Culture-First Employee Handbook Samples & Resources
We’ve been talking with a partner who’s hosting an employee handbook workshop later this month and the conversation quickly turned to company culture. In her words:
“Employee Handbooks are not just critical for mitigating risk, they introduce employees to company culture and how they fit in.”
In order to create our eBook, How to Write a Culture-First Employee Handbook, we compiled a list of references – samples, resources, and articles that helped shape our thinking on the topic.
We’d thought it might be nice to share them with you!
Sample Employee Handbooks and “Handbooks”
- Netflix Culture: Freedom & Responsibility
- Valve’s Handbook for New Employees
- Zappo’s Culture Book(s)
- The HubSpot Culture Code
- The Fool Rules (by Motley Fool)
Books
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink
- Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright
- The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery by Patrick Lencioni
- Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
- Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors by Patrick Lencioni
Websites
Tom O'Dea
Tom is the CEO and co-founder of Blissbook, where he helps HR teams craft and distribute culture-first, digital employee handbooks. For over 10 years, he’s partnered with hundreds of organizations and thousands of HR pros to develop clear, engaging HR policies, employee handbooks, and more. At home, his two daughters provide daily reminders that even the best-written policies are open to interpretation.