12 Reasons Why You Must Have Employee Handbooks and HR Manuals

If the employee handbook answers the “What” regarding your company’s culture, the policy manual delves into the “How.” Let’s elaborate on the benefits of having both an employee handbook and policy manuals.

1: Formalized Policies Having an employee handbook and policy manuals formalizes the organizational policies and procedures. This ensures that all rules and guidelines are well-documented and readily available to employees.

2: Communicates Company Policies and Expectations The employee handbook effectively communicates company policies, values, and expectations. It serves as a comprehensive guide for employees, helping them understand their role within the organization.

3: Equality Promoted These documents promote equality among employees. When everyone has access to the same set of rules and guidelines, it helps to ensure that company policies are applied consistently across the board, reducing the potential for favouritism or discrimination.

4: Time Saved Instead of answering repetitive questions or addressing policy-related issues individually, employees can refer to these documents for answers, allowing HR and management to focus on more strategic tasks.

5: Legal Disputes Prevented By clearly outlining policies related to harassment, discrimination, and other workplace issues, these documents can serve as evidence that the company has established guidelines and expectations, which can be crucial in defending against wrongful termination claims and other legal challenges.

6: Improved Onboarding Employee handbooks provide new hires with essential information about the company’s culture, values, and operational procedures. This accelerates the onboarding process, helping employees become productive more quickly.

7: Showcases the Benefits You Offer Employee handbooks often detail the benefits and perks offered by the company, such as healthcare, retirement plans, and other incentives. This not only informs employees about the value of working for the organization but also helps in talent attraction and retention.

8: Ensures Compliance with Federal and Provincial Laws These documents help ensure that the company complies with both federal and provincial labour laws. By outlining legal requirements and best practices, they provide a framework which reduces the risk of non-compliance.

9: Helps Defend Against Employee Claims Having a well-documented policy and procedures manual can be instrumental in defending the company’s actions. It demonstrates that the company follows established procedures, reducing the likelihood of legal liabilities.

10: Provides Information About Where Employees Can Turn for Help These documents often include information about internal resources and contacts that employees can reach out to for assistance or guidance which helps foster a sense of support within the organization.

11: Ensures Consistent Enforcement of Company Policies By providing guidelines for HR professionals and managers, a policy manual helps ensure that company policies are consistently enforced.

12: Sets Expectations for Employee Conduct and Performance When employees understand what is expected of them, they are more likely to meet or exceed these expectations, contributing to a more productive and harmonious work environment.

– HR Covered Inc.

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12 Reasons Why You Must Have Employee Handbooks and HR Manuals

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