Successful employee handbook is what helps reduce your business heartache. Problems within a business can occur because there is a lack of clarity on some subjects. Mainly, the issues which arise are around the expectations of the business. The employees and the owner may not have the same set of ethics either, or there could just be a communication barrier. If you are having any heartache due to employee relations and do not have an employee handbook for your business, it's a good idea to get one put into place and quickly.

What is an employee handbook?

They are a guide to your business. It is a way in which you can clearly establish the overall business mission and goals. Within your business’s employee handbook, you will define what makes your business great and then relate the various areas of your businesses operations to the employee to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Handbooks should lie out the procedures of your day-to-day and long-term procedures needed. You should also have a statement of ethics so that there are no issues between employee to employee or employee to management personnel.

Apart from establishing the guide to your business, the handbook acts as a structure to the overall success of your business. In turn this can help alleviate stress and heartache in your business. First, your policies and values are given to the potential employee. They give a clear and direct approach to behaviour which will and not be accepted . Second, the business’s handbook also tells the employee of the culture of your business. By this, it means the overall feel and function of the business. Every personality is distinct. Therefore, you must account for there being potential candidates for a job whose work environment needs differ.

Why are they useful?

There are several benefits from writing your Successful employee handbook. However, there are three areas which are key. These are education, establishment, and explanations.

Education

Education is for the employee. This part of the manual shows the person the policies, the values, the expectations, the attendance policies, scheduling, and such. It is critical that employees know what is expected of them. But, you cannot just give them a quick lecture and expect the information to stick. Employees need to have a means of double-checking. An employee handbook is a good way in which you can ensure compliance across the board. Word of mouth could become distorted or misinterpreted. Only through having a written manual can you your intentions are clarified.

Establishment

This highlights the behavioural and non-negotiable areas of the business. While there are some areas which can be negotiated (such as pay) there are others which are not. Behaviours which are common to businesses, such as a non-harassment section, should be placed within the establishment section of the handbook.

Explanations

These ensure you are following all laws mandated. They should be just as the name states, explanations of all the laws and other mandates. These laws should be quoted. If there are any areas which may seem unclear, the employee handbook is helpful as it provides the clarity needed for then to maintain the laws and mandates. You could put a copy of these laws, procedures, and stipulations in the handbook.

Now that you know what an employee handbook is and why it is needed for a business. The next step is creating one. But where do you start? Here are a few tips to get you on your way.

Tips for creating your handbook

Creating your successful employee handbook does not have to be a daunting task. There are a few tips which can be followed which will help you in making the best guide for your business.

• Work slowly on your handbook – avoid rushing writing it as you get lots of issues by doing this. Take the time to know your overall business goals and how you intend to meet them.
• Look for loopholes – A loophole in your employee handbook is an area where you need to define or expound upon information. If you have found a loophole eventually an employee will as well. By plugging the holes, you create clarity and consistency throughout your business.
• Make a code of ethics, an established hierarchy, and procedural guide – All businesses need to have a code of conduct, an established hierarchy, and a procedural guide. Ethics ensures that you have the right people working for your business. Hierarchy is necessary to keep problems from escalating, and procedures show how you will handle those issues.

Overall, you will need to write clearly, avoid ambiguous statements, and have everything defined about your business’s operations so that there is no room for doubt.

Conclusion

If you have questions after listening to this podcast, don't hesitate to reach out!  We're here for you every step of the way. Running a business can be overwhelming. Writing your Successful employee handbook is a necessity.

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Do you ever find yourself as a business owner asking, why do I need an employee handbook? What on earth is an employee handbook to begin with? Well, if that's your thought process, don't, stop yourself right there. In this podcast, I'm gonna cover what an employee handbook actually is, why you actually need one for your business, whatever size that business is, and more importantly, share some tips as to how you can go about producing and writing a fantastic one for your whole business.

You are listening to the I Hate Numbers Podcast with Mahmood Reza. The I Hate Numbers Podcast mission is to help your business survive and thrive by you better understanding and connecting with your numbers. Number love and care is what it's about. Tune in every week. Now, here's your host, Mahmood Reza.

Hi folks. Welcome to another weekly episode of I Hate Numbers, the podcast that's there to improve your money mindset, increase your financial awareness, help your business make more profit, save tax, and time. A fantastic combination, if I say so myself. Let's crack on with a podcast. Now, firstly, why do you need an employee handbook?

An employee handbook is a very vital, critical tool for your business, and it's not just about making policies or listing procedures. The best well-put-together employee handbook serves as a reminder about the company's vision, purpose, and mission, while also acting as a central point of reference to help employees at each state of their career.

An employee handbook is an easy step that empowers your business with high-quality standards. Essentially, it works as a set state of rules and regulations, and it should be given to the employee not just as a heavy tone, but as a reference point. Now, what exactly is an employee handbook? Now, an employee handbook provides a detailed overview of the company policies you've got in place.

It lists the key guidelines and procedures for all your employees to follow, and also the benefits of them following those procedures. At a glance, it sets fairly clear and transparent expectations for your employees, while also shedding light on the company's legal obligations and explaining their rights. When a business first begins its journey, the business owner may not know what to expect from the employees.

You may have your mission statement, but that's not enough to convey and get those desires across to your employees. Your employee handbook ensures that your goals, your intentions, your mission statements get addressed to everybody in your employment, and without this key element firmly in place, employees may not maintain the goal of your business.

The code of conducts may also suffer. A quality employee handbook puts everything into black and white. No questions about how the business is running. Relating expectations towards your employees in a handbook format keeps everything clear and keeps everything transparent. Intentions are laid down for things like attendance policies,

it keeps a clear understanding of what is toleratable, if that's a word, and what is not, and because of this, fewer complications and arguments will occur between your staff. A well-written handbook creates transparency, as we said, and consistency across your organisation, and helps you steer clear of any sticky situations.

Now, if you're not still convinced about how your company, your business can benefit from one, here's a few genuine reasons to reflect on and consider. You've got the company's culture, mission, vision and values introduced to your team, so they can work around these. It communicates clearly to your employees what their role is and what's expected of them, so they don't waste any time

second guessing what they must do on a day-to-day basis. Employees are educated on what to expect from you, your management, and your team, so no communication barriers, misunderstandings or shortcomings in terms of delivering results. It also helps to ensure that the main policies of your business are consistently and clearly communicated to instill a culture

of best practices in all those who come on board. It can also showcase the key benefits you're offering, encouraging people to work for you and refer you on to other prospective employers. A great reference point, a great advertisement. It makes sure also that you fully comply with all local and national regulations.

It helps defend you against any force, substantiated or wrongful employee claims. It sets clear boundaries for your team. It also prevents you from getting into hot water where you are instructing your staff to act outside of their job description. Prevents any potential problems coming up down the track.

And it also acts as a point of reference for employees should they need help with anything. Now, the last thing I wanna consider is how you go about writing a fantastic and brilliant handbook for your business and for your employees. Clarity is gonna be really important here. You need to define who you are as a business, including your goals and expectations.

Show where the business is currently and what it intends to do for the future. Define your expectations in terms of current and future standards, and this will help your employees understand the core of the business. Now remember, the handbook also becomes part in formality of the legal contract between you and your employees.

Now, some tips to help you write a fantastic handbook. Keep the language simple. Make it reader-friendly, keep it short and to the point. Clarity and succinctness are your best friends. Use the appropriate language for the group that you communicate with and avoid technical jargon wherever possible. Review, rewrite company policies in simple and concise language.

Use a personalised tone as though you had the employee right in front of you and you're having that conversation with them directly. Where appropriate, use images, use videos where necessary. Create an interesting and digestible format. You may wish to have publishers online on your intranet. You may wish to have this in a hard copy.

Each individual employee should have their own copy, have access to their own copy. By all means, give it to them when they start the business with you, but also make sure they're familiar with what's in there. So whether you have reviews, weekly catch-ups, you need to make sure they've got a good understanding what goes in that manual.

Very heavyweight manuals that are written tend to gather dust and tend to be no use to man, nor beast. Now folks, let's wrap this up. So we talked about what a handbook is, and it's not just a list of policies, it's not just a list of what your procedures are, but the guidelines they represent and instill your vision, culture, and mission to your team. Why you need it?

Well, not only will it protect you against any lawsuits that you may have against discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, asking to do work outside the actual scope of the job, but it also is a route map, a Bible as such for your employees to follow. They get an understanding of the culture and values that you want them to follow, and it avoids miscommunication,

and it avoids conflict for now and in the future. We've talked about the tips for writing a great handbook, simplicity, language, target audience, communicate what you need to, and you may find it as a useful exercise. If you've not got a handbook in place and it's not a legal compulsory thing, it's to go through the process for the first time and you'll find it a very challenging and fruitful exercise for yourself.

Folks, I hope you found this useful. Hope you found this podcast of some use. By all means, feedback, communicate, let me know what you think. If you feel that others in your network would get some benefit, I'd love it if you could share it with them and until then, have fun writing your own 21st-century employee handbook.

We hope you enjoyed this episode and appreciate you taking the time to listen to the show. We hope you got some value. If you did, then we'd love it if you shared the episode. We look forward to you joining us next week for another I Hate Numbers episode.