If there’s ever a time to rethink your handbook, it’s now. The timeliness has less to do with the fast-approaching new year — the obvious time to roll out a replacement handbook — and more to do with the wave of change that recently swept the workplace.
“The pandemic sparked an awakening among people. They re-evaluated workplace norms and decided many no longer work for them.”
Workers’ new expectations may clash with employers’ old policies. Policies that ban flexibilities normalized by the pandemic may feel frustratingly out of date. And yet, many organizations punt on handbook refreshes. “I think a lot of companies don’t update their employee handbooks as often as they should,
With the shift to hybrid work, organizations must set clear expectations around communication, and performance. Managers and associates both play a significant role in making [hybrid work] successful within their teams, and HR teams have an opportunity to provide tools and guidelines to make it even easier.
With 2023 around the corner, now is the time for employers to consider updating their employee handbooks. Handbooks, handed out at orientation and often thereafter ignored, are an important compliance tool for employers addressing all manner of employment issues. And handbook policies can be a helpful tool when defending a variety of employment claims, such as wage and hour violations, harassment and discrimination lawsuits, and leave disputes.
An outdated handbook, however, can be a liability, particularly for multistate employers with a widely-dispersed workforce. These employers in particular must be attuned to the myriad of different employment laws and must be aware of new developments in any state where any employee is located. These complicated compliance requirements may seem tedious or burdensome, especially in an environment where employers are already struggling with recruiting and hiring, but failure to do so can be costly.
An outdated handbook, however, can be a liability, particularly for multistate employers with a widely-dispersed workforce. These employers in particular must be attuned to the myriad of different employment laws and must be aware of new developments in any state where any employee is located. These complicated compliance requirements may seem tedious or burdensome, especially in an environment where employers are already struggling with recruiting and hiring, but failure to do so can be costly.
Margie Faulk
Margie Faulk is a senior level human resources professional with over 15 years of HR management and compliance experience. A current Compliance Advisor for HR Compliance Solutions, LLC, Margie, has worked as an HR Compliance advisor for major corporations and small businesses in the small, large, private, public and Non-profit sectors. Margie has provided small to large businesses with risk management strategies that protect companies and reduces potential workplace fines and penalties from violation of employment regulations. Margie is bilingual (Spanish) fluent and Bi-cultural.Margie’s area of expertise includes Criminal Background Screening Policies and auditing, I-9 document correction and storage compliance, …
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