The purposes and the scope of employee handbook policies and the practices are changing and expanding. From a siloed HR activity that creates insular documents concerned primarily with communicating the organizational work rules and benefits, employee handbook policies and practices have evolved into a critical component of an organization-wide management process that maximizes organizations’ achievement of business objectives, enhances the value of their human capital, and minimizes legal risk.
To increase the effectiveness of their employment policies, organizations will have to:
Thus, employee handbooks will increasingly have to ensure that they are aligned with strategic and business objectives, are properly drafted, and are effectively implemented. Additionally, they will have to:
From this perspective, employee handbooks will continue to play an important role in communicating with and providing information for employees.
Employee handbooks are a critical tool in providing important information to employees. They describe what employers expect of their employees and what employees can (should) expect from their employers. They provide critical information about employers and their workplaces and how employees are expected to fit in.
Employee handbooks further formalize the mutual expectations of organizations and their employees. In delineating these expectations employee handbooks create opportunities and risks for employers. Handbooks provide organizations with the opportunity to enhance the value of their human capital, make their organizations more competitive, and improve individual and organizational performance. Conversely, handbooks can impede the achievement of business objectives, increase employment related liabilities, and reduce managerial prerogatives by making promises or commitments to certain procedural safeguards that the organization did not intend to make. As noted in memorandum from the General Counsel of the NLRB: incorrectly designed employee handbooks can violate the law and having a “chilling effect” on employees’ activities.
Thus, employee handbooks increasingly provide the opportunity for employers to make their workforce more committed and supportive of their goals. Unfortunately, employee handbooks also provide the basis for employees’ legal actions - increasingly at the state and local levels - and can significantly reduce employees’ commitment to organizational success.
Employee handbooks are a critical tool in providing important information to employees. They describe what employers expect of their employees and what employees can (should) expect from their employers. They provide critical information about employers and their workplaces and how employees are expected to fit in.
Employee handbooks further formalize the mutual expectations of organizations and their employees. In delineating these expectations employee handbooks create opportunities and risks for employers. Handbooks provide organizations with the opportunity to enhance the value of their human capital, make their organizations more competitive, and improve individual and organizational performance. Conversely, handbooks can impede the achievement of business objectives, increase employment related liabilities, and reduce managerial prerogatives by making promises or commitments to certain procedural safeguards that the organization did not intend to make. As noted in memorandum from the General Counsel of the NLRB: incorrectly designed employee handbooks can violate the law and having a “chilling effect” on employees’ activities.
Thus, employee handbooks increasingly provide the opportunity for employers to make their workforce more committed and supportive of their goals. Unfortunately, employee handbooks also provide the basis for employees’ legal actions - increasingly at the state and local levels - and can significantly reduce employees’ commitment to organizational success.
Ronald L. Adler
Ronald L. Adler, president of Laurdan Associates Inc. has 42 years of HR consulting experience and has served as a consulting expert on work force, workplace, and HR management issues for The Wall Street Journal, HRMagazine, and other publications and newspapers across the country. Mr. Adler's research findings have been used by the Federal Reserve Board, the EEOC, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), insurers, and international organizations.Mr. Adler is a frequent lecturer and author on HR management, employment practices, and UI issues. Mr. Adler is the author and editor of the Employment-Labor …
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