00:00

your employee handbook probably isn't

00:02

working for you

00:03

while the idea behind employee handbooks

00:05

is good in practice most of them are bad

00:08

why

00:10

too often employee handbooks focus only

00:12

on keeping the organization compliant in

00:14

the year the handbook was written in the

00:16

modern workplace employees are not

00:19

motivated by what their employer needs

00:21

to do to merely remain compliant but

00:23

rather why their work matters and how

00:26

it's making an impact on the world this

00:28

is beyond the scope of even the best

00:30

employee handbooks which is why your

00:32

organization needs something better

00:34

a culture guide today will be the first

00:37

part of a two-part episode covering

00:39

culture guides the second part will air

00:41

next week we'll discuss what culture

00:43

guides are what's included in them and

00:46

how you can get started creating one for

00:48

your organization

00:50

by the end you'll be better equipped to

00:53

write your own culture guide the next

00:55

step to improving the culture of your

00:57

organization today we'll cover what's a

01:00

culture guide and part one essentials

01:04

next week we'll cover part two

01:06

expectations

01:08

part three every day

01:10

and

01:11

how to use your culture guide

01:13

let's dig in

01:15

a culture guide covers the compliance

01:18

and procedural issues of the typical

01:20

employee handbook but it goes much

01:23

deeper than that

01:24

into the history of an organization its

01:26

vision norms and even how to leave the

01:29

organization with grace it can give your

01:31

workforce a sense of shared purpose and

01:33

belonging it can even help new hires

01:36

connect to the printer hr pros know

01:39

organizational culture doesn't cultivate

01:41

itself it needs a caretaker you

01:45

so hr should be proactive take the

01:48

initiative and own this document

01:51

to that end we'll cover in depth all

01:54

three parts of a culture guide

01:55

essentials expectations and every day

01:59

part one essentials

02:01

part one covers the essentials of your

02:03

organization it can be helpful to think

02:06

of part one as answering the most

02:07

important and most basic questions about

02:09

your organization

02:11

your history and mission the when and

02:13

what

02:14

your vision the where

02:16

core principles the why

02:19

ideal teammates the who and working

02:22

habits the how

02:25

since part one focuses on the essentials

02:28

it is unlikely to ever change and needs

02:30

approval from leadership before sharing

02:32

it with staff

02:33

part one is the section that most

02:35

distinguishes a culture guide from an

02:37

employee handbook if it's written well

02:39

it should also highlight what

02:41

distinguishes your organization from its

02:43

competitors

02:44

history and mission

02:47

naturally enough start at the very

02:49

beginning with your organization's

02:51

history

02:52

tell the story of when the organization

02:54

was founded including a few early

02:57

milestones and anecdotes

02:59

and what its mission is

03:01

also be sure to share some early

03:03

struggles or challenges

03:05

for example this section of bernie

03:07

portal's culture guide relates the story

03:09

of how our founder alex tolbert was

03:12

inspired to start bernie portal

03:14

by a conversation he had with a friend

03:17

in grad school in 2006.

03:20

as a result of that conversation alex

03:22

decided to combine his passion for

03:24

health care reform and entrepreneurship

03:27

into a business

03:28

recognizing the potential of health

03:30

savings accounts or hsas to

03:33

revolutionize health insurance alex got

03:35

his insurance license and started making

03:37

cold calls soon his brother brian quit

03:40

his job to join alex in nashville

03:42

sleeping on and working from the couch

03:44

and alex's one-bedroom apartment

03:47

slowly but surely they built bernie

03:49

portal together and developed its

03:51

mission in what it is today to be the

03:53

world's most trusted advisor when it

03:55

comes to helping people plan for their

03:57

health care

03:58

it's tempting here to be too thorough

04:00

getting bogged down in the details for

04:02

the sake of historical accuracy but

04:04

remember the purpose of this section is

04:06

to establish a sense of organizational

04:08

identity for the sake of organizational

04:11

culture

04:12

tell the most inspiring and relevant

04:14

parts of the story that employees will

04:15

remember and can connect to the

04:17

organization's vision and core

04:19

principles

04:20

the best way to approach writing this

04:22

section is to answer these questions

04:25

what inspired the start of your

04:26

organization what problems was the

04:28

organization trying to solve

04:31

what did the first year look like

04:33

and

04:34

how did the organization get to where it

04:36

is today

04:37

then take the answers and shape them

04:40

into a connected and coherent origin

04:42

story

04:43

if you're interested in learning more

04:45

about how to tell your organization's

04:46

story i highly recommend stories that

04:49

stick by kendra hall

04:51

for more on how to write a mission

04:52

statement check a recent episode of hr

04:55

party of one where i cover the topic in

04:57

more depth i'll link to it in the

04:59

description

05:01

vision

05:02

once you've established where the

05:04

organization has been and what its

05:05

mission is now turn your attention to

05:08

where the organization wants to go

05:10

like a person an organization's identity

05:13

is formed not only by your past but also

05:16

by your hopes for the future

05:19

using hall's framework from stories that

05:21

stick if you think of your

05:23

organization's history as the founder

05:25

story then you can think of your vision

05:27

as the purpose story which motivates

05:29

your workforce and helps them align with

05:31

your purpose

05:33

for example our culture guide refers to

05:35

our vision as world domination which is

05:38

a tongue-in-cheek way of saying we want

05:39

our brand to be ubiquitous we want

05:41

everyone to know about bernie portal and

05:43

to know that its team members give the

05:45

best healthcare advice

05:47

unlike a mission statement the vision

05:49

should be more than a single sentence it

05:51

should present a high-level view of

05:53

where the organization wants to be in

05:55

the next 10 to 20 years

05:57

it's okay to go long here with lofty and

06:00

ambitious goals giving your team

06:01

something to strive for year after year

06:04

more specifically be sure to include

06:07

long-term goals future visions by year

06:09

or decade and visions particular to each

06:12

brand if relevant

06:15

core principles if your vision statement

06:18

addresses your where then the next

06:20

section digs into your why

06:22

your core principles are the values that

06:24

guide and motivate your team's actions

06:27

to be successful every day these core

06:30

principles can include your aim to help

06:32

your clients and customers your

06:34

commitment to teamwork and mutual

06:36

respect and your responsibility towards

06:38

your stakeholders and your community

06:41

for example

06:42

bernie portal's own culture guide lists

06:45

respecting our people referring to our

06:48

employees as one of our core principles

06:50

we recognize that our team is strongest

06:53

if we operate in an environment of

06:55

mutual respect

06:56

to write this section brainstorm the

06:59

values and attitudes you've noticed in

07:01

your organization that makes it

07:02

successful

07:04

then consolidate those into three to

07:06

five points that you can list in

07:07

actionable verb phrases

07:10

ideal teammates

07:13

next consider who you want to join you

07:16

in this meaningful work describe the

07:18

ideal teammate outlining what you expect

07:20

from employees in light of your vision

07:23

and core principles

07:25

for example you might say that an ideal

07:27

employee should be passionate about the

07:30

organization's vision and empowered to

07:32

help keep their team aligned with their

07:34

lofty goal

07:35

this section can be especially useful

07:38

for both onboarding and retention

07:40

it not only sets expectations on day one

07:43

but it can also communicate to the new

07:44

hire a sense of belonging

07:46

they were chosen because the hiring

07:48

manager already saw in them the

07:50

potential to be an ideal teammate

07:53

current employees may also be similarly

07:55

inspired by this descriptive portrait

07:58

also use this as a model when employees

08:00

refer people they know to the

08:02

organization a good way to approach

08:04

writing this would be to think about the

08:05

high performers at your organization and

08:07

what they have in common although some

08:09

of the details may differ by role it's

08:11

likely you'll recognize enough common

08:13

characteristics to get you started the

08:16

more specific you can get the better the

08:18

expectations you can set

08:21

working habits

08:23

this section should focus on how

08:25

teammates should work including your

08:28

organization's work style for example

08:31

bernie portal's work style is defined by

08:33

being proactive not reactive

08:36

consider how employees should prioritize

08:38

their time when and how often they

08:40

should check email and what to do when

08:42

they complete tasks ahead of time

08:45

how to conduct sales efforts

08:48

for example bernie portal embraces cold

08:51

calling because it sets clear

08:52

expectations for the sales person and

08:54

the potential client

08:56

this section is an excellent place to

08:58

detail your sales philosophy and process

09:02

how to share feedback with one another

09:04

for example bernie portal aims for

09:06

clarity consistency quality and

09:09

sincerity in the way team members give

09:11

performance feedback we practice these

09:13

habits in weekly one-on-one meetings

09:15

between managers and direct reports we

09:18

covered how to implement one-on-one

09:19

meetings in an earlier episode of hr

09:21

party of one i'll link to it in the

09:23

description

09:25

how to solve problems

09:27

for example bernie portal views problem

09:29

solving as an essential approach to

09:31

include in part one using these steps

09:34

discover define

09:37

memorialize fix it once and fix it twice

09:42

up next

09:43

how to conduct meetings

09:46

for example

09:47

bernie portal believes the right way to

09:49

conduct meetings is critical to our

09:50

success following these guidelines set

09:53

expectations before the meeting with an

09:55

agenda make introductions if necessary

09:58

follow the other's lead

10:00

ensure you meet the agenda's goals and

10:02

follow up when needed and document the

10:05

meeting in a summary and distribute

10:07

copies in a timely manner

10:09

and finally how to write emails

10:12

for example bernie portal knows how

10:15

influential emails are to daily work

10:18

listing dues like getting to the point

10:20

and ending with a question if you need a

10:21

response and don'ts such as forwarding

10:24

and ghosting the important thing in this

10:27

section on work habits is not to leave

10:29

new hires to figure it out for

10:31

themselves there are likely even a few

10:33

veteran employees who are still figuring

10:35

this out

10:36

clearly write down what you expect

10:39

keeping in mind that mutual respect for

10:41

one another and focus on the vision

10:43

should guide everything including and

10:45

especially how you communicate

10:48

writing these best practices down in

10:50

your culture guide can give everyone the

10:52

tools they need to succeed in your

10:54

organization

10:55

so

10:56

what are you waiting for

10:58

go ahead and start drafting your part

10:59

one today

11:01

next week i'll cover parts two and three

11:03

and give you some practical advice on

11:05

what to do next with your new culture

11:07

guide in the meantime download your

11:09

comprehensive and practical hr guide to

11:12

culture guides i'll link to it in the

11:14

description

11:15

as always remember your role is as

11:17

strategic as you make it

11:24

that's all the time we have for this

11:26

episode don't forget to subscribe to our

11:28

channel and ring the bell to get

11:29

notifications about the latest hr party

11:31

one updates and new episodes also join

11:34

our hr party of one group on linkedin

12:35

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