Do you want to spend less time repeating your business’ procedures, such as termination policies, dress codes, facility information, etc? If so, then you should create an employee handbook.
A comprehensive handbook establishes a transparent relationship between the employer and its employees. If you’re working on creating such an employee handbook for your business, here is our advice.
How to Create an Employee Handbook
Building an employee handbook requires a deliberate compilation of business policies. Most of its content is easy enough to obtain, but you have to format it in a digestible and shortened manner. Here are four points you should consider during the process:
1. Cover Only the Essentials
If your employee handbook is long, bulky, and complicated, it’s unlikely that your staff will finish reading it. You should use simple language that is understood by everyone and cover the essentials succinctly.
2. Format It in an Attractive and Simple Manner
Formal documents are usually written in uninteresting, authoritative language. If you add standard formatting with a lack of illustrations to this, hardly anyone will read it. Instead, be more creative and experiment while respecting your brand guidelines.
3. Ask Employees to Confirm They’ve Received and Read It
Having an employee handbook can easily be taken for granted if you don’t request employees to confirm that they have actually opened it. The moment you ask them to sign a recorded confirmation, they’ll be more inclined to study the contents. You can send it through email and collect receipts.
4. Include Rewarding and Innovative Ways to Read It
Mentioning the existence of a handbook superficially during team gatherings will hardly get your employees to read it. A good way to draw their attention is by using the content of the handbook during “happy hours” or business events, through quizzes or questionnaires, and providing employee rewards and recognition in return for those who do well.
The Benefits of an Employee Handbook
Here are some reasons why your business needs an employee handbook:
- Mission, values and culture. It’s considered to be one of the most important aspects of your employee handbook. It encourages workers to feel a sense of belonging and pride which should help them become more productive in a shorter period of time.
- Privileges. If your business offers paid parental leave or health insurance to employees it may help you to retain the brightest members of your staff. So, make sure they know about these benefits packages and communicate them in the handbook.
- Management and leadership. If your employee handbook provides objectives, best management practices and leadership styles, it will foster healthy management-employee relationships.
Final thoughts
When thinking of an employee handbook, the idea of having to include your business’ entire vision and values seems daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Employee handbooks can be simple and minimalistic and you can add new policies when they come into effect, effectively shaping your handbook as your business grows.
You can make relevant employment policies for your business with Rocket Lawyer, or make use of the Bespoke drafting service for tailored policies. If you have any questions or concerns about employee handbooks, do not hesitate to Ask a lawyer.
- How to Create Your Perfect Employee Handbook - 30/06/2022
