The idea of an organization passing out employee handbooks to its newly recruited employees isn’t a very famous one. It has, in fact, been estimated that three out of every four small businesses do not make use of employee handbooks. This contributes to a lack of authentic communication between the employer and the employees, thereby causing stunted organizational growth.
For any business, success depends on clearly establishing the rules, policies and values that you expect your employees to uphold. This is where a clearly written employee handbook comes in handy. If you still have reservations about the importance of circulating employee handbooks, check out these 8 reasons why your business needs one.
1. Presents the company’s values and mission statement to employees:
The mission statement of any organization is what sets it apart from all other companies that are offering similar services or products. The cultural values or ethos are the set of rules which your organization has developed in order to implement the mission statement. Every time your company hires someone, going through the arduous task of explaining the mission statement along with the cultural ethos can become truly troublesome. It’s better to put these integral values at the forefront of your employee handbook, and hand it over to the newly hired to read.
2. Sets forth behavior expectations of employees:
Only once your employees understand what exactly it is that you require of them can they deliver fully as per your expectations. It is therefore essential for you to develop a handbook in which all sorts of behavior expectations and work benchmarks are identified. The more clearly these are communicated, the better it will prove to be for your organization in the long run.
When published within the handbook and made uniform for all employees whatever their designation might be, these standards of conduct help bring equality within an organization. This can then be used as a basis to strengthen workplace ties and minimize disputes.
3. Identifies performance parameters and benefits which help motivate your employees:
Do you want your employees to come into your organization with a renewed energy and motivation to work every day? AirMason employee handbook is probably your best bet at doing so. Motivation to work harder comes when one’s efforts are recognized and there’s no better way to do so in an organization than offering benefits and bonuses to your employees when they reach certain performance benchmarks. However, it is even more important that these benchmarks as well as the bonuses are clearly mentioned in your employee handbook, so that your employees know their efforts will be worth their while.
4. Offers lawful protection to employees:
Your employee’s manual will mention all the company’s policies regarding various matters such as harassment cases, gender discrimination, safety and health. These policies are crafted by keeping in view the federal and national policies of your state and therefore have the advantage of offering lawful protection to the employees in case of policy violation.
Since these policies are followed by a section containing the underlying penalties in case of violation of these laws, employees are also warned of the consequences of any discrepancy beforehand. In case of any legal dispute, the manual can be used as evidence to settle matters.
5. Showcases the company’s commitment to its employees:
The fact that an organization is going so far as to publish a handbook in order to ensure the rights of its employees, brief them about their responsibilities as well as help them realize the perks and benefits they might be entitled to, shows the employees that they are valued members of the organization. It also shows that the company is committed to their employees’ well-being and that motivates the employees to reciprocate the deed by performing with a greater zeal.
6. Promotes the idea of communication and transparency:
The employee handbook should be considered more as a form of communication between the employee and the employer even before the employee formally sets foot in the organization. The more clearly you explain to your employees what is required of them and how to achieve those goals, the more you promote the idea of transparency within the organization. The employee handbook helps employees understand the dynamics of being a valued team player, as well as paves the way for organizational success in the long run.
7. Acts as guidance for managers:
Even though the employee handbook is published to primarily guide the employees, it can prove to be a great source of help for managers or supervisors of the organization as well. With specially crafted sections meant to guide the company’s managers in matters of key management policies, organizations can use the handbook to settle the internal disputes in a quicker and more efficient manner.
8. Saves you the orientation time:
Giving orientations to every newbie who joins your firm can become a cumbersome task. It costs you your valuable time which can be saved through a simple employee manual. Who needs to repeat the history, the aims and the values, the policies and the disclaimers to employees, when you have a handbook containing all the guidance they will need? The employee handbook can become a useful orientation tool that can save you valuable time and energy.
An employee handbook can serve as the one-stop your employees can turn to, in order to access all the information about your organization. If your business doesn’t have a handbook published yet, it’s time you consider working on it.
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