We have discussed the importance of having a well-written, clear employee handbook here on our blog in the past, and for good reason. They are awesome! Really, they are.
For the following reasons, handbooks are valuable human resources tools:
- They keep everyone up-to-date with new government regulations and compliance.
- They outline what you expect from your employees. (And what they can expect from you.)
- They give your business an opportunity to share its company culture.
- They itemize for your talent all the company benefits they can enjoy.
- They serve as a written welcome note for new-hires to your company.
This is all good stuff that can save your HR and administrative staff some time and energy by answering a lot of basic questions for employees. But there’s another reason why good handbooks are valuable: They can help you legally in the event of a lawsuit. Which brings us to this sound advice from hireVision‘s President and CEO, Tina Hamilton:
Your employee handbook is the road map for how to navigate working at your organization. It is your opportunity to clearly explain your procedures and policies, so do your company an enormous favor and make sure you have every new-hire sign an acknowledgment of receipt for it. Have your other employees all sign a similar receipt form when you distribute updated handbooks to them as well. This is important documentation in the event of that an employee or former employee ever tries to take you to court, because the content of an acknowledged-with-written-receipt handbook can provide you with legal evidence as to what is or was standard company policy or procedure.
hireVision creates customized employee handbooks as one of our many HR DirectLink services. These are not your grandfather’s handbooks either—we know yours must be a clear representation of your unique organization. We are experts at putting together well-written, up-to-date handbooks that you will be proud to distribute and that will go a long way in improving employee relations. We comprehensibly outline your expectations, policies and legal obligations as an employer, and we also make certain your employees’ commitments and rights are spelled out in clear and easy-to-read terms.
Contact us today for more information about our employee handbook services.
Tags: company culture, compliance, compliance issues, documentation, Employee Handbooks, explanation of benefits, government regulatory and compliance issues, handbooks, HR DirectLink services, HR legal issues, HR regulations and policies, new-hires, record keeping, Tina Hamilton
