Is your employee handbook. Yep, it’s the first document employees get that tells them what their career with your organization will be like. Take a close look at your employee handbook.
What would it tell an employee…
About your image and brand? Think about how the handbook is presented, copied/printed, etc. What message does that send to a new employee? Is it the message you want?
About the employee/employer relationship? Consider if the wording is conversational or legalese.
About your priorities? Examine the order topics are presented. I always wondered why safety was at the end of a handbook if being safe was of the utmost importance.
Okay, so employee handbooks aren’t usually very sexy or fun. IMHO, employee handbooks are marketing documents – not legal documents. It really is possible to 
protect your organization and convey your culture at the same time.
What thoughts do you have about employee handbooks? How can we revolutionize what’s currently viewed as a necessary evil?
Image courtesy of johntrainor
Hi! I'm Sharlyn Lauby, an HR pro turned consultant. I created the HR Bartender blog so people would have a friendly place to discuss workplace issues. And since, over the years, I've developed an appreciation for the culinary arts (translation: I'm a Foodie) you'll see some of that here too. So, pull up a stool and order your favorite drink . . . the bar is always open.
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Does anyone still have an employee handbook? We have an online Associate Resource Guide. It contains most of what I would expect in an employee handbook, but it is not “marketed” as such, and most probably don’t even know it exists. If it is meant to convey corporate culture, then I don’t think it’s sending a good message.
I completely agree that the EH is an underutilized document both from a employment and marketing perspective. I wrote a post about it several months ago: http://creativechaosconsultant.blogspot.com/2010/01/employee-handbooks-suck.html
Handbooks are usually introduced to employees shortly after they’ve been hired so it’s important that it speaks to the company’s culture and expectations. Unfortunately, Legal and HR often view it as the prime resource for protecting the company. This is why it’s often dry and punitive-sounding to most employees and is quickly forgotten. We can and should do better.
Great post Sharlyn.
@Christine – Excellent point, thanks for bringing it up. What the document is actually called sends an equally important message.
@Victorio – Thanks for the comment! Agreed. If a handbook sounded like an organization’s culture, I think more employees would read it.
I agree: its really important. Whether it is electronic or paper is irrelevant; what is relevant is that it is written to the Employer Brand and in one tone of voice, not everyone’s from the fleet manager to the legal department. I’ve just completed a re-write of all new staff documentation for a large UK business and its staggering how much improvement a little craft and a lot of patience can make.
Thanks for sharing Kevin. It’s amazing how much gets accomplished with a lot of patience.
I guess I’m in the minority, here. I ALWAYS read my employee handbook. Not because I am an HR person, but because I like to know the rules of engagement.
My current issue with handbooks is that they have become so “legally correct” that they don’t give you a clear picture of the company anymore. We use language such as “may” or “could”. I am not normally one for black and white, cut and dry intepretations. But, when it comes to the rules of the road, I need a few “will” and “won’ts” in there. We can only create exceptions to the rule once the rule has been established.
While I suppose the EH is first and foremost a legal document, I do agree with you that it should be a marketing tool too. The problem I see with it becoming more of a marketing tool is that could loose some of the legal impact on employees or that it’d take too much for companies to rewrite the book so it’s both representative of their culture as well as a legal document. Then again those who feel it’d be too much of an effort probably would prefer the legal document image of the EH.
Honestly I’d like to know if anyone ever reads the employee handbook. If people don’t read it, there’s no point in making it a marketing document. Personally I’m a fan of NHO presentations because – if you do it well – it’s a chance to present the legal must haves, the marketing spiel and make it fun instead of deathly boring. Then hand out the boring handbook as a supplemental guide (or better yet, save trees and point to an online site) to cover legal bases.
@Casey – Totally agree, the rules of engagement are important. As you mentioned, handbooks have become so focused on the legal they lack culture. I think the culture component is, in part, what makes it readable. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
@Pat – You touch on an key point – we have to take the time and energy to make the document reflect our culture. It’s easy to create the ‘template of the day’. The value comes in having something customized to the organization. Thanks for weighing in.
@Working Girl – So true. Adding a NHO preso makes good sense . I’m not a fan of reading someone the handbook, but it does help to get people familiar with the contents.