Improve Your Employee Handbook. Improve Your Office HR.

An employee handbook is an essential part of any successful business operation. You might think that it’s obvious your employees will know how to behave or understand when they’ve misbehaved, the truth is you need something on paper to prove you made this clear to everyone.

You need an employee handbook and, moreover, you need a good one. Luckily, we know a thing or two about that.

An Official Code of Conduct

Code of business conduct in your office should be a high priority when you consider ethics and compliance. This is a roadmap of how you should act and talk while participating in your company’s culture.

Some basic information you might want to incorporate into your Code of Conduct may include:

• Code of Ethics
• Dress Regulations and Grooming Standards
• Workplace Safety
• Attendance Requirements

Explain these thoroughly to your employees, making it clear that these rules benefit everyone. Set expectations and establish results for when your employees do not meet expectations.

Communication Policy

Clear communication policies have always been important, but they are more pertinent now than ever in the current tech environment.

Do you provide employees with laptops, mobile phones, and other devices? How do you monitor how they use these devices? How often do employees use company equipment to surf the Internet, make personal phone calls, store photos, save text friends, or post them on social media?

Communications policies should specify expectations for proper use of devices and operations on such devices. Employees must understand that they act as the company’s representatives when using company equipment. For example, say that you can get fired if you send harassing texts on the company equipment.

Make sure everyone understands that other company policies such as anti-discrimination, anti-discrimination and ethics policies apply to all forms of communication and to all devices.

Non-Discrimination Policy

This is a required entry in any employee handbook. Let employees know that your organization will not endorse discrimination or harassment in any way.

State and federal laws created by the civil rights movement of the 1960s protect workers from discrimination based on factors that are not directly related to the quality of their work. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Age
• Race
• Religion
• Pregnancy
• Disabilities

Discrimination is not always clear or objective. Even a good manager can slip and mistakenly discriminate against employees. Only one employee (or potential employee) needs to write a review to topple your online reputation.

Are you a business owner looking for HR services to keep your business operating in-line with best practices? Visit Vision HR to discover our expert employee handbook work, and invest in a better workspace today!