We are a well-respected nonprofit organization serving older adults and persons with disabilities who live in the Verde Valley area of Arizona. Our office is located in Sedona. We have a staff of 12 team members and 150 volunteers. We need to update and revise our employee handbook to reflect not only the current state and federal rules but also create the best working environment for our employees. We need to support excellence in the workplace and provide guidance for personal success. Our current employee handbook was updated in 2016. I would like to include employee feedback through the process of developing a new employee handbook and also our Board of Directors. The handbook development process needs to support a common understanding of what a successful employee does, but also the appreciation and value of our staff fulfilling our mission.

A solidly cohesive staff team is far more important than ever before. I want our team members to be dedicated to our mission and always ready to work with other staff members and volunteers to fulfill our daily assignments and work together to find solutions to the problems and issues that come up every day. I will work with the Taproot volunteer every step of the way and ensure that we engage our staff through this process.

We are able to pay travel costs for at least the roll-out meeting for the Taproot volunteer and are able to have Zoom meetings in our conference room for work sessions while we develop the handbook.

We have a basic handbook now. We can go through this to make edits, for starters. However, I want the new employee handbook to support staff excellence, cohesion to the mission and to the team and support achieving the best outcomes for our clients. I will be the primary contact for the project, and our executive team will take part in the development process along with collecting input from all staff at strategic points in the process. When a well-developed draft is completed, we will present it to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. Subsequent to board approval, we will modify position descriptions, and staff will indicate acknowledgment of the new handbook. We will hold a full team gathering to initiate the new employee handbook.