Workforce Management Featured Article
How the Employee Handbook Can Improve Workforce Management
The employee handbook – it’s not the most treasured reading within the organization, but still a needed publication. Does your team use it to set the tone and expectations for the workforce, or is it simply a handout that has to be included in the orientation phase? If the latter is more likely and you’re making investments in workforce management, you could be missing out on key opportunities to set the stage for efficiency.
A recent Restaurant article provided a list of tips on how to develop the employee handbook if you’re hoping to set the stage for productivity and efficiency among your workforce. While the tips are not meant to be legal advice (and I left out their tips that lean this direction), they do offer some insight into how you could easily create the information you want to communicate to your team. Borrowing from their list, below you’ll find one geared more for the typical workforce management environment.
Include Your Story – employees who are excited about your message are more likely to shine when at work. Give them something to believe in by providing your history, mission statement, values and even quotes from leadership.
Demonstrate Flexibility – while you aim to cover the common areas, not every scenario will get attention in the handbook. Be as flexible as possible so you can handle different situations when they arise.
Be Real – the handbook that is full of long, wordy paragraphs with big words and little meaning are sure to put even the most astute to sleep. If you want employees to buy into the concepts presented, you have to make it something they want to read and digest. You may have to stick with the boring when it comes to legalese, but the rest has room for creativity.
Create Clear Processes for Reporting – employees may have concerns over time and the handbook is a great place to demonstrate how the process of reporting should be handled. This gets you off the hook when a touchy situation arises and you’re not sure where to start. It also allows you to deal with the complaint before it turns into a bigger issue.
Make it a Clear Reference – employees won’t remember everything you tell them in orientation, even if you go through the entire handbook. To ensure happy employees, make sure the handbook is easy to reference and additional copies are easy to find.
While the employee handbook won’t prevent all issues that could occur with employees, it does help set the expectations you have for tone, attitude and behavior. When blended with workforce management, you’re better equipped for greater efficiency.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi