Creating an employee handbook for the first time can be a daunting task. Whether starting from scratch or updating an existing handbook, following these best practices can help you create a comprehensive and effective employee guide.
Preparing to create your employee handbook
Collaborate for Success: Gather a team to ensure your handbook reflects the needs and culture of your company. A collaborative effort often results in a more comprehensive and useful handbook.
Review Employee Data: Understand your workforce. Know the total number of employees and how many are in each state. This information will guide the structure and content of your handbook.
Identify Additional Policies: Establish clear, optional policies that suit your company’s needs without infringing on employee rights. Clear policies help ensure smooth operations and consistent conflict resolution.
Types of employee handbooks you can create in SixFifty
Employers generally choose one of these main structures for their employee handbook:
Core handbook with state addenda
This option provides a core handbook that contains policies that apply to everyone in your company, like required federal policies and any optional policies you include. To account for state requirements, there are addenda attached to the core handbook that contains the required policies for each state where your employees work.
State requirements in the policy
In this handbook, state requirements are not contained in the attached addenda. Instead, there are subsections in policies that outline the requirements of each state where you have employees.
Core Handbook Only
This handbook includes only policies that apply to all of your employees. All state-specific information will be excluded. You must create a separate State Addenda to go along with this handbook to ensure you comply with applicable state law.
Universal leave policies
States have different leave requirements. Some employers prefer to give all employees the same amount of leave, no matter what state they work in. These universal leave policies are set at the highest standard of your state selection. This way, your employees have the same amount of leave no matter where they are and you only need to maintain a single policy for all your states. Universal policies can fit into any style of handbook discussed above.
How often to update your handbook
Regular Review: The best practice is to review and update your handbook at regular intervals. Employers often choose to review their handbook at least annually, though a more frequent review can both save time and reduce risk.
Legal Changes: Laws often change on January 1st. Stay ahead by planning updates accordingly.
Organizational Changes: Significant changes in company size or structure should prompt a review.
New States: Hiring in new states requires updating your handbook to include relevant state policies.
Automated Updates Rather than waiting for issues to arise, SixFifty will notify you within the app when it’s time to regenerate your handbook due to changing laws.
When your Employee Handbook is in "Needs Update" status, it is time to regenerate your handbook.
Here's a helpful article on applying legal updates to edited documents.
Share your thoughts
Your feedback is invaluable to us as we continue to refine and improve this tool.
Have suggestions, questions, or ideas for enhancements? Please share them! Your input helps us shape the future of our platform to better meet your needs.
Get in touch with us:
Email feedback@sixfifty.com