Most businesses have an employee handbook. All too often, these handbooks are simply doorstops or bookends that rarely do they get dusted off and referenced. Business owners and leaders – you are missing out on one of the best tools to define your company’s culture, provide an excellent framework for your employees to work by, and tell the story of your company, its product or service and who you are. This session will discuss the value of having an employee handbook, keeping it current and being an integral part of the business operation.

Key takeaways:
• Every handbook should have key or fundamental policies. This session will discuss which policies to include.
• There is a difference between policies and procedures. Procedures are generally part of your daily operations and are more of the “how-to.” Policies belong in the handbook. We will look at several examples.
• Leave the session with a different perspective on how your handbook should look. This document should reflect your culture and engage your employees.

Presenter: Cindy Carpenter holds the two top Human Resource Certifications – the SHRM Senior Certified Professional and the Senior Professional in Human Resources. With a degree in Business Education from the University of Montana, she has over 25 years of business and training experience primarily focused on human resource and people topics. To compliment her training background, she has been a practicing human resource professional in the banking, insurance and manufacturing industries as well as owning her own business, Carpenter Business Resources, LLC. As a business owner and as an HR professional, she understands the challenges faced by companies regardless of size or industry.

Cindy is an adjunct faculty member at Flathead Valley Community College through the Continuing Education Center. She is a member of the Flathead Valley Chapter of SHRM, having served on the Board in a variety of positions over the last 15 years. Cindy is also a member of the National Society of Human Resource Management.