Creating an 8-Page Employee Handbook for a Startup: Any Tips or Advice?

I am working in a startup company, and I have to prepare an employee handbook in 8 pages. Please help me out in this regard.

Thank you so much.

Regards,
Sharmila

I am interested in discussing the structure of the handbook. The content is very company-specific. It will start with a short introduction about the company followed by the Code of Conduct. As a startup, you might not need a very detailed CoC, but essential points such as minimum standards for operations, safety measures, and non-adherence standards are crucial.

HR Policies

HR policies such as leaves, performance appraisals, data maintenance, reimbursements, medical and other benefits, dress codes if applicable, and other details such as work timings should be included. Please include guidelines for BYOD and social media. Please keep the content as succinct as possible so that the newly joined employees actually read it.

Do share what more you may wish to add.

Having worked in a startup and designed its policies and processes, I can confidently tell you that having an employee handbook creates great confidence in new joiners since it shows that processes are put into place. I agree with the content suggested by (Cite Contribution) and would like to stress that a Code of Conduct is essential since you are building the organization, and by default, its culture. So it's important to specify norms of behavior.

With reference to policy information, this should be a synopsis of the main policy and not the entire content. A new employee should be able to understand what the policy is about and their entitlement within it. Any exceptions should be mentioned in the main policy and not the employee handbook.

You should add a message from the MD/CEO along with the company's vision, mission & values. Values should be clearly explained and linked to the code of conduct.

Hope this helps. Please contact me offline if you wish to discuss this further.

Regards,

The following points are covered in any HR book.

EMPLOYEE WELCOME MESSAGE

- Introductory Statement
- Human Resource Beliefs
- Employee Acknowledgement Form

EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

- Employment Relationship
- Non-Discrimination
- New Employee Orientation
- Probationary Period for New Employees
- Employment Termination Policy
- Conflicts Of Interest
- Confidentiality & Proprietary
- Non-Solicitation
- Outside Employment
- Non-Disclosure
- Secrecy Clause
- Keys to Office
- Visitors

EMPLOYMENT STATUS & RECORDS

- Access to Personnel Files
- Employment Reference Checks
- Personnel Data Changes
- Employment Applications
- Performance Evaluation
- Education Development, Training

EMPLOYEE REFERRAL POLICY

- Employee Referral Program
- Referral Award/Award
- Who Can Refer
- What Counts
- Process
- Exceptions
- Hiring Of Relatives

SEPARATION & FINAL SETTLEMENT

- Submission of Resignation
- Notice Period
- Procedure
- Guidelines for Full & Final Settlement
- Leave Encashment

LEAVE POLICY

- Objective
- Eligibility
- Leave Without Pay
- Maternity Leave
- Company Annual Holidays
- Holidays during Leave
- Procedure for Attendance Recording and Leave Application Approval
- Sickness Leave
- Leaves at the end of the Financial Year
- Service Severance

POLICY ON INTERNET USAGE, EMAIL USAGE AND PASSWORD SECURITY

- Objective
- Scope
- Internet Usage
- Usage of Internet on Client Domain
- Email Usage & Security
- Password Security
- Don'ts

SECURITY POLICY

- Objective
- Scope
- Identity Card/Access policy
- Workplace Monitoring
- Server Room Security
- Employee Personal Property
- Protection of Outgoing Equipment, Media and Information
- Fire Protection
- Control of Asset Movement
- Data Handling and Security
- Power Supply
- Cabling Security
- Air Conditioning
- Policy Adherence
- Enforcement

COMPANY HOLIDAYS

WORK CONDITIONS

- Use of Equipment
- Emergency Closings
- Workplace Violence Prevention
- Project Completion & Startup

EMPLOYEE CONDUCT & DISCIPLINARY ACTION

- Employee Conduct and Work Rules
- Drug and Alcohol Use
- Sexual and Other Unlawful Harassment
- Personal Appearance/Dress Code
- Return of Property
- Security Inspections
- Drug Testing
- Workplace Etiquette
- Employee Personal Property

This is the content of one IT company's HR book. You may insert the necessary guidelines.

Employee Handbook Review Request

I am the first HR person at my company, and the first thing I did was prepare this employee handbook. Please check it and let me know whether it is okay or if I need to make any changes. If it is okay, then it may become useful to you, Sharmila. Please guide me if any changes need to be made.

Regards,
Shirley