leveling without sign-off.

When to use

"draft our people-context doc" / "set up our people context" / "document how we do HR".
"update the people-context doc" / "our leveling changed, fix the context doc".
"draft our leveling framework" / "build the leveling ladder" / "what's an L3 vs L4".
Called implicitly by any skill needing doc when missing - only after confirming with you.

Connections I need

I run external work through Composio. Before this skill runs I check that the categories below are linked. Missing → I name the category, ask you to connect it from the Integrations tab, stop.

HR platform (Gusto, Deel, Rippling, Justworks) — pull team shape directly. Optional.
Docs (Notion, Google Docs) — import an existing handbook or policy doc. Optional.
Sheets (Google Sheets) — import comp bands or roster pastes. Optional.

No integration is strictly required — I draft from your answers if nothing is connected.

Information I need

I read your people context first. For every required field that's missing I ask ONE plain-language question (best modality: connected app > file drop > URL > paste) and wait.

Company and stage — Required. Why I need it: pre-first-hire gets more scaffolding, 15+ gets tighter. If missing I ask: "What's the company name, what does it do in one line, and how many people are on the team today?"
Values — Required. Why I need it: every level definition ties back to values. If missing I ask: "What are the four to six things you want this team to stand for, in your own words?"
Leveling intent — Required. Why I need it: I don't pick a leveling ladder for you. If missing I ask: "Do you want a single IC ladder, IC plus manager tracks, or are you not ready to define levels yet?"
Comp stance — Optional. Why I need it: bands shape comp-letter and offer drafts. If you don't have it I keep going with TBD on comp bands.
Escalation routing — Required. Why I need it: discrimination, harassment, wage, and visa questions need a named human. If missing I ask: "Who do those issues route to. Is there a named employment lawyer, or should we mark it TBD until you've retained one?"
Existing handbook — Optional. Why I need it: I import policies instead of inventing them. If you don't have it I keep going with TBD on policy canon.
Hard nos — Optional. Why I need it: shapes counter-offer rules and other downstream drafts. If you don't have it I keep going with TBD.

Steps

Read config/context-ledger.json. Fill gaps with single targeted question.
Read existing doc if present. If context/people-context.md exists, read so run = update, not rewrite. Preserve sharpened parts; change only stale or new.
Optional import. Ask once: "Got an existing handbook, policy doc, or comp sheet I should pull from? I can read Notion, Google Docs, or Google Sheets if you've connected one." If yes, run composio search docs / composio search sheets, fetch, cite source per section.
Push hard on escalation rules - cannot be inferred. Ask directly: "Who do discrimination / harassment / wage-dispute / visa issues route to? A named human lawyer, or should we mark TBD?" No defaults. No lawyer yet → section reads TBD - needs employment lawyer on retainer before first hire and I tell you explicitly.
Draft doc (~500-900 words, opinionated). Sections, in order:
1. Company values - 4-6 values, 1-line definitions. From your words; no HR-poster clichés.
2. Team shape - headcount by function, open reqs. Pull from connected HR platform if available, else paste.
3. Leveling framework - IC + manager tracks with level names, summary expectations, scope of impact, seniority markers per level. Default L1-L5; ask once if you want higher. Each level has: name (e.g. "Senior Engineer"), one-paragraph expectations, scope (team / function / org / cross-org), seniority markers (rough years band, decision rights, ambiguity tolerance), and "Embodies {value X, value Y} at this level by…" line tying to values section.
4. Comp bands - range per level, equity stance, location multipliers. Accept TBD generously - week 0 founders don't know bands yet.
5. Review-cycle rhythm - annual / semi-annual / quarterly, next cycle date.
6. Policy canon - leave, benefits, expenses, remote work, travel, equipment. Link source docs where exist; TBD where not.
7. Escalation rules - agent-answered vs founder-routed vs lawyer-routed. Name lawyer / firm or write TBD - needs employment lawyer on retainer. Load-bearing for answer-a-policy-question and draft-a-people-document.
8. Voice notes - 4-6 bullets on tone, greeting patterns, forbidden phrases, sentence-length preference. From ledger voice summary + config/voice.md if exists.
9. Hard nos - what team never does (e.g. "we never counter-offer on resignations," "we never publish salaries," "we always give 30-day notice before equity expirations").
Mark gaps honestly. Thin section → write TBD - {what you should bring next}. Never invent. Especially never invent comp bands, escalation routing, legal language.
Write atomically to context/people-context.md.tmp, then rename. One file at context/. NOT under .agents/. NOT under .houston/<agent>/.
Update ledger. Set universal.positioning = { present: true, path: "context/people-context.md", lastUpdatedAt: <ISO> } atomically.

Append to outputs.json. Entry:

{
  "id": "<uuid v4>",
  "type": "people-context",
  "title": "People-context doc updated",
  "summary": "<2-3 sentences  -  what changed this pass + which sections still TBD>",
  "path": "context/people-context.md",
  "status": "draft",
  "createdAt": "<ISO>",
  "updatedAt": "<ISO>",
  "domain": "culture"
}

(Doc = live file; each substantive edit indexed so update trail shows on dashboard.)

Summarize. One paragraph: what changed, which sections still TBD (especially escalation rules + comp bands), exact next move.

Outputs

context/people-context.md (live document).
Appends to outputs.json with type: "people-context", domain: "culture".

What I never do

Set comp bands or lock leveling definitions without sign-off.
Draft escalation rules without explicit input - ask or mark TBD. Section load-bearing + legal-adjacent.
Write doc under .agents/ or .houston/<agent>/ - Houston's watcher skips those paths. Always context/.