What Is An Employee Handbook?
Employee handbooks are the perfect HR solution for small businesses. An employee handbook is essentially an all-in-one resource that contains your company policies, processes, procedures, and more to keep your team aligned, accountable, and productive.
What Does An Employee Handbook Include?
Every business is different, so each handbook will be customized to the business. For example, your handbook could include:
- General company information (e.g., core values, mission statement, business structure, etc.)
- Anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws
- Dress code and the code of conduct
- Employee benefits and perks
- Workplace safety and security
- Nondisclosure agreements and conflicts of interest
- Important disclaimers
- Disciplinary procedures
- And much more
With your custom employee handbook, your staff will have all the tools and resources they need to answer their pressing questions, stay consistent with your company workflows, and get their jobs done efficiently.
How You Benefit From A Custom Employee Handbook For Small Businesses
This supportive HR resource can be an absolute game-changer for your small business. Here are a few ways your organization can benefit from these handbooks.
1. Save Valuable Time
Try to imagine just how much time is wasted at your workplace due to inefficiencies, miscommunications, and putting out preventable fires. It's difficult to calculate for each company, but you can assume plenty of valuable time is being wasted at your company. One human resources study from Panopto found that:
- Employees waste 5.3 hours per week waiting for information or "reinventing the wheel"
- New hires waste 7 hours per week on "inefficient learning"
- And 85% of employees believe that knowledge preservation/sharing is very important
With a custom human resources handbook, your employees will always have access to the knowledge and resources they need. This way, your workers won't need to "reinvent the wheel" or waste precious time on poor onboarding practices.
2. Avoid Costly Lawsuits
In a given year, it's estimated that roughly 36%-53% of small businesses are involved in at least one litigation case (Forbes). It's an unfortunate reality that can end up costing small businesses thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. These civil litigation lawsuits can arise for many kinds of disputes, including:
- Workplace harassment or sexual harassment
- Violations of federal workplace discrimination laws
- Wrongful terminations
- And so on
Custom employee handbooks can help your growing business mitigate those lawsuits and legal risks. By outlining workplace policies, employment laws, and HR frameworks, you'll protect your business and manage your HR compliance.
3. Clearly Communicate Employee Expectations
Managing employee performance can be challenging, especially when you do it reactively. But with an HR handbook, your employees will know exactly what their responsibilities are and what's expected of them from their first day.
Your handbook will serve as a compass for your workers to help them navigate your policies and procedures. For instance, your handbook could communicate to your staff:
- How to properly request time off
- What to do when they have an unscheduled absence
- Proper safety procedures and evacuation protocols
- Basic timekeeping guidance
- And more
When you provide clear and accessible information directly to your workforce via these handbooks, you'll be able to proactively manage your employees' performance.
4. Align Your Workforce For Better Brand Representation
Do you have some employees who consistently follow and enforce policies and some who don't? This inconsistency can make your policies ineffective, damage your customer relations, and make your company appear to be unprofessional.
A handbook is a sure-fire way to correct those inconsistencies across your workforce. Your policies about employee conduct, workplace behavior, and more will be accurately communicated to your workers through your handbook. This will help ensure your employees are following proper procedures, making informed decisions for your business, and improving your brand image every day.
Leverage Your Custom Employee Handbook For Small Business
If you want to set your small business up for success with an HR handbook, reach out to us at CourtSide® Consulting today. We'll work closely with you to develop a fully customized employee handbook for your business, which will be delivered to your workforce within a week.
In addition to your handbooks, you'll gain access to our HR Support Center—a comprehensive suite of online tools and resources to help you manage your HR compliance and employee relationship issues. And for a little extra, you'll also gain unlimited access to our team of certified HR professionals who will answer all of your questions and create customized documents for your brand.
Contact CourtSide® Consulting today to learn more about our custom employee handbooks for small businesses.