Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

Is it necessary to have an employee handbook even if I only have a few employees?

Many small companies do not have an employee handbook (and there is no legal requirement to have one), however having one in place can make life easier and save you money in the long run (two great incentives!). A small company that I know that did not have a hand book ended up paying significantly more than they needed to for employee benefits because they did not have clear policies and procedures in place. According to Tom Ehrenfeld, an employee handbook should be easy to read and do the following things:
· Communicate indispensable company policies and practices;
· Make explicit the mutual agreements between employees and employer without being an actual contract;
· State and express a company’s philosophy;
· Excite and motivate an employee about his or her job; and
· Convey a broader sense of the company mission.

Here are several of the items that a typical employee handbook will include:
· Mission Statement/Company Philosophy
· Work Environment
· Compensation & Benefits
· Employee Conduct
· Organization Chart
· Legal Requirements
· Staff Development
· Discipline and Termination
· Grievance Procedures
· Safety and Security procedures and policies
· Confidentiality Clause

Posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 8:56 am and is filed under Boardroom, Human Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.