Are company handbooks for employees a good idea?

Employee manuals and employee handbooks are a must for any company these days, especially when dealing with multilingual workforce in the times of COVID-19. And what is even more important, is getting these employee handbooks and employee manuals translated into the languages of non-English-speaking and limited-English-speaking employees. 

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Any company with employees should have a comprehensive employee handbook including the laws under which they operate, the Mission and Values that employees are to be guided by, and general procedural guidance for employees and management to follow when questions or issues arise.  This is the #1 way to help protect your investment against false claims and also the #1 way to help create structure and understanding of organizational objectives and expectations for operational efficiency.  Here is an analogy:  Can you imagine what liability and other problems there would be if there were no laws and rules for driving on America's streets and highways?  The same would be true in an organization without an employee handbook.

How else would you communicate your expectations and rules to your staff, and expect them to know/follow them?  Yes yes yes, you need an employee handbook.  Not just one you copy from the internet and slap your name on, but one that you know is compliant for your state, region, industry, and size of business.  Contact an attorney or human resources professional for help!

They are imperative to reduce risk/liability but do not need to be written in "legalese". You can infuse your company culture and values into the wording.

Short answer. Absolutely. Slightly longer answer, yes.  It does help to establish guidelines and expectations of your employees.  Remember your employees are your most important customer and they need guidance on your expectations of them and that in turn translates to how they treat your external customers.  Don't look at it as a just a set of rules or legal jargon.  It is a guide to how you lead them.  If every detail is in there and a big list of rules you may get the "running a prison" vibe.  If it outlines the mission, the companies ethics, and a set of core values along with the rules and expectations there is a better chance they'll follow the rules regardless because they believe in the company.  I know that sounds "fluffy" and I don't mean that a handbook should be more like a Dr. Seuss book than an actual guiding document.  It needs to be some level of both.

Yes, it really is a must.  It does not have to be wordy, complicated, etc.  It is very helpful in maintaining a positive culture and keeping everyone on the same page.  It is a wonderful tool for employees to have  policies in writing to refer to so that they are on the same page as management/owners; and that there is a clear understanding of what is expected of them.

YES!

I believe it would be a great resource that can be used to refer to for future reference but definitely should be defined by classification or categories and not by each job title.  Each classification should have its own defined relationship behavioral standards and expectations which would be a good idea for establishing the desired cultural expectancies for all staff including leadership.   Personally I believe that anytime you have things outlined, documented and in a friendly presentation such as a handbook it will be more well received as opposed to responding to negative behaviors after the fact. 

Tina Boson MBA MA/www.tb2day.com   

A comprehensive employee handbooks are a must for any size company. An employee manual helps develop a framework and a culture for employees. Just make sure you have an regular review of your policies and guideline that comply with state, local, and federal mandates.  To many companies create a manual, present it to employees and forget to review for compliance.  Great to have a communication plan in place to update employees on changes or enhancements to the employee manual.    

I strongly advise against handbooks. There are other ways in which employers can provide information, tools and resources with much stronger communication avenues and necessary document control than an actual manual. It is also risky to have in place any documents that could be construed as an employment contract, inadvertently dissolving the at-will standard. Note this standard is not applicable in situations where employees are covered under a collective bargaining agreement. 

It is imperative to have up to date policies and procedures easily accessible to employees. It is key to have a robust training plan to ensure employees are informed of policies and procedures, as well as understand fully any changes made to them. It is unwise to hand employees a stack of paper, tell them to read them, and expect them to have understanding. This is true not only for policies related to a Code of Conduct and other work rules, but procedures around actual work duties.