The HR policies and procedures manual and employee handbook form the backbone of an organization. These documents consist of all the details regarding the treatment to be given to the employees in the organization and help the employees in recognizing the culture of the organization. The HR policies and procedures manual is complied first and thereafter the employee handbook is prepared in conjunction with the prevailing policies and procedures as laid down in the earlier document.
Such documents clearly define the benefits to be provided to the employee, various procedures as followed in the organization and the standard of work maintained in the work place. In case there is any issue from either the side of the employer or the employee, the HR policies and procedures manual and employee handbook prove the necessary source of information to be adhered to in order to resolve the issue.
Administration, managers and supervisors can consult these documents from time to time while formulating various procedures and orders. These documents provide them the details regarding the company policies and implementation procedures to be followed. The employees can also consult these documents to acquaint themselves with the organizational policies and procedures regarding various aspects like leaves’ sanction, different allowances, insurance plans, anti-harassment rules, anti-drugs rules, etc. The employees’ handbook should contain all such data, pertaining to the employment of the employees, in complete detail so as to ensure that employees can obtain all the required information in time.
The HR policies and procedures manual and employee handbook should be prepared with utmost objectivity and comprehensibly so as to make the documents standard and consistent in approach, as well as free from any complexity or overlap. This is essential to negate any sort of differential treatment with the company, and ensure a smooth and conflict-free working within the organization.
Organizations can hire an HR Consulting Firms for the preparation both or either of the HR policies and procedures manual and the employee handbook. An HR Consultant can assist the organization in:
- Preparing a new HR policies and procedures manual/ employee handbook for the organization
- Revise certain aspects of the documents or completely revise the HR policies and procedures manual/employee handbook
- Check the documents for the ever changing legal rules and regulations, and make the necessary changes
- Audit the existing HR policies and procedures manual and/ or employee handbook to make sure that the given details provided are relevant to the current industry/market scenario.
The work of the HR Consultant can include covering just one of the document or both, the HR policies and procedures manual and the employee handbook. Also, as per the requirement of the administration, the Consultant may be asked to either work upon the entire document or cover just a few policies.
While compiling an HR policies and procedures manual, an HR Consultant should keep in mind the following important factors:
- Organizational culture
- Legal rules and regulations
- Market trends
While preparing an employee handbook, the Consultant should consider the following:
- HR policies and procedures manual of the organization
- Existing rules and regulations related to the employees in the organization
- Legal compliances
- Industry norms
An HR Consultant, on the call from the organization, may also guide and train the administration and managers in implementing the policies and procedures properly. Further, the Consultant can also train the employees in complying with the details as laid down in these two major documents of the organization.
Thus, by helping the organization with the preparation and updation of the HR policies and procedures manual and employee handbook of the organization, an HR Consulting Firm facilitates in creating an environment in the company which is equitable, balanced and free from conflicts.
