Total Rewards Assistant

Written by Reejig | Mar 3, 2026 6:33:43 AM

What you will need

Access

Access to Microsoft Copilot Studio
Access to the relevant OneDrive folder

Files

External salary benchmark spreadsheet (Excel)
Internal salary bands spreadsheet (Excel)

Accounts

Microsoft 365 account with Copilot Studio enabled

Permissions

Permission to add knowledge sources in Copilot Studio
Permission to access the required OneDrive files

Note: The agent will access the OneDrive folder directly.

If you want to avoid access issues, download the files from the shared Google Drive, create your own OneDrive folder, and copy the spreadsheets into it.

Step 1: Prepare the knowledge

1.1 Confirm access to the OneDrive folder containing the knowledge files

1.2 Verify the folder includes:

External salary benchmark spreadsheet
Internal salary bands spreadsheet

1.3 Confirm both files open correctly and contain current data.

1.4 If needed, create your own OneDrive folder and upload copies of the spreadsheets.

Step 2: Copy and paste the system prompt

Copy and paste the following exactly as written.

Step 3: Create the agent in Microsoft Copilot Studio

3.1 Connect to Microsoft Copilot Studio.

3.2 Select Agents from the left-hand menu.

3.3 Click + Create new agent on the right-hand side.

3.4 Wait for the infrastructure to provision.

3.5 Enter a clear Name for the agent.

3.6 Provide a simple Description.

3.7 Select the agent model.

GPT 4.1 is fast, cost-effective, and suitable for this use case.

3.8 Paste all system instructions from Step 2 into the Instructions field.

3.9 Click + Add knowledge.
3.10 Select OneDrive as the source.

3.11 Paste the URL of each spreadsheet.

3.12 Click Add after each file.

3.13 Disable Web Search to restrict the agent to approved knowledge only.

Step 4: Testing

Use the built-in test panel before publishing.

Should answer	Should refuse or escalate
Salary band queries by role, level, and location	Requests to approve offers
Internal vs external comparisons	Requests for individual employee salary data
Market competitiveness checks	Requests to change salary bands
Benchmark lookups from provided spreadsheets	Roles not covered by policy or outside scope

Positive tests

I have a senior HR business partner asking $150000 in New York
What is the salary band for a Senior HR Generalist in Chicago?
Compare internal and external salary ranges for a Payroll Manager in London.
What is the external benchmark for an Employee Engagement Manager in Melbourne?
Is our internal range for Senior Talent Acquisition Manager in New York competitive with the market?
Does the internal band for HR Business Partner II in London fall below the 50th percentile externally

Negative tests

Can you approve an offer of US$70000 for a Senior HR Manager in Austin?
What salary did we offer Jane Doe for the Recruiter role?
Can you increase the salary band for a Compensation Manager in Toronto?
Compare internal and external salary ranges for a Junior Financial Controller in London.

Confirm:

The agent answers only from the spreadsheets.
The agent refuses or escalates restricted requests correctly.
All responses end with: “Is there anything else you need?”

Step 5: Publish

5.1 Click Publish in Copilot Studio.

5.2 Wait for the publishing process to complete.

5.3 Confirm the agent is available in Copilot.

Step 6: Link to a channel

6.1 Select Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot.

6.2 Under Agent preview, click See agent in Teams.

6..3 Confirm the agent loads correctly in Teams.

Step 7: Final completion checklist

Configuration

Agent created in Microsoft Copilot Studio
System prompt pasted correctly
Both spreadsheets added as knowledge sources
Web Search disabled

Testing

All positive tests return accurate, policy-based answers
All negative tests are refused or escalated correctly
Responses include source citations
Responses end with “Is there anything else you need?”

Deployment

Agent successfully published
Agent visible in Copilot
Agent accessible in Teams

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