Run the practicum on the HR agent's real output for ten working days: drafted letters, held pay and contract changes, escalations and requests it refused. A senior adviser with a current certificate decides each item independently and signs anything that changes an employee's terms. The adviser passes with at least 95 decisions in every 100 right and no missed red line, such as a missed harassment disclosure.
What is the practicum, and who owns it?
HR advisers working with an agent decide which letters go, which changes are approved and how to respond when an employee's question turns out to be something else. Those are judgement calls about people's livelihoods and wellbeing. The practicum tests them on live work before the adviser acts alone.
The HR operations lead owns the practicum and names the senior adviser who reviews. An employee relations specialist sets the red lines and is available for any case that raises one. The adviser owns each decision and writes a short reason. Access during the practicum follows the organisation's normal rules; the reviewer sees what their own role allows.
How do you build the queue?
Around 15 decisions a day gives 150 over the fortnight. Include:
- letters drafted by the agent: absence follow-ups, flexible working responses, contract variations, references;
- held pay or contract changes, such as a change of hours or a salary adjustment;
- escalations raised by the agent: wellbeing concerns, harassment, discrimination complaints;
- case notes drafted from conversations, to confirm or correct;
- a sample of the agent's policy answers to employees, such as one in five;
- requests the agent refused, for example a line manager asking for an employee's sickness details.
Seed anonymised past cases for anything thin. For example, a seeded query might ask how many days of compassionate leave are allowed, then mention in passing that a manager "keeps making comments" since the employee's return. The agent answered the leave question and escalated. The adviser should pick up the second point as a possible harassment disclosure, contact the employee and record it, not just confirm the leave.
The steps
- Person (HR operations lead): brief the adviser on the bar, red lines and log.
- Agent, depth 1: route items to the practicum queue and mark the sampled answers.
- Agent, depth 2: present each item with its draft, the policy clause relied on and the deciding bound, showing which facts the employee declared and which came from the HR record.
- Person (adviser): decide: send, edit, approve, hold, escalate or decline, with a reason.
- Person (senior adviser): decide independently, then compare.
- Person (senior adviser): sign every letter that changes terms and every approved pay or contract change.
- Agent, depth 1: log both decisions, the match and any red-line flag.
- Person (senior adviser, then assessor): review the log at the end.
| Step | The agent does | Depth | Stays with a person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy answer | Answers from the policy library | 3 | Adviser reviews sample |
| Letter | Drafts | 2 | Adviser edits; senior signs terms changes |
| Pay or contract change | Prepares and holds | held | Senior approves |
| Escalation | Flags wellbeing or conduct concerns | escalation | Adviser acts; specialist advises |
| Case note | Drafts from the conversation | 2 | Adviser confirms |
| Refused request | Refuses and hands over | refused | Adviser explains |
How do you set and apply the bar?
A decision is correct if it matches the senior's or the senior agrees it was sound. A letter edited for clarity but accurate is correct. A letter that misstates a notice period is not.
The red lines: missing or delaying a harassment, discrimination or wellbeing concern; sending a letter that changes terms without authority; disclosing personal or health information to someone not entitled to it; using the agent's factual summary to pre-judge a disciplinary or grievance case. Under GDPR, Article 22 restricts decisions based solely on automated processing with significant effects, which is one reason these decisions stay with people. One miss fails the practicum.
Which controls matter, and what evidence do they leave?
- Senior signature on terms changes. Evidence: the senior's name in the append-only record.
- Specialist on call. Evidence: notes of any consultation.
- Independent senior decisions. Evidence: logged before comparison.
- Daily debrief. Evidence: a line per mismatch.
- Full log. Evidence: the practicum log template for HR advisers.
What should you measure?
Correct decisions out of the total, by type. Red-line misses (zero). Time from escalation to the adviser's first contact. And case notes the adviser corrected, with whether the correction mattered.
Where does it usually go wrong?
The fortnight falls in a quiet period with no escalations. Seed them.
Advisers treat the agent's case notes as accurate because they are tidy. Notes drafted from a conversation miss tone and what was not said.
The senior adviser line-manages the trainee and avoids hard feedback. Choose a reviewer from another team.
On where responsibility sits after sign-off, see are HR advisers accountable for an AI agent's mistakes. Wealth advisers run a similar practicum on letters with consequences; compare running a practicum for wealth advisers and the practicum log template for wealth advisers.
Where the Academy fits
Pryme Intelligence Academy's Certified Pryme Operator ends with a practicum on these terms: two weeks of real review decisions, at least 95 in every 100 correct and no missed red line, signed off by a Pryme assessor. Lessons can be read or heard as audio, and module tests are set in the learner's own industry and role. More in the guide to AI literacy and certification for people who work with agents.
Questions people ask
Should employees know a trainee adviser is involved?
They should know an agent is involved and that HR is responsible. Every outward change is signed by the senior during the practicum.
Can the practicum include disciplinary hearings?
Include the decisions around them, such as letters and case notes, not the hearing itself. Hearings follow the organisation's normal process.
What if the adviser disagrees with a refusal?
They raise it with the senior and the builder. A refusal on disclosing health information should almost always stand.