Spicing Up Your Employee Handbook

 

In today’s workplace, it is not enough to have an employee handbook in name only, but it must be one that employees have read, digested and received training on.  Now is the perfect time to take your employee handbook off the shelf, drag it into the kitchen and add a little spice to it.

Here are some ways:

Incorporate company culture and brand. An employer should use the employee handbook as a vehicle to let its workplace shine and familiarize employees with the company’s mission, value, goals and aspirations.  An employer should connect the employee handbook to its brand and attempt to show employees what is unique and special about the company and how employees can play a vital role in the company’s success.

Make it readable and accessible. The employee handbook should be readable and accessible to all employees whether it be by distributing a paper copy or maintain a copy on the employer’s intranet.  If a significant number of workers speak another language, the employer should make sure to provide the employee handbook in that language.  An employee handbook should be written in a casual and conversational tone and provide hypotheticals, anecdotes and narratives employees can relate to.

Give it some pizzazz.  In order to make the employee handbook and its provisions stick and come alive, an employer should give it a little pizzazz by adding color, graphics, videos, pictures and fonts. Training on employee handbook policies is also critical and employers should aim to make training interesting, fun and interactive with online quizzes and hypothetical scenarios.

 

Got some great ideas or want to learn more?  Join us at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 8 for #Nextchat: These Aren’t Your Grandparents' Employee Handbooks.

 

 

The SHRM Blog does not accept solicitation for guest posts.
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