Safe Handoff

Draft a first-week checklist and welcome note for a new starter

Handoff 2 Drafts for review Reviewed 15 Oct 2026 Set-up: 15 minutes

Who it's for
Small teams taking on an employee, contractor or volunteer without an HR department
Outcome
A dated first-week checklist with owners, plus a welcome note draft, for you to check and send.
Why Handoff 2
It drafts documents for you to edit. You send the welcome note and set up any accounts or access yourself.

Steps

  1. Give the agent the role, start date, who they report to, and your usual first-week tasks.
  2. Ask it to mark any legal, payroll or access step as [CHECK] rather than give advice.
  3. Edit the checklist and welcome note, and add the people responsible.
  4. Send the note and set up access yourself.

Copy-paste prompt

Works with any agent. Replace the [square brackets] with your details.

Using these details: role [role], start date [date], manager [name], working hours [hours], and our usual first-week tasks [paste], draft:
1. A day-by-day first-week checklist with an owner for each task.
2. A short, friendly welcome note to the new starter.

Mark any legal, payroll, contract or system-access step as [CHECK] instead of giving advice. Do not invent policies, perks or names that are not in my details. Output drafts only; do not send, share, create accounts or book anything.

Notes for each agent

Only features we found in each provider's official documentation on 15 Oct 2026 are stated as product facts, with the source linked. Product features change; check before relying on them.

Claude Suggested

Ask Claude to save drafts, not send them. In Cowork's Manual mode it pauses for approval before using connector tools set to 'Needs approval'. Avoid 'Skip' mode for anything sent in your name.

From official docs Official source

ChatGPT Suggested

Before an app action such as sending an email, ChatGPT may show an approval card. Keep your email app on 'Always ask' or 'Allow read actions' so sending always needs your OK.

From official docs Official source

Gemini Suggested

Gemini can draft Gmail messages in chat (Google Workspace connected app required). The draft has a Send button, so read it first, or use 'Edit in Gmail' on the web to finish it in Gmail.

From official docs Official source

Microsoft Copilot Suggested

In Outlook, 'Draft with Copilot' writes a draft you edit and send yourself, and 'Coaching by Copilot' can suggest tone and clarity fixes.

From official docs Official source

Open agents & automations Suggested

In n8n, connect the send tool through a human review step: the workflow pauses and shows the exact message for Approve or Deny.

From official docs Official source

Common failure, and how to catch it

What goes wrong
Invented policies or perks in the welcome note, or a legal step (such as a right-to-work check) left out or described wrongly.
How to catch it
The [CHECK] and no-invention rules, and comparing the note line by line with what you actually offer.

Time and cost

Time to set up
15 minutes
Cost
Works in a standard chat on most plans; no extra tools needed.

Sources

Reviewed 15 Oct 2026 against the sources above. This playbook has not been tested on every agent listed; it is written to be agent-agnostic.

More operations & reporting playbooks