I've seen the gamut with employee handbooks: small companies with really excellent handbooks, medium and even larger companies with no handbook at all or one that is poorly written. Before investing in writing or updating your employee handbook, ask yourself two basic questions:
1. What is our handbook's purpose?
It's first purpose should be to clearly explain to your new and existing employees what is expected of them and what they can expect from the company.
It's second purpose is to reinforce your employment brand. It's difficult to claim that your employees are your greatest asset when your handbook looks like a Frankenstein document - policies pieced together with different fonts and different styles - or sounds vanilla, like it was downloaded from the internet. If your organization is truly a great place to work, your handbook should reinforce that.
It's third purpose is to provide a reasonable line of defense in the case of an employment dispute. The first thing any governmental agency is going to ask for in the case of a claim (from unemployment hearings to claims of harassment, discrimination or retaliation) is a copy of the relevant policies from your handbook. Saying you don't have one is a bad start to that process. Having one that has policies that are clearly out of compliance is equally bad.
2. What pitfalls should I avoid when writing the handbook?
First, don't try to cover every possible scenario in your handbook. I frequently get calls from owners asking me to make an addition to the handbook. After questioning, it turns out that a single employee is doing something the owner doesn't like. The owner feels that he or she can't address the behavior or performance issue if there isn't a policy in the handbook to back them up.
One of my favorite examples of this occurred when an HR colleague of mine had to write a new paragraph for her company's handbook that defined the difference between a sandal (acceptable) and a flip-flop (unacceptable). I understand that the larger the organization, the more careful it must be to ensure everyone is treated the same, but I have no problem with, and expect a manager to simply deal with many situations without the benefit of a written policy. "Jane, those flip flops are unacceptable attire for the office and pose a trip hazard for yourself." If Jane says, "there's no policy against it," the manager can simply say, "we can't have a written policy that covers everything. It's my judgement that your footwear is inappropriate." As a Department of Labor investigator told me once, "managers need to manage."
Second, don't try to write like a lawyer. Sometimes small business owners think they make their handbook sound better by writing in lawyereze: "henceforth, hereinafter, party-of-the-first-part" etc. Your handbook should be written at the level appropriate for your workforce - I typically strive to make my handbooks understandable to a reasonably intelligent 8th grader.
Third, allow a labor attorney or a competent HR professional to write, review or update your handbook for you. There was a great public service announcement series put out by the NCAA a few years ago that reminded viewers that most NCAA athletes go pro in something other than sports. If you are a professional in a field other than labor law or human resources, you might benefit from utilizing the expertise of someone who did go pro in those areas who understands the nuances of a well-written and compliant employee handbook.
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