Congratulations! You have successfully hired a new employee to join the workforce after a rigorous process. Now that they are in the office, what should they do? They have to learn about the company and its numerous details– from history to the perks and benefits of being a regular employee. One way to orient them about this is by giving them an employee handbook.
Employee handbooks are vital to an employee’s productivity. Make sure you create a detailed employee handbook with the help of our employee handbook outline examples.
An employee handbook is a book given to employees by their employers. The book contains information and company policy that they need to know during their employment. Things like the dress code and rules in the workplace are common topics for the handbook’s content. They are often a part of the welcome package that most companies hand to their new hires.
According to an article by Forbes, there are many mistakes the human resources department can do when writing an employee handbook. However, you can avoid it with the right tips and instructions. Continue reading our article for more ideas.
Having a planned outline to cover for your employee handbook will give you an easy time during the write-up. Some sections to include are the company mission-vision statement, company history, introductions, and at-will employment statement. Make the outline of the employee handbook focus on orienting them of the perks and benefits in becoming a regular employee for a start. With a clear direction for your handbook’s content you will be able to deliver the finished product in no time without getting off track.
Avoid making your handbook too wordy or lengthy otherwise, employees would get confused about what they are reading and would disregard the manual due to its complexity. Be creative in presenting the guidelines and policy so that your readers can easily understand the content. That way you can produce an effective employee handbook.
You must review the handbook from top to bottom to avoid loopholes and discrepancies in the process. If there are some policies that you think you lack and would want to add them, by all means. In reviewing the handbook, allow yourself consultation from several members of the company to help address some issues that they think need to be in the manual.
Some people are visual learners so take advantage of that fact. To make your employee handbook effective, you will need to incorporate visual designs to help hold your reader’s attention. You can start by including the logo in your handbook’s cover and include some graphic designs in the pages as well. You can make your content more informative by presenting them as infographics instead.
It is not mandated by law to give new employees a handbook technically. However, it is required to inform them of their rights, which you can do, adding content about it in the manual.
You write an employee handbook with the employees as the intended audience. In comparison, an HR manual serves as a reference for managers and supervisors when it comes to the handling of company policies.
The length of an employee handbook depends on how big the company is and how much the employee should know. Typically the layout runs between 32 and 65 pages on average.
There is no strict rule when it comes to producing an employee handbook so that get wrapped up in trying to make one. The tips mentioned above serve as a guide for making things easier for both you and the employer. There are some things that you can explain more in-depth when you list them down in a handbook. Doing this will give employees a better understanding of what they need to know about the company.
