People Lookup via Glean
When users ask about people in the organization, use Glean's employee search and activity signals to find the right person.
Tool Naming
See the glean-tools-guide skill for Glean MCP tool naming conventions. Tools follow the pattern mcp__glean_[server-name]__[tool] where the server name is dynamic. Use whatever Glean server is available in your tool list.
When This Applies
Use this approach when users ask:
- "Who works on [system/project]?"
- "Who is [name]?" or "What team is [name] on?"
- "Who should I talk to about [topic]?"
- "Who owns [component/service]?"
- "Who reports to [manager]?"
- "Find someone who knows about [technology]"
BE SKEPTICAL
Not everyone who appears in search results is a good recommendation.
Expertise Evidence Test
- Is there real evidence of expertise?
- ✅ STRONG: Multiple signals (code + docs + involvement)
- ⚠️ MODERATE: Single signal but significant
- ❌ WEAK: Just mentioned once, attended a meeting
Recency Test
- Are they actively involved?
- ✅ ACTIVE: Activity in past 6 months
- ⚠️ HISTORICAL: 6-12 months ago
- ❌ STALE: 12+ months - likely outdated
Availability Test
- Are they still in a relevant position?
- ✅ CURRENT: Same team/role
- ⚠️ MOVED: Changed teams but retains knowledge
- ❌ GONE: Left company or completely different role
Filter Out:
- Single mentions without other evidence
- People who just attended meetings on a topic
- Former employees
- People whose involvement is tangential
Quality over quantity: Better to recommend 2 right people than 10 weak matches.
Tool Selection
| User Intent | Glean Tool |
|---|---|
| Find by name, role, team | employee_search |
| Find by code contributions | code_search |
| Find by document authorship | search with owner: filter |
| Complex expertise analysis | chat |
Critical: Use employee_search for People Queries
Never use regular search for people lookups. The employee_search tool is specifically designed for:
- Name lookups
- Role/title searches
- Team/department queries
- Org chart navigation
- Reporting relationships
Query Examples
# Find by name
employee_search "John Smith"
# Find by team
employee_search "payments team"
# Find direct reports
employee_search "reportsto:\"Jane Doe\""
# Find by role type
employee_search "engineering managers"
# Find recent hires
employee_search "startafter:2024-01-01"Finding Expertise (Not Just Role)
For "who actually knows about X" questions, combine signals:
- Official role:
employee_search "[topic]" - Code activity:
code_search "[topic] owner:\"name\"" - Doc authorship:
search "[topic] RFC owner:\"name\""
People with multiple signals are true experts. Single-signal matches should be noted with lower confidence.
If No Good Matches Found
Don't pad with weak recommendations:
No strong expertise matches found for [topic].
**What was checked:**
- Employee search: [results]
- Code contributions: [results]
- Doc authorship: [results]
**Suggestions:**
- Ask in [relevant channel]
- Check with [related team] leadershipRelationship to Commands
For comprehensive expertise discovery, suggest:
/glean-people:find-expert <topic>- Multi-signal expertise analysis/glean-people:stakeholders <change>- Find who needs to be involved/glean-docs:onboarding <team>- Get to know a new team