The Value of Employee Handbooks

An employee handbook can be a valuable communication resource for both the employer and the employee. It provides guidance and information related to the organization’s history, mission, values, policies, procedures and benefits in a written format. Having one organized place filled with branding and operational resources for your team to refer to is paramount in delivering a consistent message to your audience while also giving you the ability to hold your team accountable to maintaining the company’s core values.

“Many issues can be avoided by putting an employee handbook in place.” 

The Purpose of Employee Handbooks

Employee handbooks serve many purposes – they promote a company’s culture, articulate the company’s discretionary employment policies and help prevent future employment-related litigation. While there are many benefits to having an employee handbook, early-stage companies often aren’t ready and don’t have the resources to cementing their employment policies. For instance, when a company only has a handful of employees, it may not make sense to spend a great deal of time legally outlining a paid parental leave or remote working policies. But as they build out their teams, startups should prioritize creating an employee handbook to ensure they’re in compliance with the law, including disability leave, parental leave and sexual harassment laws. This is particularly important for early-stage startups, which don’t have dedicated HR teams.

Does your company have an employee handbook? Does it provide the value we’ve explained here? Or perhaps your company doesn’t yet have a handbook in place. We would love to be a resource for you. Email us to connect and explore the value in creating and utilizing an employee handbook.