22 Employee Handbook Examples to Learn From

The employee handbook is a guide created by employers to convey details of a companyโ€™s policies and missions to all staff members to maintain a professional environment in the company or organization.

Therefore, it acts as an outline of an employerโ€™s expectations of their entire workforce. A handbook is referred to as a field guide or staff manual. It is a valuable communication resource for informing a new hire of the companyโ€™s expectations before starting to play his/her role.

An employee handbook template is a form employers or companies use to help guide them to make the handbook.

The template can be acquired by going through an employee handbook guide. It will help the company or employer create a structure of how the information contained in the handbook will be laid out.

Employers can include a filled-out copy of the template in the new hireโ€™s welcome email to ensure that he or she starts to form a well-informed.

Free Templates

Free Comprehensive General Reference Employee Handbook Example for Word Format

Free Comprehensive Friendship Trays Employee Handbook Example for Word Format

Professional Editable Company Employee Handbook Example 01 as Word Document

Free Comprehensive Policies Reference Employee Handbook Example for Word Format

Professional Editable Company Employee Handbook Example 02 as Word Document

Free Comprehensive Small Business Administration Employee Handbook Example for Word Format

Professional Editable Staff Handbook Example as Word Document

Free Comprehensive Enterprise Employee Handbook Example for Word Format

Free Customizable Employee Checklist Template as Word Document

Free Comprehensive Company Staff Handbook Example for Word Format

Free Comprehensive Employee Receipt Handbook Example for Word Format

Free Comprehensive At-Will Employment Handbook Example for Word Format

Great Downloadable Organization Employer Handbook Example for Word File

Great Downloadable State Addenda to Employer Handbook Example for Word File

Great Downloadable Employer Guideline Handbook Example for Word File

Great Downloadable Sample Policies Employer Handbook Example for Word File

Great Downloadable Your First Day Employer Handbook Example for Word File

Great Downloadable Philosophical Employer Handbook Example for Word File

Great Downloadable Policy and Procedure Employer Handbook Example for Word File

Great Downloadable General Employer Handbook Example for Word File

Professional Editable Company Employee Handbook Example 03 as Word Document

Professional Editable Company Employee Handbook Example 04 as Word Document

    Importance of Handbook

    This handbook plays an important role in forging a clear relationship between the company/employer and the employees. It enables an employer to provide detailed communication of any procedures, guidelines, and the benefits they offer to the employees.

    The handbook also plays a significant role in ensuring the following:

    • It ensures that new employees are introduced to the companyโ€™s culture, mission and values to help them foster a sense of pride and belonging, leading to more productivity.
    • It communicates the employerโ€™s expectations clearly and precisely to help foster understanding of their responsibilities.
    • It enables the employer to educate them about what can be expected of the leadership of the company
    • It helps mitigate conflicts with employees by informing them of likely consequences of violation of company policies.

    When to Create a Handbook

    A company should consider creating an employee handbook to define its mission statement, core values, and other essential details. This ensures that the company can formulate detailed policies and procedures covering all aspects of its operations. A growing company should also consider creating it.

    Growing companies are likely to take on more employees, which puts them at risk of facing lawsuits or similar legal problems from current or former employees; therefore, creating a handbook can help protect the company by showing that it exercises reasonable care.

    Crafting Considerations

    A great handbook should do more than listing a companyโ€™s policy; it should be comprehensive.

    Therefore, companies and employers must make the following considerations before drafting it:

    Review companyโ€™s policy

    Companies/employers should start by reviewing their company policies before drafting the handbook to identify crucial company policies that should be included in the handbook. The employer or company can then create an outline of what will be included in the handbook. Finally, the employer should draft a summarized version of each policy and procedure.

    Insert information relevantly

    Secondly, employers should ensure that each section contains adequately summarized information in relevant sections. The summarized statements should be placed in appropriate sections according to the outline.

    Review the entire handbook

    Thirdly once all the necessary information has been inserted in the relevant sections, the employer/company should review the entire handbook to ensure that no policy has been left out. The review also helps ensure that each section has adequate information and can be easily understood by the employees. The companyโ€™s HR or project team or both may conduct the review.

    The company/employer should then consider enlisting the help of a lawyer to ensure that it complies with any state or federal laws. The lawyer will also be able to identify errors or loopholes that may appear in it.

    Select a means of publication

    Next, the company or employer should select a suitable vendor to publish it. The employer/company must ensure that it works with the selected vendor in each publication process step.

    Finally, the company should ensure that it is satisfied with the design and formatting of the handbook. Printing should only take place when the company/employer approves of the design and formatting of the handbook.

    Distribute handbooks

    The company or employer should then see to it that the printed copies of the handbook are distributed in an organized manner. The company may choose to distribute it during hiring orientation or as a manual distributed. Some companies/employers may also prefer to use the internet /or internal email to post the soft copy version of it. Employees without the internet can be issued physical copies.

    Constant update

    Finally, the company/employer should ensure that it is constantly updated. The company can assign a point person to make changes to the handbook as they arise. It is also recommended that an employer /company conducts a periodic review of it to ensure that all policies are still relevant and that no laws or policy changes have been overlooked.

    Elements of Handbook Template

    The main elements of the template should provide a roadmap on the information that should be filled. An employer should ensure that the template contains all the following essential elements:

    Employment basics

    It should contain basic employment information. This should highlight the employerโ€™s realistic expectations of what the company wants to see of the employee. The employment basics should outline the following:

    Procedural guidelines

    The handbook should contain a specific action plan for how recruitment will be dealt with. This ensures that all potential employees understand the employment process they are likely to be subjected to and by whom.

    In addition, it will contain what documentation is required of a potential employee at any stage of the process. The procedural guidelines should also direct employees on dealing with problems that may arise and who will be responsible for handling them.

    Therefore, the template can break down the procedural guidelines as follows:

    • Employment applications.
    • Recruitment and selection process.
    • New employee orientation.
    • Employment of relatives
    • Procedure for handling complaints
    • Training and development.

    Legal formalities are the legal conditions that the employee must observe when making or signing contracts. Therefore, the employer must outline all relevant legal formalities.

    The template divides this information as follows:

    • Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement
    • Non-discrimination/Equal opportunity employment
    • Employment contract types
    • Immigration law compliance.

    General outlook

    The general outlook of the handbook provides information on the employeeโ€™s job. It outlines the general policies and procedures about the employeeโ€™s engagement with the company.

    The template can break down the general outlook in the following sections:

    Workplace Policies

    The employer should ensure that the template contains specific information on the conditions the employee will be expected to work in.

    The workplace policies should outline the following:

    Daily outlook

    The daily outlook of the handbook should contain an overview of the employerโ€™s expectations of the employeeโ€™s day-to-day work. It should break down how the employee is expected to spend his/her time working at the company.

    The following sections can help breakdown the daily outlook:

    • Lunch periods.
    • Bulletin boards.
    • Staff meetings.
    • Break periods.
    • Emergency closings

    Environmental decorum

    The handbook should contain a section on environment decorum that provides information on how the employers expect employees to behave among themselves, their managers or supervisors, around company property, their work, and within their workstations.

    This section on environment decorum also informs employees on effectively communicating their grievances, questions, or suggestions to the company by outlining effective communication procedures.

    Therefore, the employment decorum section can be divided as follows:

    Employee data privacy 

    An employer should ensure that the handbook contains information on company policy about employee data privacy. It should elaborate on how an employeeโ€™s employment information is stored and secured in the company. It should also provide information on who is allowed to access employee data.

    Therefore, this section can be represented in two parts in an employee handbook template, which are:

    • Employee personnel files
    • Personnel data changes

    Code of Conduct

    Code of conduct is a companyโ€™s set of rules outlining norms, responsibilities, and proper practices.

    The code of conduct can also be referred to as the most common policy of the company. The handbook must contain information on the following codes of conduct:

    Dress codes are a set of standards developed by employers to guide employees on appropriate work attire. The handbook should outline acceptable formal and casual clothing that will be allowed in the workplace. This ensures that employees project a professional, business-like image.

    Towards company policies are rules set on an employeeโ€™s rights and freedom within the company. It lays out restrictions and provides guidelines on the usage of resources.

    The employee handbook should template therefore should break down this section into the following information:

    • Cyber security and digital devices
    • Conflict of interest
    • Employee relationships and fraternization
    • Solicitation and distribution

    Conclusion

    It canโ€™t be stressed enough that an employee handbook is a necessity in an organizational structure in order to maintain a professional atmosphere as well as to attain organizational goals on a holistic level. Free and customizable templates on this website should help you attain those benefits for your company.

    About This Article

    Authored by:
    Human Resources Specialist | Masters of Business, MBA, BAS Operations Management and Supervision
    Zhaniece Hill, an accomplished author, and writer, possesses an extensive 9-year journey as a seasoned Human Resources professional. With a Master's degree in Business Administration, Hill's profound insights into human capital management have been shaped by a diverse background spanning public and private sectors. Expertise in talent acquisition, onboarding, employee engagement, and benefits define Hill's remarkable HR acumen. With an unyielding focus on results, Hill's legacy is characterized by innovative HR solutions that elevate employee satisfaction, retention, and overall business performance. Continuously seeking fresh challenges, Zhaniece Hill utilizes her expertise to create a lasting impact in the realm of HR.

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