Typical examples
A sprint solves a problem that is clearly outlined and whose result becomes tangible on the same day. The three most common topics:
Open roles set up from scratch
Role profiles, job ads and interview guides for two or three positions, in one morning, with the hiring manager in the room.
One routine automated
Reference letters, onboarding texts or CV screening with an AI prompt set your team uses straight away in Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude.
One policy drafted
A first draft of an AI policy or an HR process document that you take into the next works council meeting.
Other topics that fit into half a day: an onboarding sequence for the first 30 days, a guide for performance conversations, a reference letter template with the German grading logic built in, the structure for a pay band overview, preparing a works council meeting, or translating a group policy into something that works under German employment law. What does not fit into a sprint: anything that needs negotiation, touches several departments at once, or cannot be decided without groundwork first.
A pattern I see with international companies: the German subsidiary has been asked to adopt a group process, and the local HR person knows it will not work as written but cannot say precisely why. A sprint is a good format for that. Four hours, the group document on one screen, German requirements on the other, and at the end a version that headquarters can accept and the works council can sign.
How a sprint runs
Topic, participants, what should exist at the end. I tell you whether it fits into half a day or needs a project.
What already exists, what is missing, what has not worked so far. With the two to four people who will use the result.
Texts, prompts and drafts take shape live, with your team, in your tools.
The result is tested on a real case and handed over. What stays open goes on a list with an owner.
When a sprint fits, and when it does not
- One problem, clearly namedYou can say in one sentence what should exist by the end of the day.
- The decision-makers are in the roomWhoever signs off the result takes part. Otherwise a draft is produced that sits in a folder.
- The tools are availableFor AI routines: Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise or Claude are licensed and usable in your company.
- Not a negotiation topicAnything the works council or several departments have to decide needs a project, not a sprint.
What you walk away with
For job ads: finished ad texts, a role profile per position and an interview guide that the hiring manager co-wrote and will therefore actually use. For routines: a prompt set with instructions, tested on a real case, plus a short list of what needs settling with the works council before live use. For policies: a draft with the eight core points that you can take into the next works council meeting or send to headquarters for review.
What you do not get: a presentation. Everything produced in a sprint is a working tool, not a concept. If the result is a document, it is written in the form your team will use it in, not in the form a consultant would present it in.
How the cost works
An HR project sprint is billed as a flat fee for the half day, with no day-rate negotiation. The exact figure is named on the first call once the topic is fixed, so you can weigh it against what the problem currently costs you in hours. If the sprint targets an AI routine, it is worth looking first at AI for HR teams and the time calculator, which shows how many hours the routine ties up today.
AI routines for job ads, reference letters and onboarding introduced in earlier roles, each backed by a works council agreement. More about me
Frequently asked questions
How long does an HR project sprint really take?
Half a day, remote, usually a morning or an afternoon. Preparation is a short alignment call beforehand, where we fix the topic and who takes part. No slide deck, no workshop agenda with icebreakers.
What do I get at the end?
A concrete, immediately usable result: finished job ads, a prompt set, a policy draft, depending on the topic. Not a concept paper that someone still has to implement.
Can I book several sprints?
Yes, for different topics or as a recurring format, for example once a quarter for whatever HR question is current. Many companies start with one sprint and move to a fractional model afterwards.
Who from my team should take part?
The people who will use the result afterwards. For job ads that is the hiring manager and whoever runs recruiting in HR, for routines the HR team, for policies executive management. Two to four people, not ten.
Does a sprint work in English with an international team?
Yes. I run sprints in English or German, and mixed teams across countries are common. Where the result touches German law, say a policy that will go to the works council, I flag which parts are German specifics and which apply group-wide.
Do we need a works council agreement before an AI sprint?
Not for the sprint itself, which produces drafts and prompt sets. Before your team uses the routine in live operation, co-determination has to be settled: in Germany, the works council (Betriebsrat, the elected employee body) has a say on technical systems that could monitor performance or conduct. That is often the topic of the next sprint.