The hidden potential of your employee handbook

Employee handbook  is the cornerstone document of every company.

This document usually consists of the company’s policies. Unfortunately, too often this valuable document contains ONLY policies, rules and regulations.

While this is useful, an employee handbook has a much greater potential. Instead of a document full of prohibitions, you can easily turn it into an engaging and useful document your employees will read, know and love. Read on to find out how to achieve this goal!

3 main mistakes of your employee handbook

Most employee handbooks make the same 3 mistakes:

Mistake #1:

They are written in a formal tone of voice with lots of legal and technical terms which regular employees can hardly grasp.  

Mistake#2:

Most employee handbooks focus on company’s policies and provide just a brief introduction to the company if at all).

Mistake #3:

Most employee handbooks state only the company’s expectations from employees and not the other way round.

3 main sections your employee handbook is missing

In order to avoid the above stated 3 main mistakes of most employee handbooks, make sure that your employee handbook includes the following 3 sections:

Section #1: Your company’s history, mission, vision and goals

Start your employee handbook with an extensive introduction to your company. Explain why your company was created, by whom and how it went on to become what it is today.

State your company’s mission, vision and goals in an inspiring, relatable and easy to understand language.

Section #2: Your company’s core values and culture  

The second section of your employee handbook should present your company’s core values and provide a glimpse into your company culture.

Include real-life photos of your workplace and your employees and present true stories which illustrate your desired workplace behavior.

Section #3: Employee benefits and perks

Finally, make sure to emphasize what your employees will get in return for following all your company’s policies, rules and regulations.

Accentuate all the benefits and perks your company offers to your employees. Also, present all the types of rewards and bonuses which will be awarded to your most deserving employees.