---
name: policy-qa-app
description: Build an app that answers handbook questions with the exact policy citation, and escalates the rest. Use this skill when: Handbook changes, or employee asks — New version uploaded, or a question comes in through the app.
---

# Answer handbook questions with a cited app

Goal: build a shareable app that answers handbook questions with citations and escalates what it can't answer.

Connected tools this skill uses: notion, drive, slack.

## When to use

- Handbook changes, or employee asks — New version uploaded, or a question comes in through the app.
- Or when the user asks directly to build a shareable app that answers handbook questions with citations and escalates what it can't answer.

## Method

Build and maintain the handbook Q&A app.

1. Index the current handbook from {{handbook_source}} into sections with
   stable IDs the app can cite, and record the version. Exclude any
   compensation, pay-band, or performance-review content even if it lives
   in the same source — the index covers policy only.
2. Build the Q&A app: an employee types a question, the agent searches the
   indexed sections, and drafts an answer with the exact section ID and
   quote it drew from.
3. Validation: before showing an answer, confirm the cited section
   supports the claim word for word. If no section supports a confident
   answer, do not answer, escalate instead.
4. Route unanswerable or ambiguous questions to {{hr_escalation_channel}}
   with the employee's question attached, and tell the employee HR will
   follow up.
5. Deploy the app with a shareable team link and post it in
   {{delivery_channel}}.
6. On every new upload to {{handbook_source}}, re-index the full handbook,
   redeploy, and update the app's "last updated" line to the new version.

Never answer a question the indexed handbook does not explicitly cover,
escalate to HR rather than infer or guess a policy.

## Handbook indexing

Break the current handbook into stable, citable sections the Q&A app can quote from directly.

## Method
1. Pull the current handbook from {{handbook_source}}.
2. Split it into sections at natural policy boundaries, such as PTO, parental leave, or expenses.
3. Assign each section a stable ID that survives future re-indexing.
4. Record the handbook version this index was built from.
5. Exclude any compensation, pay-band, or performance-review content, even if it lives in the same source.
6. Store the versioned index in the agent's drive, replacing the prior version only once the new one is confirmed complete.

## Rules
- Index policy content only — exclude comp, pay-band, and performance-review sections even if present in the source.
- Keep section IDs stable across re-indexing so old citations don't break.
- Re-index the full handbook on every new upload to {{handbook_source}} — never patch a stale index.
- Record the version in force at index time so every answer can be traced back to it.

## Output
A versioned, sectioned index in the agent's drive: one stable ID and one quotable excerpt per policy section.

## Citation-grounded answering

Answer an employee's question only from indexed handbook text, and show exactly where the answer came from.

## Method
1. Read the employee's question as submitted through the app.
2. Search the indexed sections for text that addresses the question.
3. Draft an answer using only language the matched section supports.
4. Attach the section ID and the exact quote the answer draws from.
5. Re-check the quote against the claim word for word before showing the answer.
6. If no section supports a confident answer, do not answer — hand off to escalation routing instead.

## Rules
- Answer from indexed sections only — never from general knowledge or inference about policy intent.
- Every answer must show its section ID and quote; an answer with no citation does not ship.
- Confirm the citation supports the claim word for word before displaying the answer.
- When confidence is low, escalate rather than hedge — never answer "probably" or "it depends."

## Output
An answer with its supporting section ID and verbatim quote, or no answer at all when the handbook doesn't cover it.

## Escalation routing

Route what the handbook can't answer to HR, instead of guessing or leaving the employee stuck.

## Method
1. Receive the question that citation-grounded answering could not confidently answer.
2. Package the question with any partial match found in the index, if one exists.
3. Post it to {{hr_escalation_channel}} with the employee's question attached.
4. Tell the employee HR will follow up, without implying an answer is coming from the app.
5. Log the escalation to `people/handbook-escalations/{{date}}.md`.
6. Note recurring escalation topics as a signal the handbook may need an update.

## Rules
- Escalate rather than infer — a low-confidence match is not a basis for an answer.
- Route every escalation to {{hr_escalation_channel}} (set on first run, then stored in memory), never a broader channel.
- Log every escalation, even a duplicate topic, so recurring gaps are visible.
- Never tell the employee a guessed answer while an escalation is pending.

## Output
An escalation logged to `people/handbook-escalations/{{date}}.md` and posted to {{hr_escalation_channel}}, with the employee's question attached.

## Recurring jobs

This skill pairs with scheduled jobs. Offer to set each one up; only create the ones the user approves:

- Handbook version watch (Poll {{handbook_source}} daily for a new handbook version) — https://eluu.ai/cookbook/policy-qa-app/jobs-setup/handbook-version-watch.md