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Employee Handbook

May 08, 2017

The SBDC has had the opportunity to offer an Employee Handbook seminar in the past as part of our seminar series. In this article, I would like to share some of the information learned regarding the importance of having a well-developed Handbook. 

Many times small businesses don’t consider having an employee handbook due to the small number of staff they have, but it is important to be aware of the significance of written policies. Having an employee handbook will always benefit a business; you will be prepared for when your business grows and, hopefully, you won’t face the uncertainty of what you can or cannot do when employing and managing staff.  In addition, you will have well defined employee policies that can settle disputes before they start and protect both your business and your employees from the potential of litigation.

A handbook won’t protect you against everything that can go wrong with your employees, but the policies and procedures will provide guidance for the fair and consistent treatment of employees as well as critical government regulatory policies and company policies.

Some things to keep in mind about employee handbooks are:

These are just a few suggestions, and the discussions within these subjects contained a variety of regulations. Therefore, having the expertise from the Texas Workforce Development, a Professional in Human Resources, or by visiting with one of the advisors at the ASU SBDC will help greatly in the developing of your handbook.

 “Business Tips” was written by Adriana Balcorta Havins, Senior Business Development Specialist IV of Angelo State University’s Small Business Development Center.  For more information on the topic of this article or the services of the ASU · SBDC, contact her at Adriana.Havins@angelo.edu.