An employee handbook update that demonstrates a non-profit’s tangible commitment to community and safety

I’ve worked with dozens of organizations to update their employee handbooks. In fact, it’s typically the jumping-off point for getting to know an organization and understanding the type of support they might need to build a strategic plan that is more reflective of their organizational values and culture. 

Any time I do a client intake, I am eager to get to know what that client looks like on paper. The employee handbook is just one part of the introduction, but it certainly can speak volumes about an organization's values and how they shine through a document like this.  

Your handbook is a starting place to share the culture of your organization. Each person who reads the employee handbook gets a front-row seat to the values, expectations, protocols, and care to expect from the organization. From emergency protocols that show that leadership has thought about how they will take care of each individual's well-being to clear policies that address how the organization responds to conflict to harassment policies that show the clear, actionable steps and frameworks that will be used to build a more transparent work culture. The employee handbook is a place where an employee can see the road map for both onboarding and learning how to navigate the organization. 

Clients I’ve worked with know the importance of getting their handbooks and internal policies aligned with their organization’s values. So when they noticed (or their staff gave them feedback) that those policies were misaligned or didn’t exist, they reached out for help–which often starts with an audit.

Let’s explore one example of this type of audit. (I’ll share more case studies in the coming weeks.)

Context: This organization is an LGBTQIAP+-specific small non-profit organization located in a large city, with staff regularly working on-site. This leader was new in their position and inherited the staff group and handbook. They were looking to signal a new era of their leadership to better reflect the organization's values.

After auditing their employee handbook and other written documents, I  recommended a variety of updates and changes to create more value alignment and usher in a new era of leadership. Here, I’ll focus on the updates we made to their security protocols.

Recommendation 
In order to strengthen the security section of the handbook, I recommended that they.: outline emergency and nonemergency situations and protocols. In this case, the organization had one way to enter and exit the building. While this organization has not been a target of violence in the past, given that it was an LGBTQIAP+-specific organization located in a large city, it was essential to equip staff with a plan and knowledge for steps to be taken should there be an event with someone looking to commit an act of violence or hate. 

Actions taken
I worked with the C-suite team to review emergency protocols from organizations with similar factors. We also sought input from staff when drafting the protocol. Once we finished the new protocol, I worked with the team to share the information and train staff to ensure everyone had an opportunity to ask questions.  This also gave us an opportunity to gather additional feedback and ideas for final updates before officially adding the security protocols to the employee handbook.

More aligned with values
Through this action plan and working with staff to establish a plan and training, the organization was able to align with their value of community and creating a safe space not just for visitors but for staff as well. Their staff were now empowered with a plan to take action should this type of emergency occur. There was both visible discomfort in talking through potential risks and visible relief from staff who now had a clear plan for how they would support one another should an emergency protocol need to be put into action. This was an important step in both updating the handbook and taking tangible action to align with its own internal organizational value of community.