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Build a Useful, Engaging Employee Handbook Review, revise and recirculate it every year BY ROBERT KURTZ
W
hen Sabrina Westbrook, admin- istrator for Premier Surgical Center in Madison, Mississippi, was helping her ASC prepare to open in June 2018, she had a lot of work on her plate. Still, she made sure developing the surgery center’s employee hand- book received the attention it needed. The importance of an employee hand- book should not be underestimated,” she says.
The employee handbook provides
staff with a road map for how they are expected to act and perform in your organization, says Amy Hanisch, director of human resources and administrative services for Surgical Management Professionals (SMP) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “The handbook should clearly state an employee’s rights and responsibili- ties while outlining an ASC’s legal obligations as an employer,” she says. “It should also provide an over- all view of what employees should expect of a company’s culture.” To develop a comprehensive first draft of Premier Surgical Center’s handbook, Westbrook pulled infor- mation, policies and procedures from ASCs she had worked at in the past, leaned on colleagues in the ASC community and relied on insights from her ASC’s management com- pany. Speaking with the physician owners of the ASC, she says, was especially helpful. “I found out what they expected from their employees and what they wanted their employ- ees to know they should expect from the ASC’s leadership.” Once the draft was complete, she added some of her ASC’s specific pol- icies and procedures. Next, she shared the completed version with her ASC’s physician owners. “I wanted to get their final input and make sure they
If you believe in your company’s vision, policies and procedures, you should help ensure employees will want to take the time to read about, use and refer to them regularly.”
—Amy Hanisch, Surgical Management Professional
were comfortable with what we were going to put forth in that handbook to our employees. I also asked our man- agement company for feedback.” While an employee handbook needs
to cover essential operational details and general workplace rules, Hanisch adds, it should also present that infor- mation in an engaging manner. “It is often the first document provided to a new hire and sometimes the only doc- ument all employees are required to read,” she says. “If you believe in your company’s vision, policies and proce- dures, you should help ensure employ- ees will want to take the time to read about, use and refer to them regularly.” Treat your employee handbook
as a living document, Hanisch adds, and review, revise and recirculate it every year. Westbrook says she stays current with the latest, news, standards and
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policy changes in her state, accredit- ing organization and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, then assesses how they might affect her center’s handbook. “As needs arise for possible changes to our hand- book, I would first discuss them with my physician owners and proceed from there.
“If a matter arises that is not cov-
ered in the handbook or addressed as clearly as possible,” she adds, “we will learn from the experience by sit- ting down and reevaluating how our handbook does or does not speak to that issue. We will then add language or revise existing language.” Whenever updates are made, clearly communicate any changes and additions to employees and have them sign an acknowledgment that they were informed of the revisions, Hanisch recommends.
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