Build a Handbook

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A handbook (or content cache) is a written document that contains a company’s goals, policies, procedures, teams, methods, and any other relevant information for employees to do their work.

The GitLab handbook has become one of the most cited examples on how to do this well because it’s thorough and extremely transparent. Basecamp has an open-sourced handbook too, which is much simpler than GitLab’s.

In general, any company handbook should include:

• the company’s values and mission

• HR, legal policies, and security information (including a code of conduct)

• details about vacation, benefits, and sick days

• onboarding-specific information (laptop setup, new accounts, et cetera)

• more specific information about how the company operates, which often includes links to other department-specific information, planning and goals, et cetera

• a company directory or org chart.

A remote company will also want to include details about:

• Communication. What channels and tools are used, with expectations for how and when they are used (see Key Channels and Tools for Remote Communication).

• Team agreements. Different teams may have their own specific communication agreements and collaboration protocols.

Ideally, a company with a remote-first attitude is building their handbook from day one, starting with establishing and writing down its values and providing documentation on goals and working together. Using an established asynchronous collaborative tool like a knowledge base or wiki makes creating, adding to, and updating this kind of information easier, and can distribute the documentation requirements across people.

​important​Writing a handbook on its own isn’t enough. This content has to be regularly and consistently maintained for it to be valuable. See more on the OAC Principle of document maintenance in Documentation: Less is More.

Further Reading on Company Handbooks

• Human Made Handbook

• Hanno Playbooks

• Clef Handbook

• Glitch Handbook

• Trello Employee Manual (in the form of a Trello board!)

• Mobile Jazz Handbook

• Innolitics Handbook

• A set of handbook templates from SHRM

• “7 Employee Handbook Examples You Should Steal From” (Zenefits)

• “Why Every Distributed Company Needs the Perfect Handbook” (Yonder)