How to create a comprehensive employee handbook + free downloadable employee handbook template PDF.

The purpose of an employee handbook.

Employee handbooks are a valuable tool for both employers and employees. They are documents that integrate and outline important information and guidelines for employees within any organisation. Employee handbooks help to establish clear expectations, provide important information and contribute to a positive and well-functioning workplace.

Some of the purposes of an employee handbooks are to —

Orientate and onboard new employees.
All new employees should receive a copy of your employee handbook when they first start working with you. Your employee handbook should serve as a comprehensive guide to help new employees understand your company culture, policies and procedures, during your orientation and onboarding processes.

Communicate current workplace expectations and policies.
Your employee handbook should be updated regularly and be clear about your organisation’s policies, rules and expectations of employees. This might include codes of conduct, dress codes, attendance policies and so forth. Employees should be able to refer directly to your employee handbook as a reference guide when they have questions about your company policies, procedures or benefits.

Promote your company culture.
Employee handbooks often include information about a company's mission, values and culture. Incorporating some of these details into your employee handbook will help your employees understand and align themselves with your organisation’s overall principles and goals.

Provide consistency in communication.
Creating an employee handbook ensures that all employees have access to the same information about your organisation and workplace. This helps to ensure that your communication with employees is consistent, particularly when it comes to policies and procedures and legislation that applies to your business.

Empower employees.
People feel more positive and are more productive not only when they understand what is expected of them. Providing employees with information about their rights, benefits and the resources available to them contributes to feeling confident and empowered. Being transparent about both employer and employee requirements helps with employee satisfaction and creating a positive work environment overall.

Mitigate risks.
By outlining safety protocols, anti-discrimination policies and other risk-related information, in an employee handbook, you can contribute to risk management efforts and strategies within your organisation.

Offer legal protection.
An employee handbook can serve as a legal reference in case of disputes or legal issues. By clearly outlining the company's policies, an employee handbook can help to protect the organisation in the event of legal challenges.

Similarly, while it is not a legal requirement in Australia and New Zealand to provide employee handbooks, businesses are required to ensure their employees are aware of policies and procedures, relevant laws and legislation and their roles and responsibilities — health and safety, for example. A comprehensive and customised employee handbook is the ideal way to collate everything that your employees need to have into one package or document and show that you have done this.

Sections to include in an employee handbook.

The sections of an employee handbook example vary based on the specific needs and policies of an organisation. It's important to customise any employee handbook template you use to meet the specific needs, policies and legal requirements of your organisation. You should also schedule regular updates and reviews of your employee handbook to ensure that if there are any changes to your organisation’s policies or statutory legislation, the most current information is always available to your employees.

Most employee handbooks will typically include the following sections and policies and procedures —

Introduction and welcome.
Set the tone for the handbook with a warm and welcoming introduction from your company's leadership. Express appreciation for the skills and work your employees bring to the business.

Company overview.
Provide your employees with an overview of your business or organisation, its history and its place in your industry or sector. Share your organisation's mission, vision and values. This will help your employees to understand the context in which they work, how their roles contribute to the company's success and initiate a sense of belonging.

Employment relationships, types and structure.
Outline any different classifications of employment your business might hire people under, such as full-time, part-time and temporary. Show how different roles fit within your company visually with an organisation chart.

Code of conduct.
Clearly outline your code of conduct and the expected behaviour and ethical standards for all employees. Cover topics such as respect, integrity and accountability that contribute to and create a positive and professional workplace culture.

Performance expectations.
Communicate your organisation’s expectations for employee performance, including goals, evaluations and performance reviews, performance improvement plans and opportunities for potential career advancement in your organisation. Include information on probationary periods and any other relevant information regarding the employment relationship with your business.

Work attendance expectations.
Provide information on your business’s hours of operation, standard work hours, attendance expectations and procedures for requesting time off or reporting absences.

Compensation and benefits.
Provide an outline of the structure you use for compensating and paying your employees. Details on any individual personal remuneration should be included in separate employee contracts, however, your employee handbook may general information. This can include salary scales or hourly rates for different types of work, payment schedules, payment methods and any other benefits you offer such as health insurance, pension plans and so forth.

Training and development.
Highlight your organisation's approach and commitment to training and development for employees. Outline any compulsory training programmes, internally or externally and other training opportunities that you provide to facilitate employee growth and development and continuous learning.

Leave and time off.
Include your processes and policies related to leave and time off. There are many types of leave, including annual leave, ill leave, leave without pay, parental leave, bereavement leave, leave for jury service and others. State your organisation’s procedures for employees to request time off and have it approved by the appropriate person. Transparent leave policies help employees manage their work-life balance and employers plan for adequate staff coverage during absences.

Health and safety.
Communicate your company’s commitment to health and safety in the workplace and the responsibilities of employees to do the same. Include your emergency procedures, workplace safety rules and any relevant health and safety policies pertinent to the nature of your environment or business.

Anti-discrimination and harassment.
Include your company’s policy and commitment to providing a discrimination and harassment-free workplace. Include your procedures for reporting incidents.

Technology and equipment use.
Tell your employees what your policies are regarding the use of company-provided technology, equipment and communication tools. This may also include your guidelines for the use or non-use of personal devices at work and in the context of work.

Privacy, confidentiality and data security.
Communicate your expectations regarding the handling of private and confidential information, customer data and company proprietary information. You might include mention of obligations under relevant legislation, such as the Privacy Acts in Australia and New Zealand.

Social media use and workplace communication.
Provide guidelines on the use of social media in the workplace and communication expectations for any messaging apps or channels used for work purposes.

Termination and resignation.
Stipulate your procedures and policies for resignations, terminations and exit interviews. Specify any requirements you have for employees to return or leave on the premises or any company property when they leave your employment, such as keys, uniforms, equipment and so forth.

Grievance procedures.
Include a fair and transparent process for how you address any potential concerns and grievances from employees. This demonstrates to employees that your organisation commits to resolving issues fairly and timely manner.

Acknowledgement of receipt.
Have a section in your employee handbook for employees to acknowledge that they have received, read and understood the contents of the handbook when they first receive it and any updates that are made to it during their employment. Use tools to add dates and request signatures from employees to acknowledge they have received and understood your employee handbook.

Appendices and additional resources.
Add any additional documents, relevant HR forms, employee templates or additional resources to help your employees find more information. This can also be done via links directly to other documents and forms on your internal systems, intranet or external websites.

Tips for writing an employee handbook.

Are you looking for an employee handbook example? Writing an employee handbook is a dynamic process. It’s often not a one-person job or something just to quickly tick off an HR checklist. Writing and compiling an employee handbook can require collaboration and communication between departments and individuals in your organisation in the creation of content and consultation with other internal stakeholders and outside experts, such as legal advisors for reviews and feedback.

Aim for clarity and simplicity.
Your employees may have different reading levels and abilities. Always use clear and straightforward language to ensure that all your employees can easily understand the content.

Avoid jargon and formal legal language that may confuse or alienate readers.
When you include acronyms, consider including a list of the specific acronyms you use at work or explaining them in the text. For example, Portable Document Format (PDF).

Be inclusive.
Write your handbook with inclusivity in mind. Consider different perspectives and that your employees may have diverse backgrounds to create a document that resonates with everyone. Use terms such as “we” to create a sense of belonging and teamwork.

Be professional but approachable.
Maintain a professional yet approachable tone throughout your employee handbook. Balance the need to be approachable and connect with your employees as human beings, with the need to present your business professionally and formally.

Customise employee handbook templates to suit your business.
No two businesses are ever going to be exactly alike. Always customise any employee handbook templates you use to address specific policies, regulations, laws or industry standards and requirements that impact you’re your business and your employees.

Prepare for revisions and updates.
Be flexible and adaptable with the content of your employee handbook content. All businesses change and evolve, as do industry-specific requirements. Anticipate changes in policies or procedures and create a framework for regular updates and revisions. Create an employee handbook that can evolve with your organisation.

Seek input from others — including employees.
Seek feedback from internal stakeholders during the creation of employee departments. This may be from different departments or people with specialist knowledge inside or outside of your business, such as legal or health and safety advisors. Consider including employees in the review and feedback process. Taking a collaborative approach will help with writing an employee handbook that is easy for your employees to understand and engage with.

How to create an employee handbook.

There are a few ways to create an employee handbook. These include —

Use an Adobe template to create an employee handbook PDF.
Start with an employee handbook template and customise it to make it your own. We’ve got a couple of ways to help with that.

• Customise our free downloadable template that incorporates the sections covered in this article to help you to get started.

Make sure your employee handbook is accessible and understood.

You will want to ensure that your completed handbook is easily accessible to all employees. Paper copies can easily get put in a drawer and become obsolete, which means you run the risk of referring to outdated information.

Having your employee handbook in a digital PDF format ensures that it is accessible across a range of devices. So long as your employees have access to the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, they’ll be able to read your employee handbook on a computer or a phone.

Some ways to ensure your new and existing employees read and understand your employee handbook, you could —

New employees — make your employee handbook a key element of your onboarding process.

Integrate your employee handbook into your onboarding process. If you buddy new employees with current employees or assign them mentors, include reviewing the handbook as part of their processes. Ensure that your new employees are introduced to your organisation's policies from the very beginning.

Existing employees — hold employee handbook workshops or training sessions.

Conduct training sessions or workshops to familiarise existing employees with any new or updated employee handbooks. Taking an interactive approach will help to reinforce key policies and any significant changes and encourage your employee’s engagement.