Distributing the New Manual

Congratulations! By now, your policy and procedure manual has been approved. You have made the revisions and you are ready to distribute the final document.

Most organizations choose to have both a printed version of the manual, as well as an electronic version.

Printed manual

A good way to make sure the manual gets into the hands of your employees is to distribute the manual at a special meeting for existing employees, and at orientation meetings for new employees.

Pay some attention to how the manual is distributed, so that everyone gets a copy and to avoid duplication. First, write a letter or email message that announces the new manual, and when and where employees can get their copies.

Another way to introduce the new manual is by way of your organization's newsletter, or by a posted announcement. Briefly inform employees of the contents of the manual and let them know how to pick it up.

Maintain a checklist or spreadsheet so that managers know who has obtained their manual, and who may still need to get one.

Electronic distribution

You also may choose to distribute the manual electronically. You can notify employees in an email or in the company newsletter that the manual is available and can be downloaded at a certain site. For their convenience, you can include the direct link to the PDF (Portable Document Format) in the email.

The advantages of electronic distribution include:

no cost for paper, printing, binding, or mailing

ease of distribution

changes and revisions can be made easily and promptly

readers can use keyword searches to find specific topics

other company information can be linked or cross-referenced with the manual

Many organizations opt to have both a print manual and an online manual.

Some workers, especially some older workers, are not as comfortable with technology as others are. In addition, some employees may not have access to a computer, either at work or at home. Remember, it is not easy to read a manual on a mobile device.

Another reason to have both a print and online version is that most of your readers will need the manual on an ongoing basis. Few people will read the manual cover to cover in one sitting. Employees will seek out answers in the manual when they need the answer to a certain question, or have a certain problem.

You will want the manual to be ready and available when needed. For example, most employees will not be interested in the company's maternity leave policy until they are ready to start a family. An employee will not care about the steps for processing an invoice, unless that is his or her new job.

The Society for Human Resource Management, a national professional membership association, recommends that organizations consider the following questions before distributing the manual:

Do all employees have access to the delivery system?

Do all employees know how to use the delivery system?

How will employees who work away from the office access the manual?

What accommodations are needed for employees who have disabilities, such as mental or visual impairments?

How will any policy changes or additions be communicated to employees?

What security measures are needed?

The most important guideline for distributing your manual is this: Everyone needs a copy. It sounds simple enough, but many employers get caught up in making the needed policy revisions and then do not spend enough time making sure everyone knows about them.

To know that you have met this goal, you should require that each employee acknowledge their receipt of the new manual (or revised pages to their existing manual) via their printed or electronic signature.

When he or she signs an acknowledgment form, you will have proof that an employee has received, and is aware of, your current policies. The signed acknowledgment should be kept in each employee's personnel file.

This signature is essential in the event of a claim that an employee "didn't know" about your rules.

The wording of your acknowledgment form should be clear and concise. An acknowledgment form should be sure to address that the manual and the form do not represent a legal contract.

Also, do not make the common mistakes of not including a signature line; of not placing the form as a separate, removable page; or of not collecting the forms and/or filing them in personnel files after they are signed.

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