Why I Hate Employee Handbooks

I don’t do employee handbooks.  Wait, I made an exception for a wonderful client and just finished up an employee handbook a few weeks ago.   But I don’t do employee handbooks, or maybe the better thing to say is, I don’t like them.  Here’s why:

• Most of the content in them these days implies that you can’t trust your employees.
• Most of the content in them these days implies that you think your employees don’t remember the lessons they learned in kindergarten.
• Most of the content in them these days is written for the exception rather than the rule.  In other words, a policy is written for the one bad performer instead of the 10 good ones.
• Most of the content in them these days tells employees nothing about how to be star in the workplace.
• Handbooks or policies imply that you can make a rule to regulate every bad behavior.   News flash: this is not possible.

 

Better idea?  Make an “Orientation to Succeeding at our Company” manual.

Want to help people be successful at your company? Make the “manual” and introduction to the company with how to succeed.

A lot of the content in the handbook I just completed was this.  Such as, answering questions like, what benefits are offered to me as an employee?, what are the designated holidays?, etc.   It’s pretty dry, but I would take it a step further and encourage employers to make employee handbooks that look more like this one:

Valve Employee Handbook  Don’t you just love the graphics in it?

 

What is the value of a handbook like this? 

You get the information out to your new employees that needs to be shared, but without all the overbearing rules.  You also, right of the bat, establish the feel of the company culture by giving someone a document like this, instead of something that looks like the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament.

Want to read more on getting away from policies and handbooks?

From Fistful of Talent: Minimalist HR

From upstartHR: An open letter to HR on policies, regulating and training

 

image source: http://blog.equinix.com/2012/02/rewriting-the-rules-for-financial-trading-infrastructure-learning-a-new-rule-book/