6 min read| Make sure you take the time to preplan to contents of your employee handbook before diving in. 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. Tip: Want your company to feel connected? Mix and match fonts within your employee handbook to create an interesting design, like in this Starbucks employee handbook example. Here are six areas that can help you kick-start a strong employee handbook. Save-A-Lot was sold by Supervalu in late 2016 to Onex Corporation for $1.4 billion, and it wasn't long after that they brought in a secret weapon an Aldi nemesis. If you havent devoted the time to writing and designing an employee handbook yetyoure likely not the only one. Start your free 14-day trial today to start transforming your HR process. Employee handbooks typically include three categories of content:. Our brain loves lists for a lot of different reasons (this New Yorker article is a good round up! Establishing a high-performance culture will help create a positive employee experience and boost overall company performance. Using humor in the workplace can be hugely beneficial for your employees. Its a lot easier to know how your handbook should look when you have real-world examples to work from. Their employee handbook is genuine, tip-centered, and human. These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. Inspired by these employee handbook examples? Tip: Make your handbook interactive by using links throughout. This allows the new starter to know exactly what to expect immediately without being overwhelmed with information. Workest is powered by Zenefits. In this employee handbook example dark grey triangles and green accent elements have been used throughout, creating a modern but eye catching design. This could include clauses that protect employees from discrimination and only hire or dismiss employees based on merit and work performance. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your Similar to Hubspot Netflix's employee handbook uses slide shares to create an easy-to-digest format. This could include information on dress code, vacation time, and procedures. Ideally, every employee should be introduced to the employee handbook on their first day during the onboarding process and have easy access to the document throughout their time at the company. What should be included in an employee handbook will vary by company depending on the company size and industry. On top of those weve mentioned, there are a number of other elements that you should be aware of. This should include details of all the disciplinary rules, including giving disciplinary warnings, disciplinary meetings, appeals and what constitutes gross misconduct. This helps them approach their work with more confidence and increases their efficiency right off the bat. Youll outline how you expect employees to treat others, whether theyre colleagues, partners, customers or external stakeholders. 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. FILL OUT OUR SURVEY. Access templates for an offer letter, welcome letter, and announcement to your team. It states explicit expectations on usage and behaviour of the companies devices. 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. Put simply, you should update your employee handbook every time something within your workplace changes. The Save-A-Lot management team includes Bill Shaner (PresidentandCEO), Frank Kerr (Vice President Of Retail Operations), and Mark Lacey (SVP of Human Resources and Governance, Risk and Compliance) . Tell us what *you* think of our resources and what youd like to see here in 2023. How can I incorporate fair chance hiring into my DEI strategy? Learning about the companys history, mission, and core values can increase employee engagement and loyalty. It uses wonderfully colorful children's illustration to bring to life this 7 page handbook. Your employee handbook should be an evergreen resource within your company, with employees referring back to it regularly. In this example the color palette is very simple, just whites, greys, and a pop of green, which looks modern and clean. Companies could use this one-rule approach as a starting point and elaborate from there. While a small business may have a differing handbook than a large corporation they all should share a few similar qualities included in their employee handbook's. SHRM offers two options. A good handbook addresses Standards of Conduct, Performance Expectations, Evaluation processes, Attendance standards, Open Door and Concern Resolution processes, Zero Tolerance for Harassment or Discrimination, Confidentiality requirements, establishes your "at-will" relationship, and specifies other day to day, on-the-job responsibilities for Always seek expert advice when in doubt. For example, in your employee handbook you will tell your employees that they can work remotely for one month each (one of the perks at Venngage! What should I be thinking about if I'm looking to expand my workforce globally? 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. To help you build the best employee handbook, we crafted a template to give you a headstart in creating your own document. It uses concise language and focuses on the most important sections such as values, policies, and business models. In this employee handbook example an entire page has been dedicated to what to expect on the employees first day. See store hours and weekly ad for low price, quality groceries every day. Employee handbooks and policy manuals are often confused for one another. Disqus' culture book has a great balance between legal policies and company culture, starting with the legal stuff, like employment law. The employee handbook is typically provided to new hires. Once youve carefully crafted your employee handbook, its time to get it seen. How can I help my hiring team provide a great candidate experience? Having an employee handbook isnt something some employers think about until theres a pressing need. In a nutshell, a well-thought-out employee handbook makes it easy to answer any questions an employee may have, including summaries of all company policies. Watch: Everything you need to know about icons (in less than 3 minutes). Americas: +1 857 990 9675 You will need a firm understanding of your companys foundation, mission, core values, employment law requirements, and more. It is an essential resource so it is important to get it right. Read our top 10 Employee Handbooks to be inspired! We do have a founder/president, but . Hopefully, this top 10 has given you some inspiration on your own employee handbook! Tage Kene-Okafor. We crafted a template to help you build out your Workplace policies section. Join the Workest community to ask questions in our community, bookmark articles, and receive our weekly email, People Operations Checklist for New Hire Onboarding. They are best placed to tell you if the handbook is readable and whether the user experience is excellent or needs improvement. They may be set by us or by third party providers. However, what they all have in common is that they are a document that should be given to the employee on their first day. Some key takeaways are: keep it easy to read, make it interesting, and make sure it represents your company as its one of the first official documents your new hires will read. Learn about Save-A-Lot Food Stores Paid Holidays, including a description from the employer, and comments and ratings provided anonymously by current and former Save-A-Lot Food Stores employees. 3. Please check your login credentials and try again. January 23, 2023 Employee handbooks are the go-to documents within every company. It also lists what employees can expect from the employer. All employees should have read the manual to understand and accept its contents. Austin Fraser. 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. It's a roadmap of how they should act, and it speaks to your company . Go through your blank employee handbook filling out information and adding sections. Words in brackets are placeholders -- substitute them with your companys specific guidelines. To make keeping track of most current copies, you could use a version code for your handbooks. Shows what employees can expect from their management. 2023 PeopleGoal, Inc. All rights reserved. Ive also included premade employee handbook templates and lots of employee handbook examples. There is a lot of information that employees need to know when starting a new company. Employsure can help you draft workplace policies, procedures and documents such as a Handbook. How do people fit into the idea of 'emorational' decisions? TheHubspot manualmade it on this list because it does so much using a standard PowerPoint style. Consistent design is key for creating professional branded internal comms documents. Step 2: Design your employee handbook using a template Here are a few tips for this: Employee handbooks should be designed to do more than just communicate information and answer routine questions; your handbook should help you achieve your organizational goals and objectives. Save A Lot . Customize your favorite one with your own brand style, and download, embed or share instantly. The very best employee handbooks serve as the living, breathing embodiment of a company's internal culture. Though the information included in every employee handbook fit into a set of common categories, the depth that companies will go into within each category is dependent on various factors such as company size, company industry, company location(s), company culture, etc. This will ensure you include all necessary materials to make your handbook effective. The policy is required by law if you have a business of five or more employees. We created a Leaving our company template to address relevant issues. It would also be useful to cover areas such as overtime, working hours and family medical packages. 9. Then, publish your employee handbook online. Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how youre using our website. It should then explain your company's employment policies. Easily share documents with employees and access them from anywhere to streamline your HR admin. Weave In Your Brand Tone of Voice Throughout Your branding shouldn't just apply to external materials - it should also be written into the DNA of all internal comms. Your business's code of conduct is the first place employees should look when they have questions about ethics and compliance. This is the case in Japan, France, and Belgium. If your company would like to create a custom illustration but you dont have budget, a really simple way to do so is to layer icons on top of each other to create a scene. Download. Victoria Clarke is the former People & Culture Manager at Venngage. For employees, a well-constructed, thorough and well-written handbook lets them know the company's expectations for . It sets the boundaries, areas to be measured by, important policies, procedures and structure. Americas: +1 857 990 9675 Of course if you have brand fonts it is important to use them. To break it down, the benefits of an employee handbook include: Ultimately no, an employee handbook is not a legal requirement for your company. Zaarly Employee Handbook is very similar to Sterlings, in that its a webpage with lots of colour and simple text. 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. Valve's handbook is a go to example shown by it going viral in 2012. An employees signature on an employee handbook will show that they acknowledge the company's policy and agree to abide by them. The merge request feature enables anyone to suggest improvements or add clarifications, and the issues option is for asking questions. Employee handbooks are incredibly effective in maintaining a positive workplace culture and integrating newcomers into the team. This has become increasingly important with the advances in technology and an increase in remote working. device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. A table of contents is also a great way for your employees to quickly skip to a section. Document all intended employment policies and procedures and collect them in a policies and procedures manual. As the company grows, having a source of truth regarding processes, codes of conduct, and behaviors becomes integral to preventing and extinguishing conflict. Here are the policies included with tips on how to customize them to your own workplace: Your Code of Conduct provides a framework for employee behavior. These cookies are always on, as theyre essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. thought can save a great deal of trouble and regret. But weve all been there on the first day of a new job, overwhelmed by new information. This tells your employees that this information is important, but it also makes it easier for employees to find. To work on this, see our compensation and development template, including these sections: Have you ever had an employee say something like: Gee, I didnt know we had a gym discount? Streling's culture code also uses a slide share to successfully get across a lot of information. As a result, knowing how to track hours is essential. The employee handbook is often one of the first parts of a new starters onboarding journey as part of starting their new job. 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. Access all our Free calculators, helping you save time. Handbooks can be a handy tool for your company to show how important your employees are to youthis is displayed through the information you deem as important in your manual (think support initiatives and inclusivity efforts). What is the difference between an employee handbook and a policy manual? If the employee has signed off on these in agreement, these standards can be used legally. To make things easier for you, Zenefits offers free employee handbook templates and a customizable employee handbook builder. Small businesses power the economy. 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. Items can change for an overwhelming amount of reasons. Your employee handbook is likely one of the longest documents youll create and whilst its important to include a lot of information, its also important to make sure you dont waffle on. It's a document that communicates your company's culture, expectations and rules of employment. What are some strategies to manage employees who work virtually? The only hardcover employee handbook on our list, yet equally enjoyable as the digital ones, comes from the recruitment company Austin Fraser. Employee handbooks are truly a choose your own adventureno one size fits all scenario. Only limited material is available in the selected language. Provide employees with a copy of our company car policy if they are assigned a company car. Browse the Venngage employee handbook templates and get started creating your handbook today. An employee handbook is an official document that outlines your organization's policies and procedures. HubSpot's Employee Culture Guide offers simple, concise information on each slide while still taking employees deeper into what the company has to offer. Download the full Employee Handbook template in .doc and pdf format by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. Especially if theres a disciplinary process involved. Streamline hiring, onboarding, and employee documentation into your workflow. Through these policies, you show you value employees and motivate them to keep working with you. Related article: How to create an effective employee handbook. 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. Using consistent fonts across your brand is one of the easiest ways to create professional looking designs. Heres an outline of the contents: You can use the conclusion to provide notice about future revisions and ask employees to acknowledge they read the handbook. Youll want to create an employee handbook once you start hiring employees. Also, this is a good place to lay out rules regarding attendance. 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. Employee handbooks are a human resources essential, alongside HR reports, performance reviews, and incident reports, so its important to get right. An employee handbook template is very important in companies, organizations, and businesses. Insure company cars with a reliable insurance provider. Therefore, your employee handbook should address the unique elements of your business, including company values and objectives. It outlines what to expect when going through these processes and what are the relevant actions they need to take. A staff handbook gives your employees an overview of what's expected of them, and also what they can expect from you when it comes to things like holiday allowance. The interactive format is visually appealing and easy to navigate. In other countries like the US, however, no federal or state regulations require an employer to have an 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. Use these five steps to start building positive employee relations across your organization. . Without these cookies, services youve asked for cant be provided. Our real-time collaboration feature(Business plans only) will help you collaborate with your team anytime, anywhere, in real-time: Post the handbook in various locations. Cinnamon Janzer is a journalist and content writer based in Minneapolis. If there is complex information, consider adding a glossary to define concepts or terms. An employee handbook is a document that communicates your company's mission, policies and expectations. They make sure to spread it across many slides and make it as colorful but direct as possible reflecting their working style. Employers give this to employees to clarify their rights and responsibilities while they're employed with the company. Ill explain what you should include in your handbook, along with some employee handbook best practices and design tips. Neither the author nor Workable will assume any legal liability that may arise from the use of these templates. I want to start providing 401(k)s to my employees. 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. After all, what good is unactionable data? Creating an employee handbook should be non-negotiable as a tool to help your business run smoothly and help employees know whats expected of them, To create an employee handbook, youll need a firm understanding of your companys foundation, mission, core values, employment law requirements, and more, New hires should receive the handbook by their 1st day of work and existing employees should get a copy of the handbook each time it is updated. The information should be communicated and displayed in a clear and easy to follow format. An employee handbook is sometimes called an employee field guide or a staff manual. Therefore, it's advised to have a handbook already in place before you begin the onboarding process of any potential employees. You could even create your employee handbook as an interactive PDF and interlink between documents and websites, to make it easy for your employees to find all of the specific documents and sites that you reference within the handbook. 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 You could also email a copy to your staff and have hard copies around the office, just be sure to keep everyone updated when you update the handbook. Call us for free initial advice on 1300 651 415. You will want to create an environment where raising a grievance about these issues is as seamless as possible. Close your employee handbook on a positive note though. Planet42, a South Africa-based car subscription company that buys . More specifically, that would be Kenneth McGrath, former CEO of Lidl, Aldi's main competitor in the European market. An employee handbook is beneficial to stay on track and have clear communication between employees. Creating a great employee handbook helps foster a positive work environment with clear communication and a shared culture. Its full of personality using color to bring its messages to life. Next we cover the fundamentals of employee handbooks, plus offer 7 handbook examples you can learn from. 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. Examples of what you should include in an employee handbook. If youre creating your very first employee handbook, or updating your existing one, read on. When joining your company, they want to learn how they can divide their time between work and leisure or out-of-work responsibilities. Why should your business have a staff handbook? Color psychology is something you might not have heard of, but will have certainly experienced. An employee handbook is an essential for any business. We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. Employee Performance, 15 February, 2023 by It is also a road map for employees, clearly outlining what behaviors and work patterns are acceptable to the company. Save-A-Lot caps for meat/produce employees. Use our employee handbook template to: Share important company information during onboarding. Read More Recent News Using AirMason, Hubspot's employee handbook keeps the reader engaged while being effective in getting its companies message across. An employee handbook or manual is a guide given to employees that includes everything related to an organization's policies. 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. So, including it as part of the handbook makes a lot of sense. This is an important process in tackling harassment and discrimination. Attendance and Punctuality Include a section stating that employees are expected to be at work every day and on time. A break out box is an excellent way to highlight the most important information on a page. New employees should receive a hard copy of the handbook on their first day. It also explains the consequences of poor behavior. We keep detailed records of our company cars with manufacturing date and mileage. These are tailored specifically to cooks, servers . The employee handbook will help employees understand how their workplace functions, what is expected of them as well as job expectations. They keep it light by including photos of their staff and animals in some cards, however similar to Netflix it is mostly short sentences and straight to the point. This is usually being informative, clear, easy (& enjoyable!) Check out these handbook examples for inspiration: Less is always more in design, and your employee handbook should be no different. We have employees from all around to world, so we wanted to make somethingreadable, digestible and entertaining - Fisher (CEO). Clean modest shirt with collar under the vest. With Breathes HR software all your company's important files are securely stored in one instantly accessible place. This is one of the sections employees will care about the most. However, this can easily lead to miscommunication, confusion, and chaos. 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. It makes them feel appreciated and apart of a team as well as reducing employee turnover. Look at employee handbook examples for inspiration, but make sure you write in your own companys tone and voice. An employee handbook is an essential for any business. With an employee handbook, both the employer and employee will clearly understand their rights and responsibilities. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not. Keep in mind, though, that examples are just that. Type Industry Role Employee Handbooks 10 MarketingHub Employee Handbook Create a stunning resource for your new employees using this employee handbook template. 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. A policy manual, on the other hand, is a document that tells your employees how to do things, and may include more technical information. Our employee handbook templates are inspired from real-life handbooks published by top brands. Your data protection policy should include information on the principles of data protection and how your employees should follow them, how you process staff data and the handling of sensitive data. #2 - Employee Handbook. It states your legal obligations as an employer and the rights of your employees. Its tone is very conservational making it easy to relate to. Some employers are revamping their employee handbooks with big, bold graphics and a conversational writing style to make the manuals fresh, readable and engaging. 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. Country or State specific policies, even newsletters, and many many more. So, to help you make your own, we explain what one is, why its important and the key points you should be including. We know theyre not simple to create. #3 - HR Employee Handbook. Once you have selected what to include, you can lay out a table of contents. Learn more about picking and using brand fonts. ), but you dont need to outline the nitty gritty details in your handbook. In many employee handbook examples, such as this one, the key policy dates or whatever are highlighted in a box that is a different color.