Accord Resolution Services

An Accord Tip:

One of the best ways to number pages when new additions or revisions are anticipated in an Employee Handbook or any manual for that matter is to use the old (what I call) “multi-point” system. Let me explain…. The most key headings are numbered….1, 2, 3, 4, etc. The secondary headings are numbered….1.1, 1.2, 1.3. 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.2, etc. The third level headings are numbered 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, etc. And so on.

Each new heading has its own page, so that entire headings can be eliminated or updated easily without affectively all the other pages. Heading numbers which are not replaced may simply have a page that says 1.3.4 — no longer in use; or they could be replaced with new topics if they fit.

Don’t forget to indicate the Date of Origin and Date of Last Revision on the footer of each page, especially when adding new pages.

A cover memo instruction to all holders of the document could simply read…..
Replace existing page(s) 1.2.3.1 to 1.2.3.7 with the attached pages numbered 1.2.3.1 to 1.2.3.5 (in this example, the new version is two pages shorter than the previous version of this policy, but no other pages are impacted).

Having used this approach in large organizations, I have found that employees tend to keep their own manuals most up-to-date. It also facilitates those that collect the ‘updates’ and actually make them periodically all at once. Hope this helps. Let me know (at kgod@accordconsulting.com) if it’s helped you.