How (and Why) to Create an All-in-One Employee Resource Center
17 April 2025
From Labor Law Posters to Safety Manuals – everything your staff needs to boost compliance and morale, in one dedicated spot.
We advise every client to create an Employee Resource Center in their office or warehouse. This is important for any industry, but especially for the Trades, including specific items critical to keep home service businesses efficient and compliant.
Why have an Employee Resource Center?
While you could sarcastically think of this as a "shelf of compliance stuff," it's actually pretty important. We often call it the "physical representation of company transparency" because it's a one-stop shop to explain what's expected of employees and what they can expect from management, in a way that even the government can see meets regulations.
Why a physical center, not just digital?
There's a psychological benefit to having something physical and visible, both for employees and management. And it makes it much easier to prove compliance during a dreaded audit, while minimizing the risk of having the auditors start poking around the rest of your operation to find what they need. That's not to say that some of these items can't ALSO be available online, just that a master copy should be printed and kept in this central physical location.
What do I put into the Employee Resource Center?
I'm glad you asked! Here's a high-level summary of what we recommend you include if you run a home service business:
- State and Federal Labor Law Posters
- You know you have to post them, so why not put them in the same place you house other useful info?
- Employee Handbook
- This is the cornerstone for running your business. If you don't clearly lay out regulations and expectations, you can't truly hold employees accountable.
- Safety Manual
- Think of it as an encyclopedia of OSHA expectations. You need a manual specialized to your location, industry, equipment, and potential job site hazards.
- File of COMPLETED Safety Training Materials
- You know how OSHA requires you to conduct safety trainings each month? Well don't just train employees and then hide away the training materials. Make them available for employees (or OSHA!) to easily reference in the future.
- Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Files
- If someone is exposed to a hazardous material, it should be easy to find resources on what to do next. And OSHA auditors will appreciate seeing this, too, since they can fine you up to $13,000 per incident for not having the required SDS.
- OSHA 300A Form
- Companies with more than 10 employees are required to post a summary of the prior year's work-related injuries and illnesses from Feb 1 to Apr 30 each year.
- Other In-House Documents
- Job descriptions, training materials, SOPs, photos from your recent company event, etc.
Sounds great, right? But a little idealistic... because who has the time to create and maintain all these things??
Good news: The Big Picture Consulting can provide you with #1-5 above, and advise you on #6 (though we leave #7 "other documents" for you to decide on). All these things come standard with a BPC Retainer account. And each one is completely personalized to your business size, state, industry, equipment, materials, and personal preferences. Even something as basic as Labor Law Posters can vary based on company size and even county or city, so you want to trust an expert to give you exactly what you need.
Once your Employee Resource Center is complete and up-to-date, it represents the freedom and peace of mind to run your business without having to worry about these compliance details. Contact us if you'd like some help.
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