HR Policies

Human Resources Library

Are human resource issues consuming a disproportionate amount of your time and energy? If so, maybe it's time to create an onsite human resources library to streamline your company's HR tasks.

You demand a lot from your HR department. Successful hiring, effective management and peak job performance are just a few of the expectations you have for your team.

Although you couldn't ask for a more dedicated group of HR professionals, they're going to need help to deliver the kind of workforce you need to realize your goals for your company.

The business owner is ultimately responsible for the quality of a small business workforce. One of the best things you can do for your HR staff and your workforce is to drive the creation of a human resources library - a set of tools and resources designed to improve your company's ability to meet any HR challenge that comes down the line.

• Employee Manual. The first resource your HR library should contain is a current version of the company's Employee Manual. Human resource personnel, supervisors and employees need to know where the most recent version of the handbook can be accessed and should be trained to turn to the manual for answers to basic HR questions.
• Recruitment resources. It's helpful for HR teams and hiring managers to have access to recruitment resources. Updated recruiting resources educate your staff about industry recruitment strategies and suggest techniques for attracting the most qualified applicants to your applicant searches.
• Hiring tools. An effective human resources library should contain a variety of tools and resources that improve your company's hiring process. In addition to interviewer guidelines and hiring plans, the library should also include hiring form templates and policy briefs that help your team comply with your EEO statement and best practices.
• Performance review forms. Timely performance reviews are a necessary part of a small business workplace. HR libraries often contain performance evaluation training materials for managers and standardized performance reports that are used consistently throughout the organization. You might also want to consider including disciplinary policies and procedures to equip your managers to deal with underperforming employees.
• Employment law resources. Employment or labor law is an extremely vast HR category. Unfortunately, a single legal misstep can spell disaster for your business so although you can't provide an exhaustive library resources, you'll want to include a certain amount of legal coverage in your HR library.
• Development tools. The best HR departments invest significant energy in the area of employee development. Your HR library should have development resources that workers and managers can use to promote career planning and development activities in your workforce.

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