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Not every company does.
But there are some benefits regarding company-wide rules and employee
expectations.
“An employee handbook is
an important legal document that – if drafted properly – can protect an
employer from a number of employee problems. However, a poorly drafted handbook
can wind up creating more problems than it solves. Adopting a handbook while
avoiding the "pitfalls" will help keep employees happy and lawsuits
to a minimum.” – Source: Avoiding Common Employee Handbook Mistakes, Joseph Gagnon and Stephen Roppolo
Handbooks keep everyone on
the same page: A handbook typically lays out all the “must dos” at a company.
Basically, handbooks outline what’s expected of employees (what normal working
hours are), pay, benefits, substance and harassment policies, attendance, and
discipline.
Handbooks are helpful to
new employees: Having an employee handbook is a great way to get everyone on
the same page.
Handbooks can help
employees understand a company’s culture: Employees can get a feel for what a
business “is all about” after reading its employee handbook.
Handbooks help prove that
a company’s rules and regulations are current with employment laws.
Handbooks can help define
the employee/employer relationship.
Sources: The Employee Handbook: the Good, the Bad, and the Absolutely Critical; Why You Should Create an Employee Handbook.
However, handbooks (and
having rules that dictate everything that goes on at the office) can be
overwhelming, too:
Everything is connected to
a rule: If you want to discard rules, or change up the employee policy, you’ll
have to change every handbook. And because a company is a constantly evolving
entity, that means policies may be changing as the company evolves, too. Over
time, making constant amendments is time consuming, costly and confusing.
Some situations merit
individual responses: “Imagine if a senior business development executive
created a set of policies outlining how they will execute a business deal that
followed the process every time.
You can’t imagine it because it would never happen! For years HR types have been
complaining about having a seat at the table and being taken seriously by their
executive teams, and I think this is one of the reasons why. They don’t think
about what’s in the best interests of the business.” – Source: The One Sentence HR Handbook, Fistful of Talent, Andy Porter
Other issues can arise with handbooks when policies are
overly vague, too detailed, outdated, and inconsistent.
