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Employee Handbook for Word, PDF

Tell your staff what they need to know about working at your company with this free employee handbook template.

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    Available for Word & PDF

    Template Highlights

    • Our employee handbook template is available for download as a PDF or Microsoft Word document.
    • Tailor the cover page with your company logo, contact information, and the year.
    • Provide an introduction to the document and your company. Explain your mission, what you do, and your core values.
    • Introduce the leadership team, including headshots to put faces with names and familiarize your new staff with their managers.
    • Describe the company culture to define the environment in which your employees will work.
    • Offer a summary of a typical first day at your company.
    • Finally, describe the benefits (e.g., health insurance, retirement account) and perks (e.g., discounted gym membership, free snacks) you offer.

     

    What is an employee handbook? 

    An employee handbook is a workplace document that provides an overview of an organization's processes, policies, and workplace conditions to its employees.

    As a single source of truth for everything workplace-related, it acts as a reference document for employees and employers to help maintain a desired work environment. 

    Contents of an employee handbook 

    While the exact content of an employee handbook can vary depending on the company, it typically includes:

    • Company background: Share your company’s history, mission, and values to set up the foundation of your company’s culture. 
    • Products and services: Give an overview of your products and services, including how they help your customers, to educate the employees on the problems your brand solves. 
    • Company culture: Outline the expected behavior of employees surrounding everything from communication to personal appearance.  
    • Employment policies: Communicate important employment details, such as work hours, break times, and payment schedules.   
    • Employee benefits: Let the employees know about your paid time off (PTO) policy, paid holidays, and medical benefits. 

    Benefits of an employee handbook

    An employee handbook serves as a valuable company tool by providing a centralized source of information on all workplace practices. 

    In particular, you can expect the following benefits by developing a quality employee handbook:

    Smoother collaboration

    According to a 2023 Gensler report, employees spend 42% of their workweek working with others in person or virtually. To ensure all that time helps — rather than hurt — your business, you can rely on company culture policies that define the expected behaviors teams should have when working together. 

    Clear expectations

    By documenting the company’s recommendations on employee behavior, workplace culture, and standard policies, an employee handbook leaves no room for unnecessary disagreements.

    Instead, all employees know their rights and responsibilities and can work without dealing with the unknown.  

    Employee self-service

    An employee handbook acts as an FAQ document for employees and helps them clarify their confusion. For instance, if they want information on job benefits and perks, they can find that in the handbook.

    They can also rely on the employee handbook to get policies surrounding time-off requests (e.g., when they need to give notice or who gets preference in case there’s a leave conflict).

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    Employee Handbook

    EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

    {YEAR}

    CONTACT INFO

    Table of Contents

    WELCOME 3

    MISSION 3

    OVERVIEW 3

    WHO 3

    WHAT 3

    PRODUCT OVERVIEW 3

    CORE VALUES 3

    LEADERSHIP TEAM 4

    {COMPANY} CULTURE 4

    CONTRIBUTE 4

    W.I.T. (WHATEVER IT TAKES) 4

    LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS, NOT PROBLEMS 4

    BE EARLY AND BE READY 4

    BE NICE, BE RESPECTFUL 5

    EMBRACE UNIQUENESS AND DIVERSITY 5

    KEEP YOUR APPEARANCE APPROPRIATE 5

    LEAVE YOUR BAGGAGE AT THE DOOR 5

    PRACTICE LEADERSHIP 5

    TAKE PROBLEMS TO THEIR SOURCE 5

    YOUR FIRST DAY 6

    IMPORTANT DETAILS 6

    BENEFITS & PERKS 6

    TIME OFF - WE ALL NEED IT! 6

    HOLIDAYS 6

    MEDICAL BENEFITS 6

    WELCOME

    We are excited to welcome you to {COMPANY}. As a valued part of the team, we hope you will share our goals to success. {COMPANY} is committed to the highest quality of service in all aspects of our business. We hope you have a long and successful career with us.

    MISSION

    Delivering value through quality products at affordable prices

    OVERVIEW

    The {COMPANY NAME} Employee Culture Handbook (the “Handbook”) has been created to provide general guidelines about {COMPANY NAME}’s policies, benefits and expectations. It is a guide to assist you in becoming familiar with WHO we are and WHAT we do as well as sharing some of the culture, privileges and obligations of your employment with {COMPANY NAME}.

    WHO

    Founded in {YEAR} by {PERSON OR PERSONS}, {COMPANY} has:

    Served XXX Clients

    Grown from X employees to XX Employees {YEAR}

    Produced {X}

    Expanded to {XXXX and XXXX}

    WHAT

    PRODUCT OVERVIEW

    {PRODUCT/SERVICE}

    CORE VALUES

    {COMPANY} and its employees have a :

    commitment to integrity;

    commitment to quality ;

    commitment to innovation and excellence;

    and a commitment to building strong communities.

    LEADERSHIP TEAM

    NAME

    DIVISION

    TITLE

    NAME

    DIVISION

    TITLE

    NAME

    DIVISION

    TITLE

    NAME

    DIVISION

    TITLE

    NAME

    DIVISION

    TITLE

    NAME

    DIVISION

    TITLE

    {COMPANY} CULTURE

    CONTRIBUTE

    {COMPANY} believes every employee is equally important and we want you to participate and get involved. Speak up, give your opinion, make suggestions. Don’t wait for someone to ask your opinion. Jump in and contribute!

    W.I.T. (WHATEVER IT TAKES)

    Great results come from teams where individual members are motivated and willing to do whatever it takes to make things happen. Having a willing attitude makes teamwork happen.

    LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS, NOT PROBLEMS

    Problems will arise. Don’t look who is to blame, work together to find a solution.

    BE EARLY AND BE READY

    Everyone wants to work with a team where everyone can rely on each other. We believe in advanced preparation so others don’t wait on us. It starts first thing every day. That’s why we all agree that “When you’re early you’re on time, when you’re on time you’re late, and when you’re late you’re lost.”

    BE NICE, BE RESPECTFUL

    Everyone likes to be treated with respect. Saying “please” and “thank you” demonstrate an attitude of respect and cooperation. Even though we may not always agree with each other, we work out our differences and always give each other the benefit of the doubt. We keep all our verbal and non-verbal communication on a respectful level and treat each other in a manner that we would like to be treated. In fact, we are respectful even when others are not respectful to us. We are always on our “A” game.

    EMBRACE UNIQUENESS AND DIVERSITY

    We are a diverse and inclusive company. We want everyone to feel safe to contribute in their own unique way, to ask questions, to be curious, and to grow. We make it a habit to listen without judgement and to focus on the good things people do. We don’t judge and we don’t boss. We DO give positive praise and perform random acts of kindness.

    KEEP YOUR APPEARANCE APPROPRIATE

    Your appearance, behavior, and personal habits create the image which customers will remember most. You should come to work each day properly groomed, appropriately dressed and ready to make a great first, second and never ending impression.

    LEAVE YOUR BAGGAGE AT THE DOOR

    As team members, we bring the best of who we are to work each day by “leaving our baggage at the door” and not allowing issues in our personal life to negatively affect other team members.

    PRACTICE LEADERSHIP

    We are a practice of servant leaders. Team members are humble and set an example of kindness, support, and inspiration in every way. We are even-keeled, even-tempered, and predictable. We do the right thing, even when no one is looking. We serve others and want the team to succeed and we don’t seek individual credit.

    TAKE PROBLEMS TO THEIR SOURCE

    When teams progress and work together, sometimes there may be differences of opinion or misunderstandings. Those can be times of great growth. If you have a problem, go to the person it involves. It is unacceptable to spread gossip or talk behind a person’s back. Always go to the source of the problem, have a conversation, and find a solution so the team can fix it, grow and move on. If someone comes to us to discuss another team member, we always say “I think you should talk to him/her directly about this, instead of me.”

    YOUR FIRST DAY

    Welcome to {COMPANY}! Your success is important to our success! We hired you because we believe you are a great fit for {COMPANY}

    Please arrive at {XX}. You will be introduced to the rest of the team, get a lay of the land and go through an initial orientation to learn more about {COMPANY} and finalize any paperwork with HR. Lunch {will / will not} be provided.

    IMPORTANT DETAILS

    • Each department has their own schedule. Some departments allow flexi hours which you can discuss with your supervisor. Core hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm.

    • Parking is provided onsite (off site at xxx), a parking pass will be provided to you.

    • Everyone needs a break, but keep it short in consideration of your co-workers.

    • A paid 30 minute lunch break is factored into your schedule.

    • You will be paid on the 1st and 15th of each month.

    • Coffee and water are available in the breakroom. There is a shared refrigerator and a place to lounge when on break.

    BENEFITS & PERKS

    TIME OFF - WE ALL NEED IT!

    After 90 days of employment you will be eligible to PTO. PTO combines vacation and sick days and you will be eligible for 10 days PTO in the first year, increasing by 3 days each year worked with a maximum of 30 days.

    HOLIDAYS

    There are 7 paid holidays each year:

    New Years Day

    Martin Luther King Day

    Presidents Day

    Memorial Day

    Independence Day

    Thanksgiving Day

    Christmas Day

    MEDICAL BENEFITS

    Employees working more than 30 hours have access to additional benefits. Information will be provided to you when you become eligible.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    An employee handbook is a reference document that provides information on a company’s background, products and services, workplace culture, employment policies, and employee benefits.

    While both documents are essential to an organization's documentation, they serve different functions. HR policies cover procedures specific to human resources. In contrast, the employee handbook outlines organization-wide policies, practices, and protocols.

    Free as it can be! Once you’ve entered your contact information, you can instantly download this template (along with all the other templates in this collection!). That’s it.