Design a Kick-Ass Employee Handbook

"This is the Way"

An employee handbook is an essential resource for any business, but it can be tricky to craft the handbook that works for you. In this guide, we'll help you build a comprehensive employee handbook that stays up-to-date and provides everyone with the information they need to stay on track.

Your handbook should aim to build trust, be transparent, maintain a consistent employee experience, and build enthusiasm for your employer brand, benefits, and people policies.

The employee handbook provides vital information in an easy-to-understand format. This includes benefits and policies to the chain of command and employee assistance programs.

Providing employees with a clear understanding of what is expected of them and ample resources at their disposal will help your employees succeed and make all the difference in the quality of their work experience.

Companies that develop an employee handbook tend to have happier, more engaged employees, especially when the handbook is crafted with care. It's important to consider what your employees will gain from reading your handbook and how you want them to feel about their work experience.

When creating your employee manual, ask yourself:

Is it inviting, engaging, useful, and memorable?

This is the way;

• Keep concepts simple.

• Limit business talk and corporate jargon.

• Infuse it with character, humor, and playfulness.

• Use engaging imagery and color palettes that align with your brand.

• Communicate core values and behaviors in a direct way.

• Ensure it's inclusive in its language and policies.

• Ask for employee feedback and make updates.

Whaddya call it?

Get creative, if Employee Handbook sounds boring, go with something different such as Culture Code (Hubspot), Employee Guide, Wayfinder, or Staff Manual.

What goes in it?

About You

• Culture

• Values

• Mission Statement

• History of the company

• Major milestones

• Benefits

• Philosophies you've adopted for things like compensation and performance

What employees must know (compliance)

• Employee’s rights

• Company obligations

What you expect of your employees and what they can expect of you

• Communication

• Behaviors

Policies

• Vacation, sick days, non-discrimination

Research

See what other companies do and get some ideas. Write down a list of what you like and dislike about their handbooks.

Some of my favorites are;

• Hubspot

• Airbyte

• Netflix

• Trello

• Gitlab

Once you have an idea of what yours will include, run through a checklist of standard policies and ask yourself; when was the last time this was reviewed and updated? Your policies should include the ones in this list and any others that are required by the states where your teams are working;

• Attendance

• Hours of work

• Hiring

• Performance management

• Overtime

• Termination

• Leave policy

• Anti-harassment and non-discrimination

• Employee conduct

• Social media policy

• Confidentiality policy

• Probation

• Disclosure of business interests

• Health and safety policy

• Drugs and alcohol policy

While evaluating and crafting your policies, don't forget to take stock of your company's Culture, Mission, and Vision statements. If those are incomplete or no longer fit, schedule some workshops internally to redefine them before adding them to your handbook.

Design it!

This is an area your company should also take pride in. I recommend going with a design aesthetic that matches your employer branding. Keep it simple and clean if you don't have a strong aesthetic yet. Canva is a great resource for designing on a budget. Consider where the digital version of this document will live and be accessed by employees. If you're on Google Workspace, build an internal-facing site where employees can access the book and other resources. Notion is also a great option for this.

Review it

Run your handbook through a grading scale with your leadership team to decide if it's ready to be shared. Areas you'll want to evaluate are;

• Is it cluttered?

• Is it concise?

• Is it simply stated (no business jargon)?

• Does it have charm and appeal?

• Is it well-designed?

• Does it communicate in a direct way?

• Is it inclusive in policies and language?

• Is it accessible?

• Is it welcoming?

• Does it have inspiring and motivating info about the company?

• Is it collaborative and easy to edit?

You will go through multiple revisions of this and should plan at least an annual review to ensure it's up-to-date and relevant.

Launch it

Once you have a document your employees will appreciate and be proud of; you are ready to launch it.

• Build a buzz about the book. Talk about when you will launch it and what it means for the company's culture.

• Present the high-level version in your all-hands meeting.

• Ask managers to discuss it with their teams and get feedback.

By following these steps will have created an amazing handbook and taken one huge leap ahead in enhancing your company's employee experience. Go forth and concur!