Hi Jo,

Considering this is the first formal document that introduces the company to the new employee, we think it’s a great idea to make the best first impression while also making it reflective of the company culture.

Here’s a great example from a global engineering and infrastructure advisory company in Australia called Aurecon. New recruits no longer receive a Letter of Appointment accompanied by a lengthy Conditions of Employment document written in legal terms and small font. By transitioning the employment contract into a visual contract format, they have been able to dramatically reduce the number of words to create a succinct and meaningful visual contract that uses illustrations to complement the text.

And while this next example may feel a bit far fetched for many, it just goes to show you what many organisations are looking at changing. This fun infographic from Tony’s Chocolonely is the perfect example of how they ditched overly complex legal lingo and eliminated many do this and don’t do that clauses. Instead, they focused on highlighting company purpose and values, plus mutual trust and common sense.

We’d also suggest keeping the contract to the basic T’s&C’s and try and move as much as you can out of the contract and into the culture handbook. You will find some tips on this in here. And there’s also a great example template from a company called Thrive Tribe which you may find helpful.

And while you’re thinking about changes, how about also renaming the ‘Probation Period’ to something like ‘Settling in period’ or ‘Getting to know you period’?

We’d love to see the changes you make!

Good luck

Disruptive HR Team