Is your staff handbook gathering dust? Staff handbooks might sound like dull paperwork, but they’re actually a crucial tool for elevating your business: from increasing staff productivity to protecting you against tribunals.
What are staff handbooks?
Staff handbooks are an effective way to communicate key messaging to your employees: your policies, procedures and much more. Done well, a staff handbook is the foundation of a strong relationship between you and your workforce: from introducing a new employee to “the way things are done round here” to being a handy reference point for experienced staff.
The scale of your company doesn’t matter – even the smallest teams can benefit from staff handbooks. Having a written record of expectations, policies and protocols helps keep your team on the right path, contributing to good business results. But even the best handbook is redundant if nobody uses it. You need to ensure your handbook’s accessible at all times – it might even be useful for your own reference!
Why do staff handbooks matter?
Staff handbooks are an opportunity to explain what your business is about, how you do things and your expectations. They’re an essential tool to help run your business: a comprehensive, easily accessible documentation of all policies, procedures and expectations for your workforce. Your staff handbook is also an opportunity to boost retention – go ahead and show how brilliant your business is!
Your staff handbook doesn’t just set the tone and expectations for your workplace, it can also relieve you with some priceless peace of mind: from knowing your staff can access all necessary documentation, to legal protection for you in more serious situations. If misunderstandings were to arise, having preexisting written conditions in your staff handbook will be a strong part of your defence in any potential legal battles.
What to include in your staff handbook
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to staff handbooks: it should be specific to your business. But there’s still some best practices to ensure it’s as effective as possible.
You’ll want your staff handbook to cover extensive ground – including grey areas – to provide solutions to any scenarios that could arise. To do this, feature an array of sections that cover every element of your business.
Some key sections to include are:
- Information on your company and culture.
- Employee benefits such as holiday – how much and how to book them.
- Policies and procedures, for example hours of work, how and when they get paid and any detail about overtime.
- Your disciplinary and grievance process – this is very important.
A regular question we are asked by SME clients is: Should policies be contractual? We advise that they are not.
The benefits of staff handbooks
Staff handbooks can boast some surprising benefits. By creating a strong foundation for staff to understand what’s expected of them, you’ll be boosting motivation and overall productivity. With all of your staff on the same page (literally!) they’ll be focused and with no plea of ignorance should they transgress important rules.
As an employer, the peace of mind staff handbooks can give you is priceless. Employees are more likely to raise disputes or make legal claims if there’s no written policies or procedures. By highlighting policies in your handbook, you’ll ensure your staff can’t act poorly without consequence: settling any internal disputes before they have the chance to escalate outside the office and into the courtroom.
But not all staff handbooks are equal. In order to reap the benefits, you’ll want specialised support to utilise your staff handbook to its full potential.
Get staff handbook support
Whether you’re working on your first ever staff handbook or finally getting around to amending your preexisting one – we’re here to help you get the most out of it. At The HR Dept, we’ll get to know your business inside and out: providing you with a personalised handbook that reflects your company, culture and values – whilst ensuring you meet all legal requirements. Get in touch today to find out more.
