The great thing about a handbook is that it’s, well, handy!

Correction: The great thing about a handbook is that it’s handy when it’s up to date. An out-of-date handbook? That’s about as useful as a snack that’s past its expiration date (Gross!).

But regularly updating your employee handbook is the key to ensuring its usability never surpasses its shelf life. Imagine a snack that never expired! (Actually, don’t. That sounds like Spam on steroids. Nobody wants that!)

Whether your employee handbook is 15 pages long or 100, this article will walk you through how to update it, how to make sure your employees actually read and use it, and how to incorporate the handbook into your onboarding process.

How to Update Your Employee Handbook

Before we get into it, our team at The Writers For Hire wants to emphasize that there are two foundational strategies that will help you successfully update your employee handbook:

1. Conduct a comprehensive review.
2. Collaborate with your employees.

Think of these as your strength strategies: Your employees are a major asset that will help ensure your review is as thorough as possible.

Alright, now we can get into it!

Prepare for the review.

Before you crack open the handbook for a review, we encourage you to make the most of your employees’ opinions.

It is called an employee handbook, after all. Create and send out surveys to gather their preliminary input about the handbook.

For instance, you can include survey questions like:

• Are there any sections you feel are unclear or confusing? Be specific.
• Do you have any questions you would like the handbook to address?
• Is there any language that you find to be problematic or biased?
• How would you rate this handbook’s usability on a scale of 1-10, where 1 is useless and 10 is indispensable?
• Is there any other information you can think of that’s missing from the handbook?

Be sure to keep records of the survey results so you can incorporate your employees’ feedback during the editing stage.

Conduct a comprehensive review.

This is where we get into the meat of it: You need to take the time to read through your entire employee handbook.

It’s no Grisham—though it might be as long as one, depending on the size of your company—but trust us, it’s worth it.

It’s up to you whether you want to take notes during your first read-through. We suggest printing a copy of the handbook so that you can jot down your ideas and notes as you progress through it.

Regardless, consider the following questions and examples:

Are there any sections that are no longer relevant or useful?

• Example: If your company has transitioned to fully remote, a section detailing how to request to work from home is no longer necessary.

Are there any sections that need to be updated?

• Example: If your company’s paid time off policy has changed, the employee handbook should reflect this.

Are there any sections that need to be edited?

• Example: If your handbook uses sexist language, it should be edited to use inclusive language.

Are there any sections that should be completely reworked from scratch?

• Example: If you have switched payroll providers and your compensation process has drastically changed, it might be easiest to start over and redo this section.

Are there any sections that need to be added?

• Example: If your business has introduced new employee benefits like a home-office stipend, a section should be added that details the parameters.

Collaborate with all departments.

Since an employee handbook is a business-wide document, it’s only logical to take a cross-functional approach to updating it.

So, just like you collaborated with other employees before you began the review, you’re going to collaborate with them to help finish it.

Send out a copy of your draft to people across all business departments.

Ask them for feedback on what’s missing, what needs further clarification, what should be simplified, and so on.

You can also send a copy of the handbook to someone outside of the business to get an external opinion on its clarity.

That being said, it’s essential to make sure that your HR department and legal team check over the handbook and confirm that it’s compliant with legal regulations.

How to Make Sure Employees Read and Use Your Handbook

Updating your employee handbook is no small feat—well, maybe if you’re a single-member LLC—but finishing this endeavor deserves to be celebrated! And what better way to celebrate it than by having your employees read it?

You could sit next to them one-by-one and watch them read it, but there are easier ways to accomplish this goal.

Here are a few ways you can ensure that your workforce reads and uses your employee handbook:

• Store the handbook in a central location that everyone can easily access.
• Distribute electronic copies of the updated handbook to everyone.
• Schedule and conduct training about the handbook’s changes and updates.
• Create and assign comprehension checks such as quizzes or interactive modules.
• Ask each employee to sign a form acknowledging that they have read the latest version of the handbook and agree to adhere to its contents.

How to Use Your Updated Handbook to Onboard New Employees

When you make a new hire, it can feel like there are a million and one things you need to make sure they know about. Fortunately, an employee handbook can cover a great deal of that information!

Consider the conventions you’ve instituted for ensuring your current workforce reads and uses the employee handbook—like those we provided above.

We suggest extending those same protocols to new employees, as well as two extras:

• Provide all new employees with both a physical and a digital copy of the handbook.
• Schedule a meeting to go over the handbook together and answer any questions.

Save the Date: Update Your Employee Handbook

You’re formally invited to update your employee handbook this year!

Jokes aside, updating your employee handbook is an important activity that should be performed annually. With this article in your back pocket, you can lead the way like a pro.

But if you want some help, you can RSVP with The Writers For Hire! Our talented team can help you update, restructure, or even create a brand-new employee handbook that’s effective and user-friendly.

And don’t worry, this invite doesn’t expire. (Wink.)