What Is an Employee Handbook?

An employee handbook (also called a company handbook) helps employees get acquainted with everything they need to be successful and safe in the workplace.

For instance, it provides guidance and information on a company’s:

• Mission, vision, and values
• Policies and procedures
• Workplace code of conduct

It also helps protect employers against discrimination or unfair treatment claims by effectively communicating these policies.

What’s the Difference Between an Employee Handbook and a Policy Manual?

The primary difference between an employee handbook and a policy manual is the target audience. An employee handbook covers a variety of workplace policies, but sometimes it’s necessary to have a separate, more detailed manual on hand for HR and leadership to follow.

Here’s a general overview of these two company guides:

• Needs to read Employee handbook: The intended audience is the employee, and it serves as a valuable resource to inform, empower, and protect.
• Needs to read Policy manual: The intended audience is a supervisor or HR professional, and it’s used when more information is needed to understand rules or processes in greater detail.

What’s Included In an Employee Handbook?

Your organization’s handbook should be specific to your company, and its contents will vary based on your industry. However, most employee handbooks contain sections similar to the ones outlined below.

Company Mission Statement and Values

This introduction sets the tone for your employee handbook and conveys your brand. It helps employees learn about the company's history, culture, and values. It’s also a great place for a letter from your CEO to help people feel welcome.

Employment Policies

It’s important to include key policies about your organization that uphold your company’s work environment and set expectations. Company policies for an employee handbook may include:

• Code of conduct
• Communications policies
• Social media and internet usage policies
• Work-from-home guidelines
• New hire and separation policies
• Situational stances (e.g. inter-office dating, anti-nepotism)
• Health and safety practices
• Dress code

Company Procedures

Employee handbooks outline company procedures that teams must know how to handle as they arise. This includes:

• Performance reviews
• Promotions and raises
• Injury reporting
• Company grievances

Employee Compensation and Time Off

Your team can review the handbook for general employee compensation information and related insights, such as:

Compliance Policies

Documented compliance policies help protect your organization and its employees while fostering an inclusive workplace. For instance, you may want to include:

• Nondiscrimination policies
• Harassment policies
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statement
• Disability and religious accommodations
• Employee rights

What Should Not Be Included In an Employee Handbook?

Whether it’s due to legal reasons or other concerns, a few things shouldn’t be included in an employee handbook. Here are some examples:

• Overly restrictive social media policies: This may not only reflect negatively on your company, but it can also violate employee rights as given in Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
• Rigid disciplinary policy language: Disciplinary policies should include a disclaimer that states your company has the right to handle infractions on an individual basis, leaving room for unforeseen circumstances.
• Legal documents: An employee handbook is not a contract. Non-compete clauses, non-disclosure agreements, and other legal forms should be presented separately.

If you’re unsure about a section of your handbook, it’s worth consulting your legal team for further guidance.

How Long Is the Average Employee Handbook?

Generally, employee handbooks are 10–50 pages, with an average of around 20 pages. It should be long enough to feel informative without going into too much detail. Using clear, concise language helps keep the page count down, while ensuring the handbook is fully read and understood by everyone at your company.

How Does an Employee Handbook Benefit Employees?

Your organization’s handbook should clearly outline what the employer expects from the employee and what the employee can expect from the company. It’s often distributed to people on or before their first day of work, so they learn more about your organization and prepare for employment.

It can also be a helpful resource after onboarding, as employees can refer back to your organization’s policies when they have questions or want to review their benefits information.

How Does an Employee Handbook Benefit Employers?

An employee handbook keeps all company policies and procedures in one central place and helps the employer stay consistent in enforcing those policies and procedures. This can be essential if legal questions arise or if an employee breaks one of your company policies.

Are Employers Required to Provide an Employee Handbook?

There’s no specific legal requirement for employers to provide an employee handbook. However, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) advises that it’s a key tool for employers and HR departments in addressing conflict and other issues. Companies should distribute an employee handbook (electronically or as a hard copy) to every employee.

An employee handbook communicates the rules. It holds everyone accountable to those standards, while building trust and transparency between employers and their teams.

Do Employees Have to Sign an Employee Handbook?

While not a legal requirement, it’s useful to require every employee to sign a document declaring that they received, read, and will follow the rules outlined in the employee handbook. This can help protect your organization if you’re required to discipline an employee based on the policies and procedures you’ve communicated inside.

Employee Evaluation 

An employee evaluation, also known as a performance review, is a periodic appraisal of an employee’s performance by their manager. It’s an opportunity to assess the employee’s progress, praise their accomplishments, and collaborate on goals to improve performance and help achieve company objectives.

Top 6 Benefits of Employee Evaluations

When done right, employee evaluations can have important benefits for both employers and employees, including:

• Improving communication between managers and employees
• Improving job satisfaction and retention
• Increasing performance and profitability
• Identifying star performers and candidates for promotion
• Providing help for employees who need further training
• Improving company culture
  

  Employee Evaluation Examples

  Regular evaluation and appraisal of employees’ performance helps them know what they’re doing well and where they need to improve.

  To make sure their feedback aligns with company standards, supervisors and managers should ask their HR department for a list of anonymized examples of phrases they can use during employee evaluations.

  Here are a few examples of positive and constructive phrases and questions to use during an employee evaluation.

  Positive Employee Evaluation Phrases

  • You are always on time for work and manage your time well.
  • Their problem-solving skills are a great asset to the team.
  • They effectively manage the team and play to each team member’s strengths.
  • Your ability to listen and talk openly with others is highly appreciated by your peers.
  • You strive to be the best version of yourself to help strengthen your team.
  • They prioritize their work well and always meet deadlines.
  • Customers regularly seek your guidance and support.
  • They are very articulate and explain their thoughts clearly.
  • You are a very detail-oriented individual who works hard to achieve personal and team goals.

  Constructive Feedback Phrases

  • Your approach to solving problems is often risky and unconventional. Try to find a more balanced approach to problem-solving.
  • They don’t often delegate tasks to other team members.
  • They frequently speak over others during meetings or while collaborating with peers.
  • You work incredibly well on your own but need to push yourself to speak more openly in group situations.
  • Your work is typically on time but is sometimes of a lower quality due to the rush to complete tasks.
  • They need to tailor their customer service approach to meet the unique needs of individual customers.
  • They tend to make decisions too quickly without taking into full account all the details.
  • You have shown an eagerness to grow in your position; however, you need to take into account other employees’ concerns regarding your performance.
  • Consider taking additional professional development and training courses to enhance your performance.
  • They seem to struggle expressing their thoughts and feelings, which leads to miscommunications.

Examples of Performance Goals

Performance goals (well-defined goals an employee wants to achieve) are commonly used during the employee evaluation process. The metrics relate to an individual’s productivity, job satisfaction, and accountability and help keep employees motivated and engaged.

Performance goals that are well-defined, realistic, and relevant may help employers determine where employees are best positioned and create personalized career paths.

Common performance goals include:

• Improve collaboration and communication between myself and my team members.
• Take more initiative in team projects.
• Develop creativity skills.
• Understand the company’s internal systems and operations more deeply.
• Manage time and tasks more effectively.

How to Prepare for an Employee Evaluation

Managers should take regular notes on each worker’s performance prior to an evaluation. This makes it easier for the manager to discuss specific examples of the employee’s strengths and accomplishments, as well as any concerns.

Managers should also regularly measure each employee’s performance using appropriate metrics and be prepared to discuss the findings during the employee evaluation. Managers should choose metrics tied to company objectives, and each employee should know in advance what they’ll be judged on. This will allow them to align their priorities and behaviors accordingly.

Expert Tip: Request an Employee Self-Evaluation

Employees should also complete a self-appraisal form before the meeting. This will enable the manager and employee to determine whether they see eye-to-eye.

During the evaluation, the manager and employee should collaborate on employee goals. Together, they should create a detailed plan and timetable for follow-up meetings, and the manager can then provide additional resources or training and determine milestones and metrics for measuring success. This will help to drive performance improvements and career development.

To complete the employee appraisal process, managers should fill out an employee evaluation form to document what was discussed and the agreed-upon goals. This form becomes part of the employee’s permanent company record and can help guide and support future decisions about compensation, promotion, or termination.

How Often Should You Conduct Employee Evaluations?

Most organizations conduct employee evaluations every three to six months. Frequently reviewing employee performance keeps employees motivated and engaged, boosting organizational performance. This also helps managers solve small problems before they grow and enables them to recognize and reward employees’ recent accomplishments immediately.

Previously, employee evaluations have been called annual reviews because most companies only conducted them once a year. But it’s hard for employees and managers to accurately remember everything that happened during an entire year—and studies show annual reviews do little to improve performance.

A growing number of employers are providing employees with more frequent feedback, and research confirms it produces better results such as accomplishing performance management goals more quickly.

Depending on needs and circumstances, employee evaluations may be conducted quarterly, monthly, or even weekly. Some organizations go further, replacing employee evaluations with frequent check-ins and one-on-one meetings.