An employee handbook is one of the most essential tools for any organization. It communicates company policies, sets expectations, and reflects the culture that makes your workplace unique. While creating one might seem complicated, modern services can make the process much simpler, more efficient, and legally compliant. Rather than spending hours crafting policies and navigating legal requirements, you can use professional tools that streamline the process while ensuring nothing important gets overlooked.
In this guide, we’ve highlighted the best services to help you craft a professional, compliant, and customized employee handbook. Whether you’re looking for easy-to-use templates or a fully customized solution, these platforms will help you get the job done right, giving you more time to focus on running your business.
Why You Should Use a Professional Employee Handbook Service
Creating an employee handbook is more than just piecing together policies; it’s about ensuring you meet legal requirements, clearly communicate expectations, and build a consistent foundation for workplace culture. A specialized service helps you accomplish all of this by offering customizable templates, automatic updates for legal compliance, and the ability to tailor the handbook to your business’s unique needs. These services will save you time, minimize risks, and ensure your handbook is clear, concise, and up-to-date with the latest regulations.
What to Look for in a Service
When choosing a service to create your employee handbook, keep these key factors in mind:
- Ease of Use: A simple, user-friendly interface will make it easier to build and update your handbook.
- Customization: Look for services that let you adapt the handbook to match your company’s specific culture and policies.
- Compliance: Automatic legal updates ensure your handbook remains compliant with local, state, and federal laws.
- Cost: Consider whether you need basic features or advanced customization, and choose a service that fits your budget.
Top 5 Services for Creating an Employee Handbook
1. AirMason
AirMason leads the pack when it comes to creating a sleek, professional, and legally compliant employee handbook. With its intuitive platform, AirMason offers customizable templates that can be tailored to match your brand, while ensuring compliance with local and federal regulations.
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Highlighted Features: AirMason allows you to easily customize every part of your handbook, from the content to the design. It also offers features like digital signatures, allowing employees to acknowledge they’ve read the handbook, and automatic updates to ensure compliance with employment laws.
- Compliance Alerts: Stay on top of evolving regulations with automatic legal updates, so your handbook is always compliant with the latest laws.
- Custom Branding: Personalize the entire handbook, from the content to the design, to align with your company’s branding.
- Pricing Details: AirMason offers flexible pricing based on the size of your organization and the features you need. You can also request a free demo to explore its functionality.
Pros and Cons:
AirMason stands out for its ease of use, sleek design options, and robust compliance tools. While some of the more advanced customization features are available only in higher-tier plans, AirMason’s overall value makes it a top choice for businesses of all sizes.
2. RocketLawyer Employee Handbook Builder
RocketLawyer, known for its wide array of legal services, offers a reliable employee handbook builder that simplifies the process of creating a compliant, legally sound handbook. With step-by-step guidance, RocketLawyer makes it easy to tailor your handbook to your company’s needs while ensuring it meets legal standards, through the use of standardized templates.
- Highlighted Features: RocketLawyer’s employee handbook builder uses a questionnaire to guide you through the process of creating a tailored handbook. The service also offers access to legal advice from attorneys if needed, making it a great option for small to mid-sized businesses looking for legal backing.
- Compliance Features: RocketLawyer ensures your handbook complies with state and federal laws at the time you publish your handbook.
- Pricing Details: RocketLawyer offers affordable monthly subscription options, giving you access to the employee handbook builder along with other legal services. They also offer a free trial for new users.
Pros and Cons:
RocketLawyer provides legal support alongside its handbook builder, which can be invaluable for small businesses. However, it does not have design customization options and services, focusing more on legal accuracy. Additionally, the handbooks created by RocketLawyer are all the same tone and can feel very formal and at times, difficult to understand.
3. SixFifty
SixFifty combines legal expertise with an easy-to-use interface to help you create a compliant and customized employee handbook. With a focus on keeping your handbook up-to-date with changing regulations, SixFifty can work for businesses that operate across multiple states or industries with complex legal requirements.
- Highlighted Features: SixFifty allows you to answer a few questions about your company, and it will generate a handbook tailored to your needs. Its compliance updates help so that you don’t have to worry about manually keeping track of changing laws.
- Pricing Details: Pricing is based on the number of employees and the complexity of your legal needs. SixFifty also offers a free consultation to determine the best package for your business.
Pros and Cons:
SixFifty’s biggest strength is its legal expertise, which ensures your handbook remains compliant as laws change. However, some users may find the platform more complex if they are only looking for basic handbook features.
4. SHRM Employee Handbook Builder
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) offers a comprehensive employee handbook builder that ensures compliance and provides customizable templates tailored to your company’s specific policies.
- Highlighted Features: SHRM’s handbook builder includes pre-populated templates with HR-approved content that can be customized based on your location and industry. It also automatically updates to reflect changes in state and federal laws.
- Pricing Details: Free for SHRM members, or available as part of a paid subscription for non-members. The service includes ongoing updates, ensuring your handbook remains current.
Pros and Cons:
SHRM’s builder is well-liked for its legal compliance tools and HR-approved templates. However, non-members may find it pricier than other options. Additionally, the templates are not easy to customize.
5. Handbooks.io
Handbooks.io is a straightforward and affordable option for creating simple employee handbooks that are legally compliant and easy to distribute. It’s ideal for businesses looking for a quick, efficient way to create and manage handbooks.
- Highlighted Features: Handbooks.io provides editable templates that can be tailored to your company’s needs. Employees can sign the handbook electronically, and the platform allows you to update it as needed with legal changes.
- Pricing Details: Handbooks.io offers free and paid options, with the comprehensive version priced at $159.95 annually. This includes continuous updates for compliance with local, state, and federal laws.
Pros and Cons:
Handbooks.io is affordable and easy to use, but it lacks some of the advanced features and design options offered by other services. However, for smaller businesses, it’s a great, budget-friendly option.
How to Maximize the Benefits of These Services
Regardless of which service you choose, here are a few tips to get the most out of your employee handbook:
- Utilize Customization Features: Tailor the content to your company’s specific policies and culture.
- Stay Compliant: Make use of automatic legal updates to ensure your handbook remains up-to-date with employment laws.
- Engage Employees: Choose a service that allows for easy digital distribution and tracking of employee signatures.
- Incorporate Feedback: Regularly gather feedback from employees to improve the clarity and relevance of your handbook.
Final Thoughts
Creating an employee handbook is a critical step in building a compliant and cohesive workplace. AirMason stands out as the top choice for its ease of use, beautiful design options, and strong compliance tools. With its comprehensive features, AirMason helps businesses of all sizes create and maintain an employee handbook that reflects their culture and keeps them legally protected.
Start your journey with AirMason today by requesting a free demo and see how it can streamline your handbook creation process!
