Three frameworks. One system.
Prepare yourself with FACTOR. Measure your organisation with IMI™. Transform it with ALIGN™. Original frameworks developed by our Founder and used across every Circle engagement.
The FACTOR Framework
Prompt Engineering for HRAI doesn't fail because it lacks intelligence. It fails because our questions lack clarity.
Focus / Role
Who is the AI being? Set the expert role it should take.
Aim / Task
What should it do? State the task plainly and directly.
Context
What does it need to know? Give the background that matters.
Terms / Constraints
What are the rules? Set the limits and what to avoid.
Output Format
How should it respond? Define the shape of the answer.
Review
Verify before finalising. Is the output evidence-based and sound?
FACTOR™ operates in two connected applications. The first measures your personal AI readiness across six dimensions. The second turns that readiness into action, structuring how you write precise AI prompts. You use the assessment to know where you stand. You use the prompt framework to do something about it.
Application 1 · Individual AI Readiness Assessment
Foundation
Understanding how AI works, its possibilities, limitations, and business impact.
Awareness
Recognising where AI creates value, risks, and opportunities in your work.
Capability
Knowing how to use AI tools effectively and interpret outputs critically.
Transformation
Applying AI to improve processes, create new value, and transform how work gets done.
Orientation
Building the right mindset, curiosity, and adaptability to work alongside AI.
Responsibility
Using AI ethically, safely, and inclusively while protecting privacy, fairness, and trust.
Scored 1 to 5 per dimension. Total out of 30. Five readiness levels:
Four readiness personas: The Enthusiast · The Sceptic · The Operator · The Theorist
Application 2 · Prompt Engineering for HR
"AI doesn't fail because it lacks intelligence. It fails because our questions lack clarity."
Focus / Role
Assign the AI an expert identity. The more specific the role, the more precise the output.
Aim / Task
State the task with precision. Not "analyse this data" but exactly what you need from it.
Context
Give the background that changes the answer: company size, sector, geography, team data.
Terms / Constraints
Set the guardrails. What to avoid, what to flag, what language to use or not use.
Output Format
Define the shape of the answer: themes, quotes, recommendations, tables, or bullet points.
Review
Before using the output, verify it. Is it evidence-based? Does it hold up to scrutiny?
FACTOR™ Assessment Scorecard
The Four AI Readiness Personas
Intelligence Maturity Index™
Diagnostic · 35 Items · 6 DimensionsClassifying, measuring and advancing organisational AI maturity. Inspired by Jim Collins' Level 5 Leadership.
Reactive Organisation
"We know AI matters, but we do not know where to start."
Exploratory Organisation
"We are testing AI and exploring opportunities."
Operational Organisation
"AI is changing how we work."
Strategic Organisation
"AI is a strategic capability."
Intelligent Organisation™
"Intelligence is how we operate."
The IMI™ assesses six interdependent dimensions that together determine your organisation's intelligence maturity. Scored 0 to 100. Completed by the senior leadership team collectively, not by a single respondent. The result is a map of where you genuinely stand, not where you think you stand. Strength in one dimension is not enough. Sustainable AI success comes from balance and continuous improvement across all six.
Leadership
Leadership vision, alignment, and commitment to AI. The tone set at the top determines how far adoption travels.
Capability
The skills, knowledge, and confidence of your people to use AI effectively. Includes practical tool proficiency and critical evaluation of outputs.
Governance
Policies, ethics, risk management, and responsible AI practices. Governance is what makes adoption sustainable, not what slows it down.
Integration
AI embedded in processes, systems, and workflows to create value. The test: is AI changing how work actually gets done, or still sitting in a pilot?
Measurement
Data, metrics, and KPIs to track performance and prove impact. You cannot manage what you cannot measure.
Culture
Mindset, behaviours, collaboration, and a culture that embraces change. The hardest dimension to shift, and the most important to sustain.
Five maturity levels
Level 1
Reactive
0-20
Level 2
Exploratory
21-40
Level 3
Operational
41-60
Level 4
Strategic
61-80
Level 5
Intelligent Org™
81-100
The Six IMI™ Dimensions
IMI™ Maturity Radar
IMI™ Assessment Dashboard
The Path to Level 5: The Intelligent Organisation™
IMI™ Heat Map
The ALIGN™ Framework
Organisational AdoptionAligning People, Process, Culture and Technology for Sustainable AI Adoption.
Assess
Understand where your organisation actually stands on AI readiness.
Learn
Build AI literacy at executive, manager, and workforce levels.
Integrate
Embed AI into real workflows and decision-making.
Govern
Create guardrails that protect without killing innovation.
Normalise
Make AI part of culture until it becomes the default.
ALIGN™ is a five-stage organisational method for leaders serious about sustainable AI adoption. It moves an organisation from understanding where it stands, through building genuine capability and embedding AI into real work, to the point where AI is simply how the organisation operates. The cycle is continuous: Normalise feeds back into a more sophisticated Assess. The goal is the Intelligent Organisation™.
Assess
Before anything else, understand the organisation's true AI maturity using IMI™. Most organisations overestimate where they are. An honest assessment sets a realistic baseline and prevents wasted investment in the wrong priorities.
Learn
Build AI literacy at every level: executive, manager, and frontline. Literacy is not tool training. It is the ability to think clearly about where AI adds value, where it does not, and what governance it requires.
Integrate
Embed AI into real workflows and decision-making processes. The test is simple: is it changing how work actually gets done, or is it still sitting in a pilot? Integration means operational change, not experimentation.
Govern
Create guardrails that protect the organisation without killing momentum. Governance covers data privacy, bias risk, accountability, and human oversight. It is not a blocker. It is what makes adoption sustainable.
Normalise
AI becomes the default way of working. It is no longer a project or an initiative. It is simply how the organisation thinks, decides, and operates. At this point, the organisation is on the path to the Intelligent Organisation™.
