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You have finally hired a new member to your team. It’s now time for them learn about their new role. An employee handbook is a great way to do this.
You might be wondering what an employee handbook is and why it is so important.
Well. Let’s suppose you are excited about the future employee who answers all of your DPM interview questions perfectly.
When their first day arrives, you should remind them that mind-reading is not an acceptable expectation for staff (even though your clients may think so!). Your clients have been calling you all morning, and your new hire is twiddling at his thumbs while your mouth is openly apologizing to them.
It would be great if you could have a document you could give your new employee between calls.
It is vital to have a handbook for employees. It will ensure that your new hire feels at ease and has all the information they need, even on the busiest of days.
Continue reading to learn how you can create an employee handbook. This article includes examples, a sample outline, and steps for putting it together.
Other names for the Employee Handbook
This document could also be called “employee guide” if you don’t like its name.
Standard operating procedures
Onboarding guide
User manual
Resource guide
Manual for employee training
Handbook for companies
You have probably come across an employee handbook in your career.
What to include in an Employee Handbook
Employee handbooks that are well-written, and benefit the entire team, are the best. These are the essential elements of an employee handbook:
You can seamlessly board new staff
Codify agreed-upon processes to allow everyone to do their best work
Clarify your expectations to ensure project success
No matter whether you work for a small startup company or a large conglomerate corporation, having an employee handbook is very helpful. Larger companies will likely have policies regarding compliance, time reporting, ethics, and human resources. A company-wide employee handbook guides employees to resources but focuses on the essential operating procedures that will make your team successful.
Considerations for an Employee Handbook
There is no one right way to create employee handbooks. You have to do what is best for your team. The following information is a good starting point.
Onboarding procedures. What should new hires do on their first day? What should they do for their first week? What should they do in the first 90 days? Include guidance on topics like IT needs, training requirements, or professional development goals.
A reference to company policies. Instead of repeating information you may already have, consult existing company policies to find relevant topics for your team. This could include dress codes, time reporting, telework, etc. If you don’t have company-wide policies, an HR expert can help.
Project initiation document. A brief overview of the project(s) that your team is working on should not exceed 1-2 pages. If your projects change frequently, you might consider including profiles for your clients. You can always add background material, but I believe it is more likely that staff will read and retain these snapshot documents.
Information about the tools that the team uses. Document the tools that everyone uses. You can use a file-sharing repository or a communication platform as examples of tools.
Style guide/Quality assurance. Loudly and proudly declare where your team stands on the oxford-comma issue. The QA guide is a reference tool that employees can use to prepare for deliverable submissio.