My Interiorscape company, Something Different, was originally founded with myself and two other partners. Now ninety-nine percent of the time we got along great but every once in a while we would disagree. I’d fuss and fume and vent to a dear friend. Each time he would look across the dinner table and when I had calmed down he’d quietly ask, “And what does it say in the Company Manual?”

I’d continue to humph and phumph and go on venting. A few weeks later the same thing would happen and so on and so on and this went on for five or six years. I’d get upset and he would listen and then ask, “What does it say in the Company Manual?”

I Finally Got it.
Then one day it dawned on me that my friend was absolutely right. We needed a COmpany Manual. A book that had all the rules, expectations, human resource information, in short, all the stuff that owners and employees alike could reference.

My Mission
I begged, borrowed and stole Company Manuals from other ’scaper friends in other cities and used their Manuals as templates and after a few long weekends we had the first of many Company Manuals.

A Work In Progress
Today you can find on the web templates for everything from wills, to divorce decrees to Company Manuals (www.employeemanual.com). If you don’t have one, you need to put this on your to do list. In fact, I don’t see how you can operate without one particularly one that addresses employee issues.

Just remember that every so often you’ll need to update your Manual. There will always be items to add and items to change or delete. It is a living document that defines your company from Mission Statement to Employee Termination guidelines and it is always changing.

Start Small
Pull up a template from the web and start filling things in. Before long you will have the foundation and can add sections at a realistic pace. Before you know it, you will have a Company Manual and, I guarantee you, you will sleep better at night.