An employee handbook is an employer-provided document outlining business policies, procedures, expectations, and other important information relevant to the employment relationship.

Primary Implication

A sport or game without rules gets old quickly.  Having too many rules can be stifling to all.  Having no rules is anarchy.  What you want are the standards you want to hold yourself and those in your employ accountable for following.

Your employee handbook is your rule book for how you want to play your game of business.  Do this, and those who want to play the game your way will stay.  Those that don’t will be more likely to leave.

Overview

Employee Handbooks are designed to provide each employee with information about company working conditions, employee benefits, and some of the policies affecting their employment.  Each employee should read, understand, and comply with all provisions of the handbook.  It describes many of the shared responsibilities you expect of an employee and outlines the programs developed by the company to benefit employees.

Below are the most common sections included in an Employee Handbook:

1. Organization Description
2. Welcome Message
3. Introduction
4. New Employee Information
5. Employee Relations
6. Work Place Conduct
7. Health and Safety
8. Internal Communications
9. Compensation
10. Benefits
11. Career Development
12. Civic Contributions
13. End of Employment
14. Employee Forms

No Employee Handbook must include every section identified above, nor can it anticipate every circumstance or question about company policies.  As your business continues to grow, the need will arise, and you should reserve the right to revise, supplement, or rescind any policies or portion of the handbook from time to time as it deems appropriate, including notification to employees of changes to the handbook as they occur.

Your Employee Handbook should also include two copies of your employee acknowledgment form that states something like the following to be signed by the employee for their records and placement in their personnel file:

“The employee handbook describes important information about “your company,” and I understand that I should consult the Human Resources Manager regarding any questions not answered in the handbook.  I have entered into my employment relationship with “your company” voluntarily and acknowledge that there is no specified length of employment.  Accordingly, either “your company” or I can terminate the relationship at will, with or without cause, at any time, so long as there is no violation of applicable federal or state law.

Since the information, policies, and benefits described here are subject to change.  I acknowledge that revisions to the handbook may occur, except to “your company” policy of employment-at-will.  All such changes will be communicated through official notices, and I understand that revised information may supersede, modify, or eliminate existing policies.  Only the chief executive officer of “your company” can adopt any revisions to the policies in this handbook.

Furthermore, I acknowledge that this handbook is neither a contract of employment nor a legal document.  I have received the handbook, and I understand that it is my responsibility to read and comply with the policies contained in this handbook and any revisions made to it.”

Failure to have an employee handbook robs you of the opportunity to hold your employees accountable for their behavior.  It also makes it challenging to practice progressive discipline because you don’t have documented standards and employment policies.

The flip side of having one is you and your management team need to model the stated standards to have credibility in enforcing violations to the handbook, or all you have is a doorstop that everybody will walk past and ignore on your way to realizing lower sales and profits than you should.