In a recent article in the Puget Sound Business Journal, an experienced employment attorney discussed the problems with businesses that think their employee handbooks are going to reduce their legal risks. Heather Bussing, a practicing employment and business law attorney for over 25 years, says that you should trash your employee manual because the fact is that all employees aren’t the same and the law doesn’t say we should (or must) treat them all the same either. 
For many business owners, the comfort of using an employee handbook is that the employees and employer will all be on the same page in terms of the company’s policies and practices. Bussing says that creating a robust handbook for your employees is worthless. She says policies don’t protect your business from legal risks. Rather than enforcing policies, she advocates firing people based on what they do or don’t do, not for violating a policy.
Bussing says there are two important questions to consider when creating a framework for your employee policies: What service or product does your company want to improve upon? And how can you build your work environment to better achieve that goal? As long as you keep those considerations in mind, Bussing says all the nonsense falls away.
Another important tip that Bussing provided was focusing on training as opposed to rule-making. Rather than drafting elaborate social media guidelines, explain to your employees why it is important to make prudent choices when using social media. For example, explain to your employees when defamation is and the consequences to the employee and your business if they choose to make false or misleading statements about another individual on social media.
Ultimately, Bussing says small business owners should be less concerned with making and enforcing rules. Rather, small businesses should focus on rewarding quality work and discouraging work that isn’t improving your company or achieving your company’s goals.
Setting Expectations
While it is hard to disagree with Bussing’s opinion regarding the importance of employee handbooks, I think it is important to note that her analysis is limited to discussing the use of policies by business owner’s who believe having an employee handbook is going to work as a “get out of jail free” card. Bussing notes that having company policies does not protect your business from legal risks, which is true. However, 
setting clear expectations for your employees in an employee handbook will help promote consistent and transparent practices within your business. As a small business owner, maintaining transparency with your employees can be an extremely important step towards gaining trust and respect with your employees. The more your employees trust and respect you, the lower the risk that you’re going to run into disputes with your employees.
While an employee handbook may not absolve you from all potential risks as a business owner, it can be an important tool to communicate how your company operates and what you expect from your employees.
You can read the Puget Sound Business Journal’s full article here.
Photo: Jeff Hester | Flickr
Photo: Seth Anderson | Flickr
If you’re interested in learning more about organizing your company’s employment practices, or general tips when hiring and firing employees, please feel free to comment below or contact me.
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