The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when Too much of your operation depends on one or two people knowing a task, and you want to see the gaps and plan who learns what.
- {{team}}
- {{manager}}
- {{plan_period}}
- {{tasks}}
- {{people_skills}}
- {{training_time}}
- {{skill_scale}}
- {{min_coverage}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Build a skills matrix and a cross-training plan for {{team}}, for {{manager}} to use in planning the next {{plan_period}}, so that no critical task depends on a single person and absences or leavers do not stop the work. Tasks, how often each is done and how critical it is: """ {{tasks}} """ Team members and what each can do today (names or initials, as you prefer), with a skill level for each task where known: """ {{people_skills}} """ Time available for training each week, and constraints such as shifts, leave or people leaving or joining: {{training_time}} Skill levels to use: {{skill_scale}} Produce: 1. A matrix table with tasks as rows and people as columns, filled with the skill levels from my notes, plus a final column Number who can do it alone. 2. Coverage risks: tasks with fewer than {{min_coverage}} people able to do them alone, sorted by how critical they are, each with the person they depend on. 3. Cross-training plan: a table with the columns Task, Learner, Trainer, Method (shadowing, supervised practice, written procedure), Hours needed, Target week. Total the hours for each week and check them against the time available, showing the sums. 4. Quick wins: up to 3 tasks where writing down the procedure would cut the risk faster than training someone. For example, a coverage risk might read: "Weekly carrier invoice check: critical, done every Monday, only one person can do it alone." This example shows the form only. Fill the matrix only from my notes. Where a person's level for a task is not given, put "?" in the cell and list those cells for me to confirm, rather than assuming they cannot do it. Do not rank or judge people, and do not suggest who should be moved or replaced; this plan is about coverage, not performance. If the training hours needed are more than the time available, say so and plan the most critical tasks first. Keep the commentary outside the tables under 250 words.
Variables
- {{team}}
- The team, for example "the dispatch and customer service team".
- {{manager}}
- Who will use the plan, for example "the operations manager".
- {{plan_period}}
- How far ahead to plan, for example "three months".
- {{tasks}}
- The tasks the team does, with how often and how critical each is, for example "payroll export, monthly, critical".
- {{people_skills}}
- Who can do what today, with levels where you know them.
- {{training_time}}
- Hours a week available for training and any constraints, for example "4 hours a week; one person on leave in May".
- {{skill_scale}}
- The levels to use, for example "0 = cannot do, 1 = with help, 2 = alone, 3 = can train others".
- {{min_coverage}}
- The fewest people who should be able to do each critical task alone, for example 2.
Why it works
- If unsure. Unknown skill levels are shown as "?" and listed to confirm, so nobody is marked unable to do a task they actually can.
- What to avoid. No ranking or judging of people, because a coverage plan that reads like a performance review will not get honest input.
- Length. Training hours are totaled per week and checked against the time you have, so the plan is one you can actually run.