Your business can benefit from having rules and responsibilities outlined in a single place where everyone can find that information. By doing this, you increase the likelihood of people adhering to those policies and understanding their rights if something negative happens at work.
Your employee handbook can help protect your business, too, because it will go over uniforms, best practices and other details that all employees should know. If they ever have a grievance, having the book show that everyone is being treated equally can be a great help.
What’s the purpose of an employee handbook?
The main reason that your company should have a handbook is because it holds all the policies, working conditions, procedures and expectations you have for your employees. In your handbook, you will want to include any information that is meant to dictate how the company is run, such as your company-wide policies and mission statements.
Your handbook goes over these items to make sure there is clarity between yourself, your management team and other employees. A good handbook creates a better culture, because the policies inside are defined well, are easy to understand and keep things simple between all departments.
What should you include in your employee handbook?
In your employee handbook, it’s a good idea to include:
- Your company’s missions, values and overall vision.
- Your company’s policies and what you expect out of your employees.
- Information on how you enforce violations of company policy.
- Conduct and performance details.
- How you’ll handle conflicts and who workers should contact if a conflict arises.
- Employee expectations, such as when you expect them to be at work or what you expect them to wear.
In a solid employee handbook, the details will be so thorough that your company can use it as a way to minimize risk. Any time questions about policies arise, you want to have clear answers there in that handbook or clear methods for finding answers when necessary.
If an employee is disgruntled or frustrated, your handbook could help prevent a lawsuit or other problem that could arise with unclear expectations. Making sure it’s legal and follows the rules from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (among other entities) is essential.