This has become increasingly important with the advances in technology and an increase in remote working. It states your legal obligations as an employer and the rights of your employees. Consistent design is key for creating professional branded internal comms documents. It also helps to examine effective employee handbooks developed by other businesses. Its about the conditions your employees work in. Define "excessive" absenteeism and "habitual" lateness. In this employee handbook example various icons have been used to create a living room scene such as an arm chair and a coffee table. Country or State specific policies, even newsletters, and many many more. What are some workforce trends I should be aware of as I plan for 2023? How often should you update your employee handbook? Create an account and start building on the PeopleGoal platform. Employee handbooks can help new employees feel at home in their work environments. Table of Contents. It is important to ensure the employee handbook is easy to find for everyone. If youre stuck, weve identified the following essential elements for you to include: You should include your health and safety policy as part of your employee handbook. How To Create an Employee Handbook - The Balance Small Business This is one of the sections employees will care about the most. Hubspot also puts its handbook on SlideShare, demonstrating its commitment to transparency. The handbook guarantees uniformity in how employees are handled; managers and business owners can consult it when responding to employee inquiries, making decisions, or enacting performance-related remedial measures. Valve also explains its hierarchy which is flat allowing its employee's to pick their projects, which this modern approach to work is supported by Valves slightly "off-beat" approach to its handbook. Browse the Venngage employee handbook templates and get started creating your handbook today. Should your business have an employee handbook? Tip: Be creative! 1:05 AM PST February 22, 2023. Employee handbooks typically include three categories of content:. However, if they are minor or non-detrimental and they are not part of the contract of employment, they can be updated in line with current legislation as and when required, without having to obtain your employee's agreement. They should set out exactly what a company believes . At all levels and stages within your company, employee handbooks can be beneficial. Therefore, it's advised to have a handbook already in place before you begin the onboarding process of any potential employees. Its important that the colors you use in your employee handbook reflect your organization and your company culture. Employee Handbooks Save Money Inspiring HR Alongside this, if you include elements or expand upon anything found in the employee contract in the handbook, this will be deemed as part of the contract, and is legally binding. This is usually being informative, clear, easy (& enjoyable!) For best results, consult with your legal team. The employee handbook will help employees understand how their workplace functions, what is expected of them as well as job expectations. Beyond the importance of protecting your company from litigation, your handbook says a lot about the culture and expectations of your business, for new and old employees alike. Its likely: often, employees arent aware of the full extent of benefits and perks your company offers. #3 - HR Employee Handbook. The company handbook can begin with an introduction to the company, setting out your organisation's aims and ethos. Feb 07, 2023 4:23 am EST Employees On 2/7/23 I visited the Save-A-Lot at 3333 Manchester Road Akron Ohio, I noticed as usual the employees with dirty raggedy clothes, this is the case every time that I go there, employees looking more like they are working at a auto repair shop and not a food store. Staff Handbook Template (What To Include?) - DavidsonMorris We have employees from all around to world, so we wanted to make somethingreadable, digestible and entertaining - Fisher (CEO). Next we cover the fundamentals of employee handbooks, plus offer 7 handbook examples you can learn from. Tailor your employee handbook to your business, A New Way to Approach Employee Performance Reviews, Compensation Best Practices (HR Checklist + Guide), HR Checklist for Remote Hiring and Onboarding, Allows you to formalize your employment policies and procedures, Helps you develop consistent policies and procedures, keeping all team members on the same page, Decreases the risk of employee complaints and lawsuits, such as employees claiming you did not tell them about their workplace rights. Companies should review their employee manual annually at the very least to ensure it is reflective of societys unavoidable changes. Its also worth noting here that certain country-specific employment laws may require you to have an official employee handbook outlining mandatory work rules. This covers the details on how your organisations will not tolerate and then will deal with harassment or discrimination in the workplace. They may be set by us or by third party providers. Focus on the language and tone you're using - make sure to focus on the positives, address employees as "you" and "we", and include a dose of humor if possible. In this employee handbook example icons have been used to help show new employees what they can expect on their first day at the company. Mix and match fonts within your employee handbook to create an interesting design, like in this Starbucks employee handbook example. Employers give this to employees to clarify their rights and responsibilities while they're employed with the company. The ultimate guide to recruiting & onboarding for SMEs, Access over 600 HR consultants nationwide, Registered in England, Company Number 3020608, Copyright 2023 Centurion, all rights reserved. It should provide staff with information on how they should communicate issues of harassment, discrimination, absence and other human resource matters. Then, publish your employee handbook online. Each company is different. After reading the handbook, they should have a solid understanding of the company, including how things are done and whats expected of them. Discrimination and harassment are both things that we should never tolerate in a workplace. This is where examples come in. This means . An employee handbook is an official document that outlines your organization's policies and procedures. Download the full Employee Handbook template in .doc and pdf format by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. Starting a new position in a new company can often seem overwhelming, with lots of new faces, information, and policies to learn. Our employee handbook templates are inspired from real-life handbooks published by top brands. This will ensure you include all necessary materials to make your handbook effective. Maternity, paternity and parental leave information. #5 - Company Employee Handbook. This template includes a skeleton of common employee handbook topics for large enterprise businesses in the U.S. that need to cover major policies and procedures and communicate across distributed teams operating in multiple locations. 6 min read| The latest insights on today's world of work straight to your inbox. Keep your employees in mind by highlighting the most important information foremost. Here are the contents of our Employment Basics template: This section describes what your workplace is and should be like. Including it in your handbook will be useful as a reference to ensure all employees are aware. Also, feel free to modify this templates language to match your companys culture. With Breathes HR software all your company's important files are securely stored in one instantly accessible place. Having an employee handbook isnt something some employers think about until theres a pressing need. Download this free comprehensive guide and calendar with 100+ key dates, deadlines, and reminders for HR staff. We do have a founder/president, but even he isn't your manager. 2. Existing employees should get a copy of the handbook each time it is updated. Make sure your table of contents is also clearly laid out. Think of your policy manual as your terms and conditions document. It outlines what to expect when going through these processes and what are the relevant actions they need to take. Share Your Experiences Save-A-Lot Food Stores It has a strong balance between personality and professionalism. This has led to a huge number of our employees staying with us for many years and have actively used, been rewarded or taken part in many of the benefits, extras and memberships we tell you about. New to graphic design and not sure how to effectively use icons? Employee Handbooks SHRM offers two options for creating an Employee Handbook for your company: a free sample template, or a premium, customizable online service. Americas: +1 857 990 9675 Thats why were breaking down the process for you and offering you 7 employee handbook examples. Especially if theres a disciplinary process involved. Austin Fraser. If there is complex information, consider adding a glossary to define concepts or terms. Houston took a comedic approach to their employee handbook with witty text telling their new employees it will be ok. Our free downloadable employee handbook sample was created by one of our in-house HR experts and covers policies all businesses should consider for their own handbook. Not only that, this handy document can help foster a positive workplace culture and, on occasion, help you out legally. Youll never lose a document againand nor will your employees! How can I incorporate fair chance hiring into my DEI strategy? Insure company cars with a reliable insurance provider. Read our Employee handbook sample here . We created a Leaving our company template to address relevant issues. Protect your business, codify your culture: the benefits of an employee Include rules for meals and breaks, PTO, minimum wage, overtime, and fair workweek, for instance. A good way to make sure you dont miss anything is to use colors to indicate when a section still needs work, like in this employee handbook example: At the end of the day, creating an in-depth and updated handbook is a collaborative process. An employee handbook is beneficial to stay on track and have clear communication between employees. It is comprehensive but spaced out to promote digestibility, and also contains a humorous tone with jokes and puns throughout. 3 May, 2021 Anti-discrimination, anti-harassment and ethics policies also need to be covered in terms of online presence. It contains relevant information about the company and it serves as a reference for any employees who have questions about the policies and procedures of the company. While these do not have to be in the handbook, its worth including them to make sure you and your employees have all the information they need in one place. Youll outline how you expect employees to treat others, whether theyre colleagues, partners, customers or external stakeholders. How to Create an Employee Handbook | Company Policies | Employsure These policies give information to employees about your expectations of them. Workest is powered by Zenefits. Toptal has over a decade of experience operating as a remote company. How to convert an employee handbook to SharePoint library with metadata Use Website In a Screen-Reader Mode Focus the handbook on sections employees will care about most. However, you will find that some points you should include in an employee handbook are required by law, such as a health and safety policy or data protection policy. Using visuals also helps retain your readers attention. Only limited material is available in the selected language. Save time with our employee handbook creator's HRIS partnerships, or manually import them via CSV file. What is the difference between an employee handbook and a policy manual? Planet42, a South Africa-based car subscription company that buys . Lets take a closer look at these reasons below. Think about the presentation of your handbook - take your time with the layout and format making sure to engage employees visually. The handbook acts as an employee manual. So, start building your employee handbook today! Save A Lot . January 23, 2023 Employee handbooks are the go-to documents within every company. Nordstroms employee handbook consists ofone simple rule, Use good judgment in all situations. While this doesnt capture all the information a company may need to convey, we admire the brevity and simplicity. Once you have picked a design style and have your outline and information locked down you can start to pull together your employee handbook. Welcome new employees to the team. A comprehensive employee handbook presentation can inform new hires and get them excited to work for the company. Sometimes known as an employee manual, staff handbook, company policy manual or even a culture code, employee handbooks are given to new hires after their acceptance of an offer letter. It is a great tool for clearly mapping out your company's ethos, values, and expectations of its employees. Here are six areas that can help you kick-start a strong employee handbook. In this employee handbook example dark grey triangles and green accent elements have been used throughout, creating a modern but eye catching design. It's a document that communicates your company's culture, expectations and rules of employment. As a company you should already have one, and by including it in your employee handbook you will provide a reference to employees who are seeking that information. ), but you dont need to outline the nitty gritty details in your handbook. An employee handbook, also known as an employee manual, is an essential document that every business needs to have. 12 Effective Performance Review Examples [+ Tips From an HR Manager]. Step 4: Share your finished employee handbook. With the Venngage My Brand Kit tool, Business users can upload their company fonts, color palettes, and logos and see them instantly applied to their employee handbook template. Laura Sands, Manage, develop & retain talent with HR software that helps your business grow, Keep holiday management simple & stress-free, Take the stress out of managing your employee holiday calendar, Track absences with valuable data at your fingertips, Record sicknesses in seconds & monitor absence trends, Keep everything in one place & see your HR tasks at a glance, Dig deeper into your HR data with powerful reports, Recognise achievements, promote growth & drive productivity, Breeze through your HR workload with an overview of tasks, Keep track of whos working where & manage office capacity, Export payroll-ready data & save valuable time on admin, Store HR documents safely in the cloud with unlimited storage, Keep sensitive data safe & leave filing cabinets behind, Record overtime in a few clicks & manage important projects, Seamlessly integrate Breathe with software you use everyday, Leave paper in the past and say hello to the new, smarter way to schedule shifts, Submit, approve & report all in one, easy-to-use tool, Publish new vacancies, collect applications & shortlist candidates, Upskill your team & educate your people on important topics, Intuitive timesheet software designed especially for SMEs, Effortlessly record when your team start & finish their shifts, Manage your personnel budget the easy way, Simple employee self-service with the Breathe - People Portal mobile app, Enjoy seamless scheduling & team communication, Around-the-clock visibility of who's working & when, Simple scheduling software. You need to show that you have a firm commitment to creating a diverse workplace if you want your business to prosper and to attract talent. Discover eight employee handbook examples you can draw inspiration from in this post. That being said, writing a great employee handbook relies on a thorough understanding of the company and its culture. A policy manual, on the other hand, is a document that tells your employees how to do things, and may include more technical information. An employee handbook, staff handbook or handbook for employees, is a collection of an employer's policies, practices and procedures in one accessible document. Essentially, it's an HR manual that employees can refer to when they have questions about benefits, holidays, company culture and more. Zaarly Employee Handbook is very similar to Sterlings, in that its a webpage with lots of colour and simple text. Tip: Use Netflix's "straight to the point" approach to keep your handbook efficient. The terminology should be familiar to your audience and easy to understand. What actually is a handbook for employees? Free Online Employee Handbook Templates | Adobe Express An employee handbook is a document created by Human Resources. A comprehensive employee handbook typically includes the following elements: Hire anyone, anywherethen manage them all in one place with powerful tools that keep up with you. In doing so, employee handbooks help to establish a culture where issues can be dealt with fairly and consistently. These include: Whistleblowing policy Bribery Act policy Maternity, paternity and adoption policies Color psychology is something you might not have heard of, but will have certainly experienced. From dress code to PTO policy and parking guidelines to reimbursement processes, a handbook is the most effective way to aggregate and share important information. If you are a large organization with hundreds of employees, your employee handbook will likely be much larger and thorough than the employee handbook distributed within smaller and/or less bureaucratic companies. After all, what good is unactionable data? Employee Handbook Templates - Customize & Download | Visme An Employee Handbook can make new hires feel supported and confident as well as improving work ethic from day one. Tip: Use rich visuals and a little bit of humour to keep your employees engaged like Hubspot. FILL OUT OUR SURVEY. Therefore, your employee handbook should address the unique elements of your business, including company values and objectives. It also explains the consequences of poor behavior. Code of conduct. Ive also included premade employee handbook templates and lots of employee handbook examples. Items can change for an overwhelming amount of reasons. If the employee has signed off on these in agreement, these standards can be used legally. Here are a few tips for this: An employee handbook is an essential for any business. See below for examples on what to include in your employee handbook. It uses concise language and focuses on the most important sections such as values, policies, and business models. Your harassment policy should clearly state what is expected of employees in regard to their behaviour. Perhaps most important, the handbook outlines how employees are compensated and the benefits they will receive, including overtime. This approach might not work for everybody, but if your company prides itself on its wit, sarcasm, and tongue in cheek approach to communications then this could work for you. An employee handbook (also known as an employee manual or staff handbook) is a document outlining a business's rules, policies, and expectations for their employees. It contains everything about everything that anybody might need to know about working within your organization. Access all our Free calculators, helping you save time. Why should you create an employee handbook? Employee self-service and seamless Benefits management. But in the end, its vital to tailor your employee handbook to your own business requirements. Employee onboarding is a crucial stage in all employees career cycle. New employees should receive a hard copy of the handbook on their first day. Just as some colors like red and orange feel warm to us, they also feel friendly and welcoming. Companies could use this one-rule approach as a starting point and elaborate from there. Some employers are revamping their employee handbooks with big, bold graphics and a conversational writing style to make the manuals fresh, readable and engaging. Whether legally required or not, there are many reasons companies choose to have one. Go through your blank employee handbook filling out information and adding sections. AirMason | Digital Employee Handbook Software Our benefits and perks template includes the following sections (but do add your own unique benefits and perks): Related:Employee benefits: A guide on common and best benefits. Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how youre using our website. Ours is included in all employment offer letters, in the onboarding process and pinned on Slack. Employees of Saver Group, Inc will not be allowed to wear the following: 1. Aimee Brougham-Chandler, 14 December, 2022 by Maintaining that the employee manual is accurate and up-to-date is essential in ensuring your employees are well-informed of policies and procedures and that your business is achieving the cultural benefits of having an employee handbook in the first place. For existing employees, the handbook serves as a point of reference they can turn to whenever they need certain workplace information, such as payroll procedures or their employment rights. The first major section of your employee handbook contains employee policies. South African car subscription service Planet42 raises $100M equity, debt. Columns are a great way to keep readers engaged in your writing. It provides new hires and employees with information about the company, such as its: Mission Vision Values Policies Procedures Working conditions Code of conduct/behavioral expectations Your Guide to Creating the Ultimate Employee Handbook - The Motley Fool The importance of an Employee Handbook and Contract of Employment We keep detailed records of our company cars with manufacturing date and mileage. Thus, while a list of rules of conduct and a summary of benefits are important information, you should evaluate your handbook on its ability to help your organization meet its objectives. Calculator overtime pay for your employees quickly. What is an employee handbook? Alongside this, employee handbooks will inform employees of what is expected of them in terms of their performance and work standards. It is very extensive and includes future policies about how they plan to scale, which is expected from such a large and fast growing company. ), so make sure that you break down complicated information into easy to manage chunks. How to Write an Employee Handbook with Examples - Document360 This should include: A clear code of conduct section will help you in those difficult conversations with an employee who is not meeting requirements, allowing you to refer back to it for support. Once you have selected what to include, you can lay out a table of contents. Ideally, every employee should be introduced to the employee handbook on their first day during theonboarding processand have easy access to the document throughout their time at the company. A Complete Guide to Employee Handbooks for HR Professionals - CareerAddict A health and safety policy will include information on who their health and safety reps are, risk assessments and the health and safety equipment. The employee handbook can go by many names such as: staff or employee manual, employee field guide, and culture code. (Note: this company car policy is available at all times in the employee handbook of our employee app, Connecteam). How to Write an Employee Handbook [Examples + Tips] - Venngage #1 - Employee Onboarding Handbook. In some cases, an employee handbook can help defend the company against employee claims. Ready to get started creating your employee handbook? Put simply, you should update your employee handbook every time something within your workplace changes. Shows what employees can expect from their management. Close your employee handbook on a positive note though. 8 Employee Handbook Examples You Should Steal From. While you might not include an entire section about towels, your employee handbook is one hundred percent your Dont Panic document. Is an employee handbook a legal requirement? But weve all been there on the first day of a new job, overwhelmed by new information. Neither the author nor Workable will assume any legal liability that may arise from the use of these templates. What to Include In an Employee Handbook | Inc.com It provides new hires and employees with information about the company, such as its: For new hires, this information is vital to getting started on their 1st day. The 7 examples we provided above give some insight into how to create an attractive handbook that employees will want to read. In this example the color palette is very simple, just whites, greys, and a pop of green, which looks modern and clean. Employee handbooks and policy manuals can seem similar, but they are two very different things. Employee relations is simple to define, but difficult to implement. Here are some employee handbook design top tips: Use icons, images, tables, illustrations, graphs and charts in your employee handbook to break up your content to make it engaging and interesting to look at. On top of those weve mentioned, there are a number of other elements that you should be aware of. An employee handbook contains so much information that it can be quite overwhelming, so avoid large blocks of text whenever possible. Employee Performance, 15 February, 2023 by More specifically, that would be Kenneth McGrath, former CEO of Lidl, Aldi's main competitor in the European market. PDF Personal Appearance & Dress Code Include policies such as anti-harassment and health and safety in your employee handbook to build a lawful and pleasant workplace where your employees can thrive. In this employee handbook example the paragraphs are brief and written simply, so that everybody can understand the information being shared. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not. The document is given to all new starters to ensure onboarding best practices are met. This means that the handbook can offer both legal and non-legal value, through covering these rights and mitigating any potential conflict within the company by clearly stating the expectations and protocols from day one. Employee Handbook: Guide for Small Businesses [+Free Sample] She has been a valued writer for Workest since 2019. Type Industry Role Employee Handbooks 10 MarketingHub Employee Handbook Create a stunning resource for your new employees using this employee handbook template. without them you wouldnt be able to use Venngage. The much-circulated Valve employee handbook (PDF) explains: "Nobody 'reports to' anybody else. To make keeping track of most current copies, you could use a version code for your handbooks. Policies on: vacation time, paid time, sick leave. What should I be thinking about if I'm looking to expand my workforce globally? Learning about the companys history, mission, and core values can increase employee engagement and loyalty. Certain countries require you to have an official employee handbook outlining mandatory work rules by law. What are some strategies to manage employees who work virtually? Provides basic explanation of the beginning and the end of an employees career cycle. Is there a way I can simplify my employee income verification process? For example, if you are dismissing an employee for discrimination or harassment, you can refer to the employee handbook and the employee performance standards set within. If youre creating an employee handbook for the first time, it can be beneficial to speak to members of senior management. Some larger organizations will have an in house design team, but if youre faced with designing the company employee handbook by yourself a premade template can be a great place to start.