The first step to review and update your employee handbook regularly is to set a schedule for doing so. Depending on the size and nature of your business, you may want to review your handbook annually, biannually, or quarterly. You can also align your review schedule with your performance review cycle, your fiscal year, or any major changes in your industry or market. Whatever schedule you choose, make sure to stick to it and communicate it to your employees.
Sourcing changes in employment law is as important as setting a review schedule. While an employment attorney can assist an organization in this process, the financial implications of using legal counsel can be daunting for some small to midsize organizations. Covid turned many organizations into multi-state employers as a result of offering remote work, increasing the amount of time involved in updating the handbook. More time equates to more money. Services such as HR On-Demand powered by HRGirlfriends.com offer legal alerts via email to ensure its clients stay in the know anytime a law is passed, on the federal or state level. The service is expansive as it addresses all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Our approach to reviewing and updating the employee handbook involves scheduled reviews, employee feedback, legal compliance checks, departmental collaboration, version control, communication of updates, training sessions, and digital accessibility. We do this regularly, typically annually or biannually, ensuring the handbook remains current. Feedback from employees and collaboration with different departments help capture diverse perspectives. Version control tracks revisions, and timely communication ensures everyone is aware of changes. Training sessions accompany updates, fostering understanding. Digital accessibility allows quick updates, contributing to a relevant and compliant handbook that is a valuable resource for our workforce.
The next step is to assign roles and responsibilities for reviewing and updating your employee handbook. You may want to form a team that includes representatives from different departments, such as human resources, legal, finance, operations, and communications. You can also involve your managers and employees in the process by soliciting their feedback, suggestions, and questions. Assigning roles and responsibilities will help you ensure that your handbook covers all the relevant topics and addresses the needs and concerns of your workforce.
Form a Diverse Review Team and donot limit yourself to just HR Human Resources: Understand employee life cycles, from onboarding to exit. Legal: Ensure compliance with existing laws and anticipate changes in legislation. Finance: Clarify compensation, benefits, and any monetary-related policies. Operations: Highlight day-to-day procedural nuances. Communications: Ensure clarity, coherence, and accessibility of content. Engage Managers & Employees: Feedback Channels: Create platforms where employees can share insights on what's working and what's ambiguous in the current handbook. Focus Groups: Periodically convene groups to delve into specific sections, ensuring policies remain relevant and effective.
The third step is to review the content and format of your employee handbook. You should check if your handbook is clear, concise, and consistent in its language, tone, and style. You should also verify if your handbook complies with the latest federal, state, and local laws and regulations that affect your business. Additionally, you should update your handbook to reflect any changes in your company's vision, mission, values, goals, policies, procedures, benefits, and culture. You may want to use a checklist or a template to guide you through this step.
Prioritizing Clarity: THIS should be remembered Language and Tone: Ditch the jargon. Use simplified language that speaks to everyone, ensuring roles, rights, and responsibilities are crystal clear. Consistency is Key: A uniform tone enhances readability, fostering a smoother understanding across all sections. Staying Lawful: Laws and Regulations: Navigating legalities can be intricate. The handbook must mirror current local laws. Echoing Organizational Evolution: Vision and Values: Any change in the company's core beliefs must be reflected. Operational Norms: As we adapt to new work modes, be it remote operations or new inclusion initiatives, the handbook should be the first point of update.
The fourth step is to track and document revisions to your employee handbook. You should keep a record of when, why, and how you made changes to your handbook. You can use a version control system, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word, to track the changes and comments made by different reviewers and editors. You can also use a revision log or a summary page to highlight the main changes and additions to your handbook. Tracking and documenting revisions will help you maintain accuracy, transparency, and accountability for your handbook.
Yes, absolutely. Take advantage of the technology that is there. Most programs you can add comments so other team members can review & provide their insight. Use what is at your disposal.
We are planning to include feedback to HR on the policies with the greatest need for updates from all stakeholders in the organization through our intranet allowing multiple discipline levels to have a voice and valuable contribution.
The fifth step is to distribute and acknowledge updates to your employee handbook. You should inform your employees about the changes and additions to your handbook as soon as possible. You can use various methods to distribute your updated handbook, such as email, intranet, website, or print. You should also ask your employees to acknowledge that they have received, read, and understood the updated handbook. You can use an electronic or paper form, a signature page, or an online survey to collect their acknowledgment. Distributing and acknowledging updates will help you ensure that your employees are aware of and comply with your handbook.
Yes! If you add anything such as addendums this needs to be provided to the employees and there should be acknowledgment of this. Document, document, document!!
Addendums can go as push notifications from ERP. People should be made to sign off on any new additions for no one to take the stance of not knowing!
The final step is to evaluate and improve your employee handbook regularly. You should monitor the effectiveness and impact of your handbook on your employee engagement, performance, satisfaction, and retention. You should also solicit feedback from your employees, managers, and stakeholders on how to improve your handbook. You can use surveys, focus groups, interviews, or suggestion boxes to gather their input. Evaluating and improving your handbook regularly will help you keep it relevant, useful, and engaging for your employees.
While feedback is gold, the method of mining this gold matters significantly. Adopting a multi-pronged approach ensures comprehensive insights. Surveys: Regular, anonymous surveys can encourage candid feedback about the handbook’s clarity, utility, and relevance. Focus Groups: These offer deeper dives into specific sections of the handbook, allowing for nuanced discussions and suggestions. Interviews: One-on-one interactions, especially with new hires or those exiting the company, can offer invaluable insights. Suggestion Boxes: An age-old method, yet effective. It allows employees to voice their thoughts whenever they encounter something in the handbook that sparks a suggestion or concern.
It’s also fine to use a third party. HR is taking care of so much right now, so it is perfectly ok to use a third party- but make sure the company is legit & be aware of their process. Good luck!