Chances are you’re on the hunt to make your employee handbook a genuine guide that protects your team and your business, not just a snooze-fest of dos and don’ts. This ideal handbook goes beyond rigid rules; it’s a dynamic guide that reflects your company’s mission and values and supports your employees.

Why does it matter? Aside from shielding your company against legal disputes, a well-constructed handbook indicates that your company isn’t just going through the motions of legal compliance. It tells your team that their rights matter, they’re working in a company with purpose that respects and honors those rights, and it ensures everyone’s on the same page about what’s cool and what’s not at work.

Stick with us as we walk you through the required laws for your handbook, ensuring you’re ticking all the legal boxes while also keeping things approachable and relatable for your team of non-lawyer humans. Your handbook shouldn’t just be legally compliant; it should be a user-friendly resource that everyone in your company understands and values.

Creating an employee handbook can be challenging, especially when you’re starting from scratch. The best employee handbooks begin with the same first step: developing an effective outline. Not only does an outline provide clear direction for your project, but it also ensures you’ve identified the content to include.

Whether you’re drafting for the first time or revising an existing outline, you’re in the right spot. In this article, we’ll talk about what policies you should include and how to organize them.