HUMAN RESOURCE HANDBOOK

Ok! We've all been in different organizations and have had the opportunity to see different human resource handbooks. So what goes into an effective human resource handbook? Well, first and foremost, the human resource handbook needs to have all the details regarding your organization. When was it founded, who founded it, how has it grown down the ages, how many divisions there are, who heads these divisions, who the company media liaison person is, whether the company is listed on the exchange, what is the stock trading at and other details that will inform your staff about the organization they work in.

Next, a human resource handbook must serve as a ready reckoner of all the rules, policies and processes applicable to staff at your workplace. If your staff needs to know about work timings and leave policies, they need to be able to find it in the human resource handbook. If they need to have the medical officer’s number at their fingertips, it needs to be listed in the human resource handbook and if they need the latest information about the bottom line of the company, it needs to be present in the human resource handbook.

In addition to the above, most human resource handbooks also contain information on a wide variety of benefits that the organization provides its people. If your organization has different leave policies, the information needs to reflect in the human resource handbook. What is your organization’s stand on maternity leave for pregnant women, paternity leave for new fathers, nursing leave for new mothers, do you encourage casual leave and what constitutes emergency leave? All of this should be in the human resource handbook.

But to ensure that your people don’t just look at the human resource handbook as a book of privileges, it also needs to list out the duties of your employees. Some of the tips and tricks you could include in the human resource handbook are: How to work smart, rather than working hard; handling issues at work; Sexual harassment – what you should know and even a few articles on e-mail etiquette, time management, meeting etiquette and the like. And rather than shirk away from sensitive issues like discipline and disciplinary action at work, it is better to list them all down in the human resource handbook. This way, your staff too will stay well informed about the various policies of work and how they are affected.

In fact, the human resource handbook should contain not just information they need, but also information they can use too! Putting all of this into the human resource handbook will not just make it a handy reference tool, but will continuously remind your staff of what a great organization they work in. And happy people make more productive employees!