Capability template for executive and office support
Staff newsletter and FAQ roundup
Each month the office manager turns what teams send in into one staff newsletter, with answers to the questions people keep asking, each quoted from an approved source and its owner named. Nothing about one person's pay, health or performance goes in, and a person approves the issue before it goes.
The outcome
Your whole company hears the month's news in one place, in the same shape every month. Every team's wins carry that team's name. The dates people need for the next six weeks are in order. New colleagues are welcomed, with their agreement.
The questions that fill the HR inbox and the office chat get one clear answer for everyone, in the words of the document that already settles them, with the person who owns that document named beside it. When nothing in writing answers a question yet, the newsletter does not guess. The question goes to the person who should answer it, so next month it can be settled properly.
The capability keeps three things out. Anything about one person's pay, health or performance stays out, even if they agreed. People news goes in only when the person it is about said yes. A change nobody has announced yet goes back to its owner, because a newsletter is no place to hear news like that first.
Who starts the work, and when
The office manager, the chief of staff or an executive assistant starts it a few days before the issue goes out, once teams have filled in their updates. One named person, often the managing director or the HR manager, approves each issue. The person who started the work sends it from their own account once the approver says yes.
What they supply
- The month's settings: the newsletter's name, the send date, who approves and who readers contact.
- The team updates, exported from the form or shared sheet teams fill in: team, who submitted it, the kind of update, the item, its date, a link and whether the person in a people-news item agreed. If the columns are named differently, the assistant stops and asks.
- The questions staff keep asking, with how many people asked each one and who should answer it.
- The approved sources answers may be quoted from, such as the handbook or a notice already sent, each with its owner and approval date.
- Last month's issue, so nothing is repeated.
Nothing is connected to your email, chat or HR system. Everything is pasted in by a person.
What comes out
- An issue check for the approver. It lists what has to be settled before the issue goes, every update left out and why, the questions still waiting for an answer and the questions not chosen.
- A draft issue. Wins, dates coming up, people news, then the questions roundup, each answer quoted word for word with its source, owner and date. It is marked not ready while anything is unsettled.
A good issue can be read in three minutes, and every line traces to a team's update or an approved document.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. Brindlecote Packaging is an invented 110-person maker of food packaging. Its people, customers, documents and dates are invented too. Dana, the office manager, puts together the monthly staff newsletter, and Martin, the managing director, approves each issue. On Thursday 26 November 2026 Dana gives the assistant everything below, in full, and gets back the issue check and the draft that follow.
What Dana supplied
1. Issue settings
Newsletter: Brindlecote News, November 2026 issue
Today: Thursday 26 November 2026
Send date: Monday 30 November 2026
Approver: Martin (managing director)
Sent by: Dana (office manager), once Martin approves
Questions about the issue: Dana (office manager)
Wins window: default (dated in November 2026)
Look-ahead: default (30 November 2026 to 11 January 2027)
Item limit: 15. FAQ limit: 6. Asked threshold: 3.
Quote limit: 60 words. Source age limit: 12 months.
Held-out subjects: default
2. Team updates (exported from the shared sheet)
team,submitted_by,type,item,date,link,consent
Production,Ravi,win,"Line 3 ran 30 days without an unplanned stop, the longest run since it was installed",2026-11-20,,
Sales,Ines,win,Signed a two-year supply agreement with Customer K for printed trays,2026-11-12,,
Quality,Tomas,win,Passed the annual food-safety audit with no major findings,2026-11-05,intranet/quality/audit-2026,
Office,Dana,coming up,Office closed 24 December to 1 January; production runs to the holiday rota,2026-12-24,intranet/holiday-rota,
HR,Leena,coming up,"Winter party Friday 11 December, 5 pm, in the canteen. Partners welcome. Sign up by 4 December",2026-12-11,intranet/winter-party,
HR,Leena,people news,"Welcome to Oskar, who joins Finance as accounts assistant on 16 November",2026-11-16,,yes
Production,Ravi,people news,Mel is off for a few weeks after an operation - send her your best,2026-11-18,,
Sales,Ines,people news,"Congratulations to Arun, who finished the city half marathon",2026-11-08,,
Finance,Grace,coming up,"From 1 January, expense claims go through the new expenses app instead of paper forms",2027-01-01,,
Production,Ravi,win,"Top performer this month: Kai, who picked 20% more than the shift average",2026-11-25,,
Quality,Tomas,coming up,"Allergen refresher training for all production staff, 8 and 9 December, 30 minutes per shift",2026-12-08,intranet/training,
Office,Dana,win,The new visitor sign-in tablets are live at reception,2026-10-14,,
Office,Dana,shoutout,Thank you to the night shift for clearing the loading bay after the storm,2026-11-19,,
3. Questions staff keep asking
question,times_asked,where_asked,topic_owner
How many days of holiday can I carry over into next year?,11,HR inbox; team meetings,Leena (HR manager)
Where do I park now the north car park is being resurfaced?,8,reception; office chat,Dana (office manager)
Can I wear my own safety boots on the production floor?,6,shift briefings,Tomas (quality manager)
When will we hear about the new pension provider?,5,team meetings,Martin (managing director)
Why was my overtime short on last month's payslip?,4,HR inbox,Leena (HR manager)
Is the canteen open on Saturdays?,2,office chat,Dana (office manager)
4. Approved sources (the sections Dana supplied)
Title: Staff handbook
Owner: Leena (HR manager)
Approved: 2 March 2026
4.2 Booking leave. Book leave through your manager at least two weeks
ahead for any absence longer than three days.
4.3 Carrying over leave. You may carry up to five unused days of annual
leave into the next holiday year. Carried days must be taken by 31 March.
Days above five that are not taken by 31 December are lost unless your
manager agreed otherwise in writing before 1 December.
6.1 Pay dates. Pay is made on the last working day of each month.
Title: Car park works notice
Owner: Dana (office manager)
Approved: 2 November 2026
The north car park is being resurfaced from 2 November until 18 December.
While the north car park is closed, staff park in the overflow area behind
Unit 4. Visitor spaces at the front stay reserved for visitors. Cyclists
can use the covered racks by the canteen as usual.
Title: Site safety rules
Owner: Tomas (quality manager)
Approved: 10 June 2025
2.1 Footwear. Safety footwear must be worn at all times on the production
floor. Personal safety footwear is allowed on the production floor if it
meets the site standard and has been checked by the shift supervisor.
Boots supplied by the company are replaced free of charge every twelve
months.
3.4 Spills. Report any spill to your shift supervisor straight away and
stay with it until it is made safe.
5. Last month's issue
BRINDLECOTE NEWS: October 2026
In this issue: 2 wins, 2 dates coming up, 1 piece of people news and
answers to 1 question you keep asking.
Wins
- Office: the new visitor sign-in tablets are live at reception.
- Sales: Customer F renewed its order for printed lids for another year.
Coming up
- Thursday 22 October: fire drill at 10 am, all sites. (Office)
- Monday 2 November: north car park resurfacing starts. (Office)
More: intranet/car-park-works
People news
- HR: welcome to Hana, who joined Production as a line technician on
Monday 5 October.
Questions you keep asking
Q. When is the next payday?
A. "Pay is made on the last working day of each month."
Source: Staff handbook, section 6.1. Owner: Leena (HR manager).
Approved 2 March 2026.
Questions about this issue: Dana (office manager).
What came back
ISSUE CHECK: Brindlecote News, November 2026
For: Martin (managing director). Send date: Monday 30 November 2026. Sent by: Dana (office
manager).
Prepared Thursday 26 November 2026 from 13 team update rows, 6 questions and 3 approved
sources. Last issue: October 2026, supplied.
News items in the draft: 7 of a limit of 15. Questions answered in the draft: 3 of a limit of 6.
To settle before this goes out: 2
1. Row 13 (Office, from Dana): the type "shoutout" is not win, coming up or people news.
Dana, which is it? The row stays out of the draft until then.
2. Question 3, own safety boots: the answer quotes the Site safety rules, approved 10 June
2025, more than 12 months before the send date. Tomas (quality manager), does section 2.1
still hold?
Left out of the draft: 5
- Row 7 (Production, from Ravi): held-out subject; its content is not repeated here. Stays out.
- Row 8 (Sales, from Ines): people news with no consent recorded. Comes in once Ines records
that the person agreed.
- Row 9 (Finance, from Grace): reads as a change not yet announced, with no link to an
announcement. Comes in once the change has been announced and the link is added.
- Row 10 (Production, from Ravi): held-out subject; its content is not repeated here. Stays out.
- Row 12 (Office, from Dana): already in last issue. Stays out.
Answers needed: 1
- "When will we hear about the new pension provider?" (asked 5 times). No approved source
answers it. Owner: Martin (managing director). Not in the draft.
Questions not chosen: 2
- Question 5 (asked 4 times): one person's own case. For HR to answer directly; not repeated
here.
- "Is the canteen open on Saturdays?" (asked 2 times): below the threshold of 3.
BRINDLECOTE NEWS: November 2026
DRAFT. NOT READY TO SEND: 2 items to settle (see the issue check).
In this issue: 3 wins, 3 dates coming up, 1 piece of people news and answers to 3 questions
you keep asking.
Wins
- Production: Line 3 ran 30 days without an unplanned stop, the longest run since it was
installed.
- Sales: signed a two-year supply agreement with Customer K for printed trays.
- Quality: passed the annual food-safety audit with no major findings.
More: intranet/quality/audit-2026
Coming up
- Tuesday 8 December: allergen refresher training for all production staff, 8 and 9 December,
30 minutes per shift. (Quality) More: intranet/training
- Friday 11 December: winter party, 5 pm, in the canteen. Partners welcome. Sign up by
4 December. (HR) More: intranet/winter-party
- Thursday 24 December: office closed 24 December to 1 January; production runs to the holiday
rota. (Office) More: intranet/holiday-rota
People news
- HR: welcome to Oskar, who joined Finance as accounts assistant on 16 November.
Questions you keep asking
Q. How many days of holiday can I carry over into next year?
A. "You may carry up to five unused days of annual leave into the next holiday year."
Source: Staff handbook, section 4.3. Owner: Leena (HR manager). Approved 2 March 2026.
Q. Where do I park now the north car park is being resurfaced?
A. "While the north car park is closed, staff park in the overflow area behind Unit 4."
Source: Car park works notice. Owner: Dana (office manager). Approved 2 November 2026.
Q. Can I wear my own safety boots on the production floor?
A. "Personal safety footwear is allowed on the production floor if it meets the site standard
and has been checked by the shift supervisor." [Tomas to confirm this is still current]
Source: Site safety rules, section 2.1. Owner: Tomas (quality manager). Approved 10 June 2025.
Questions about this issue: Dana (office manager).
Draft for Martin (managing director) to approve. Nothing has been sent.
How the inputs became the output, for checking:
- Rows 1 to 3, 4, 5, 6 and 11 are in the draft: three wins dated in November, three coming-up items dated between 30 November 2026 and 11 January 2027, each headed by the date in its row with the dates in its own words left as submitted, and one welcome with consent "yes". Seven news items against a limit of 15.
- Row 7 is about one person's health and row 10 praises one person's results, so both are held out whatever anyone agreed. Neither is described in the issue check.
- Row 8 is people news with the consent column blank. Row 9 announces a new way of submitting expenses with no link to an announcement. Row 12 repeats the October issue's first win.
- Row 13 has a type the template does not know, so it waits for Dana.
- Questions 1 to 3 were asked 11, 8 and 6 times, above the threshold of 3, and each is answered by one sentence in one source, quoted word for word; the neighbouring sentences on the carry-over deadline and the visitor spaces answer questions nobody asked, so they are left out. The site safety rules were approved on 10 June 2025, earlier than 30 November 2025, twelve months before the send date, so Tomas is asked to confirm them.
- Question 4 has no source that answers it. Question 5 is one person's own pay question. Question 6 was asked twice.
Dana asks Tomas about the footwear rule and settles row 13 herself, gives the answers to the assistant for an updated draft, and passes it to Martin. Nothing goes to staff until he approves it and Dana sends it.
Where it fits
- Executive and office support: the office manager or chief of staff who keeps everyone informed without writing every word.
- People and HR: the questions about leave, parking and safety that arrive one by one, answered once for everyone.
- Manufacturing: shifts that rarely meet, where a monthly issue is how the night shift hears what the day shift did.
- Professional services: teams spread across clients and offices, who see each other's wins only when someone writes them down.
- Software technology: fast-growing teams where the same question gets asked in five channels.
- Nonprofits: staff and regular volunteers who need the same dates and answers.
- Growth & scaling: the point where the company has outgrown everyone hearing everything at lunch.
- Established businesses: a newsletter that has run for years and deserves a steadier shape.
What has to change for your company
Choose who approves each issue and who sends it. Set up the form or shared sheet teams use, with its columns, and decide how submitters record a colleague's agreement for people news. Decide which documents count as approved sources and how old one may be before its owner confirms it. Set the item limit, how many questions make the roundup and how often a question must be asked to qualify. Add to the list of subjects that stay out if you need to; the defaults are the minimum. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini; decide which documents the assistant may be given.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026 in two runs; the instructions and the example were revised after the first, and the record of the second is published with it and lists the points the template still leaves open. Neither run was blind: each was made by a session that had seen the example's answer. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on two or three past months whose issues you already sent, plus hard cases written in advance: a people-news item with no agreement recorded, an item about someone's health, a change nobody has announced, a question no document answers, an answer from an old document. The approver checks every item and every quote against its source before anyone relies on it. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
Free with an account. Sign in by email: no password and no card.
Next step
Bring a real piece of this work to a call. We’ll walk through what it takes to fit this capability to your rules, prove it on your work and put it in the hands of the roles that own it.