Development of Customized Employee Handbooks
Handbooks are one of our strongest areas of expertise. While this is a most daunting task for employers who cannot and should not be expected to be well-versed in all the compliance laws, etc., it is our area of strength. HR LINK has written handbooks for over 70 companies running the gamut of industries. From retail to nonprofits to insurance agencies and so on, there is not a business out there that we can’t study up on and learn so we can do your organization justice.
The process is really pretty painless for you. To begin, HR LINK meets with either the owner, or someone who knows a great deal about your current policies and practices—whether or not they are on paper. This meeting takes about 1 ½ hours and you don’t have to prepare for it.
This meeting does NOT have to take place in person. We have done many handbooks via conference call and delivered the essence of the organization.
From the questions asked, HR LINK will prepare your first customized employee handbook draft delivered to you electronically in three to four weeks. It will contain all the uniqueness about your organization as well as the Employee Conduct Guidelines that protect you when you experience poor performance, etc.
You will have a month to review it and tell us of your changes. We are flexible and we certainly will make changes that will better reflect your organization. We will also tell you if a change you wish will compromise your HR practices and leave you in a less defensible position. We will always recommend the strategy allowing you the most protection.
After we discuss your changes, we will deliver the close-to-final draft in about two weeks. You will have two weeks to look it over for any last changes.
Your final draft is your document and you may feel free to make changes to it in the future. You may want to involve HR LINK for any specific verbiage that you want to be absolutely correct.
What if I already have an employee handbook that is pretty old? HR LINK will use its customized format, but refer to your document continuously, so we don’t miss anything that should be in the handbook. It is much better to use HR LINK’s proven format, than to try to add to your version, making it less than the best.
Expected Benefits:
As a result of developing an employee handbook, you will see the following results:
- Definite decisions will be made and communicated to your employees. This does not take away your flexibility, but allows you a set of procedures that don’t have to be revisited all the time and second guessed.
- Your employees will be able to get lots of their questions answered (like for example how vacation works) from the handbook, without taking the time of your Office Manager or Supervisors. The handbook is written in easily understood language without a lot of “legal jargon.”
- Your organization will be protected as it never has been before. The handbook is written so that you have the protection of employment-at-will doctrine (if applicable in your state) and power to terminate. It sets out clear employee conduct guidelines you will expect employees to follow.
New employees will get a sense of your culture and environment. The handbook is written positively as we want the new employee to say, “I’m glad I came here.”
Fees
The range for a customized employee handbook with cover page design is $1600 to $1900 complete. If there are not a lot of rewrites (or a nonprofit board constantly changing things) the fee will be closer to the lower end.
When you receive the first draft and have a month to review it (and you sign off that that month will be sufficient) there will be a $500 surcharge if you don’t get back to us by the end of the month. This helps the client see the sense of urgency that this document is VERY important and should be in the hands of your employees.
“What is important is rarely urgent; what is urgent is rarely important.” Think about what you do everyday and you will realize how true this is.
» Contact us to see how HR LINK can help you.
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