Table of Contents
āThe NUMBER 1 Playbook every scale-up needsā isĀ
šThe employee handbook š
Before you sit back in your chair with a sigh of deflation, letās tell you why this little document could be the difference between scaling and closing (and we donāt mean closing as in Always Be Closing sales).
In its State of the Global Workplace report,Ā GallupĀ concludes that ā20% of employees are engaged at work.Ā
The bottom line on why you need an employee handbook
Companies with more highly engaged employees show better performance.Ā
Engaged employees,Ā according to the Gallup study;Ā Ā Ā
- Increase productivity by 17%
- Increase customer ratings by 10%
- Increase sales by 20%
- Increase profitability by 21%Ā
- Reduce absenteeism by 41%
Whereas Forbes suggests that a disengaged employee costs the company aboutĀ 34% of their salaryš®
Okay, got it.
But how to engage employees from the get-go?
Youāve probably guessed that engaging employees from the get-go means having a great onboarding experience but what does that mean? Chocolates and a hoodie on the first day?
Not necessarily but hereās an easy onboarding checklist to help you on your way. Youāll notice that the employee handbook a number 1 on our list!

BUT 60% of employees donāt readĀ the employee handbook when joining.Ā
Why? Because generally, theyāre boring.
Previously, we shared 4 examples that we absolutely LOVE, but today we thought weād share our very own example from WhaleĀ .Ā
If youāre a Whale customer, youāll be able to find the template on Whale! Otherwise, simply download the presentation template below.
Elements of a great employee handbook
Before we share the must-haves of a great employee handbook, here are some of the mistakes that companies often make;
Ā Copy-and-pasting the old handbook
Ā Getting stuck in the detail
Ā Using too much technical jargon
Remember you wonāt be able to tell your new team member absolutely everything in the employee handbook. Thatās what anĀ onboarding processĀ is for and why it often spans 90 days or more.
The purpose of the employee handbook is to translate the essence of the company, brand, and culture and to get new team members excited about being part of it all!
Brands like Netflix and Hubspot are famous for their employee handbooks! One might even go as far to say as itās their online and publicly visible handbooks that attract the worldās best talent!
Typically these handbooks include elements such as;
- Purpose statement
- Values
- Mission
- The Story
- Way of doing business (Yes, we even haveĀ our Spotify PlaylistĀ in ours!)
Employee handbook elements
The entire structure of your employee handbook is going to be determined by the size and culture of your company. We deemed it not necessary to have all of the elements below because we have a small team but also because we believe we shouldn’t have to talk about things like disciplinary procedures. We have a pretty straight culture and always address issues in meetings. So instead, we chose to talk about meeting schedules and objectives in our handbook.Ā
You may or may not choose to have ALL these elements in your employee handbook;
Introduction:
- Welcome message
- Company mission, vision, and values
- About the company
Employment Policies:
- Equal employment opportunity
- Diversity policies
- Attendance and punctuality
- Hours of work
Code of Conduct:
- Dress code and appearance
- Personal conduct and professionalism
- Use of company property and resources
- Social media and internet usage
- Confidentiality and data privacy
Compensation and Benefits:
- Payroll schedule and procedures
- Overtime policy
- Vacation, sick leave, and other time-off policies
- Health insurance and other benefits
- Retirement plans
Performance and Conduct:
- Performance expectations and evaluations
- Promotion and advancement policies
- Disciplinary process and procedures
Safety and Security:
- Workplace safety guidelines
- Emergency procedures
Security measures (e.g., access control, data protection)
Communication:
- Reporting lines and organizational structure
- Communication channels (e.g., email, meetings)
Employee feedback and suggestion process
Training and Development:
- Orientation and onboarding process
- Training and development opportunities
- Continuing education support
- Professional growth and career development
Legal and Regulatory Compliance:
- Employment laws and regulations
- Family and medical leave
- Worker’s compensation
FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) policy (if applicable) - ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) policy (if applicable)
Employee handbook essential no 1: Purpose statement
Purpose is your UBER strategy! Itās your why! It can be linked to āThe storyā of the company, but it might not be.Ā
Purpose however should direct every single activity in the business, from what gets done (or not), to how to run meetings to how to build product, and more!
Your purpose is why your customers buy from you, why team members are attracted to you and why you get out of bed in the morning.
Employee handbook essential no 2: Values š

You can check outĀ how we live these values here.
In the āoldenā days, values used to be stuck up on a wall in big lofty offices but we donāt live in the olden days now, and if youāre going to win the game of entrepreneurship, youāre going to have to walk your talk!
Values should live in the hearts of your team, not on office doors!
In our case that means;
- Act with Integrity
- Deliver a Frictionless Experience
- Be Humbly Ambitious
Employee handbook essential no 3: Mission šÆ
The more you clarify the objectives and name the mission of the company from the beginning, the easier itāll be to have everyone moving in the same direction.
TOP TIP – Be specific!
Employee handbook essential no 4: The Story š
Thereās a reason that each business starts, and typically it starts because of one of two reasons; a dream or a problem, or both!
In a way, a business is a modern-day fairytale that always starts with āonce upon a time.ā In our case, it goes a little something like this;
Of course, this wasnāt the, āand they all lived happily ever afterā storybook ending, far from it.
It was just the beginning.
But this was our raizon dāetre / reason for being! Without this beginning, we wouldnāt be here talking to you!
Your business has a story.Ā
You may not think itās important, but itās probably the reason that new employees want to work for you. Share the story and get everyone excited about continuing the legacy.
Employee handbook essential no 5: Way of doing things, i.e. culture matters š
If purpose is about why a company does what it does and values are how they achieve that purpose, then the way of doing things is a practical guide to living the values. In essence, all of these create a company culture.Ā
94% of entrepreneurs and 88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success. (TeamStage)
Culture matters!Ā
Here are a couple of items we chose to list in our employee handbook.
We donāt do internal email We do L10 meetings. We do Slack. We even do memes on Slack – feel free to use as many as you like but we donāt do internal email.Ā
This is to streamline communications and make working at WhaleĀ Ā a pleasure, not a pain in the (you know).
If you have an email policy, including it in the employee handbook in a fun could reduce ādragā or reading the document.
Donāt forget to consider HOW you write emails if your business does it a specific way, for example, when talking to customers.Leave and paid time off
Have you ever read a leave policy that made you fearful you might be arrested on account of wrongdoing? Try to make your leave policy really easy and simple to understand.Ā
We really like this example by Hubspot from their handbook āThe Culture Codeā

Why?Ā
Because we believe in supporting individuals in work-life balance, and we hire smart people. We know theyāll hit their objectives, and the more we empower our team members to be accountable, the better for everyone.Ā
Micro-managing is so 1990.
Meetings
Blah, blah, blahā¦

Not many people think about how to run meetings, but meetings and the way your team communicates will dictate the outcome and success of your business.
Hereās a sneak peek of our meeting schedule included in our employee handbook.


PS – Want to find out how to supercharge your meetings?Ā
Check out this interview with Isaiah Nolte from Traction Tools
Learning
How will you approach learning within your team? Is learning a part of your culture? Are there specific phrases or terminology that teams need to learn?

If learning is a BIG part of your culture, youāll want to include an element within the employee handbook on how you approach it.Ā
Metrics
Metrics may or may not be a crucial talking point in your business. If it is, you may want to consider mentioning it in the handbook.
At Whale, we love metrics. Every team member in their role decides on the metrics that contribute to company success and to the mission at hand.Ā
This is agreed upon within the first 30 days.Celebrating Success
Ā
Simply put. We celebrate success, no matter how small. And we celebrate each otherās success. This keeps us humbly ambitious.

While celebrating success may not be a useful addition to your business, think about what other items you may wish to include as a unique feature in your handbook.
Other topics you may want to include in your handbook
- Links to all your internally utilized platforms likeĀ Whale
- Public holidays
- Ways you connect e.g. we use Slack for messaging etc.
Creating an employee handbook that EVERYONE wants to read
Include rich media 
We love social media because itās engaging! Use the principles in creating your playbook.
Ā
Go wild with video, GIFs, emojisĀ Ā and images! (Yes, you’ll find these all on WhaleĀ
)

Switch your mindset from rules to entertainment
People watch Netflix because itās fun, interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable.
So then why make an employee handbook that looks like a book from the legal bar exam?
Make your playbook, this one and others, great to read by writing for enjoyment and not for the legal team.
Does this sound great, but youāre wondering how to apply it in your business? Download our Google Slides Employee handbook template below.
Itās the NUMBER 1 Playbook every scale-up needs!

Employee Hanbook template
Creating an employee handbook is hard right? Wrong! This template is designed to make it easy!