Family Farm & Home
FAMILY FARM AND HOME
Committed to Serving Our Customers
TEAM MEMBER
HANDBOOK
Table of Contents
Message From Al Fansler1
You Are Now a Member of the Team2
About Your Handbook2
Family Farm and Home Purpose Statement3
Customer Relations4
Company Aims4
Customers Are Your Job4
Answering Questions5
Customer Complaints5
Greeting5
Telephone and Messages6
Housekeeping6
Attitude6
Out of Stock Items7
Courtesy and Service7
Special Orders7
Company Policies8
Equal Opportunity Statement8
Preventing Harassment of Team Members8
Resolution Process9
Background Checks 9
Right To Know Law10
Introductory Period11
Performance Appraisal and Feedback11
How Your Pay is Determined11
Retention11
Merit Pay Increases11
Promotions12
Attendance12
Appearance and Dress13
Progressive Discipline14
Performance Rules of Code and Conduct15
Team Member Classifications16
Classification of Team Members16
Pay Periods16
Payroll Deductions16
Garnishments16
Overtime17
Time Keeping17
Lunch Periods17
Continuous Service17
Separation From Employment18
Discharge18
Voluntary Termination/Resignation18
Termination Due to Disability18
Final Pay18
Benefits19
Vacation19
Personal Time20
National Holidays20
Medical Insurance20
COBRA21
Social Security21
Workers Compensation22
Unemployment Insurance22
Team Member Purchases and Discounts22
Personal Appointments23
Voting Time23
Family and Medical Leave23
Funeral Leave24
Jury Duty24
Military Leave25
General leaves of Absence25
Miscellaneous26
Drug and Alcohol Control26
On-The-Job Use27
Tobacco27
Safety Rules28
Team Member Accidents29
Customer Injuries29
Solicitations29
Gossip30
Loyalty30
We Encourage Suggestions30
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask30
Loss Prevention31
Emergencies31
Shoplifting32
Shoplifting Prevention Tips32
Shoplifting Do’s and Don’ts32
Robbery33
Protection of Personal Property33
E-Mail34
Internet34
Store Computer Systems35
Questions35
Acknowledgement of Receipt36
Family Farm & Home
Message From Al Fansler
I would like to welcome you to the exciting, challenging world of Family Farm & Home. We are very proud of our company and our team members. Our selection of you, and your acceptance of employment is a very significant event for you and for us. We expect that your time as a team member will be a mutually rewarding experience and one of significant growth for you and the company.
Family Farm & Home is dedicated to the growth of its individual team members, as well as the organization as a whole. We accomplish that growth through a strong commitment to a few basic philosophies.
First, and foremost, is an intense focus on filling the needs of our customers.
In addition, we conduct our business with the highest degree of integrity and in an environment of mutual support where team members work together to accomplish a common goal.
We work very hard to develop a culture that encourages individual initiative and creativity directed toward the goals and objectives of the company.
We provide an organization that strives for excellence and quality in all that we do and we exhibit an insatiable desire to continuously improve.
We work to create a positive, healthy work environment that is stimulating and challenging, and encourages trust and confidence in fellow team members.
You have an important responsibility to support and strengthen the basic philosophies of the company and to promote the positive work environment among your team members.
Again, we welcome you, and look forward to a very exciting and productive future.
You Are Now A Member Of The Team
This handbook gives us the opportunity to renew our welcome and remind you of our established beliefs and policies, and share some new ideas with you.
We believe you will enjoy working here. You will find us willing to help you as we work together to reach common goals with a spirit of cooperation, teamwork, and an extra effort, which has always been an important element of our success. The Management of this company is keenly interested in the working environment, job satisfaction, and growth of all of our team members. Our future success depends upon all of our efforts to maintain and improve this spirit of cooperation.
We believe that the best way to encourage cooperation is to share information freely with all team members. We will explain why we have certain rules and how they benefit all of us. This handbook is designed to do that, to help you understand company policy and procedures, what is expected of you, and outline some of the duties and responsibilities you will share as a member of the team.
We hope that you are willing to align your future with ours so we can work closely together. We want your progress and success to be our progress and successes. Together, we can all benefit.
About Your Handbook
This handbook is intended to give you as much specific information as possible about your job at Family Farm & Home. There may be minor differences, depending on what job you have, but this handbook outlines the basic terms of employment. This handbook is not a contract of employment and is not all-inclusive. The plans, policies and procedures described in this handbook may be changed at any time the company determines such a change is necessary. You will be promptly notified of any such changes. While the handbook is not a contract, it does represent company policy.
Family Farm & Home Purpose Statement
Our purpose is to serve and to provide value to our customers.
We will achieve this by:
- Providing a unique mix of products, targeted at part-time and hobby farmers, tradesmen, do-it-yourselfers, and rural homeowners
- Being appropriately in stock
- Having available, knowledgeable team members committed to serving their customers
- Having everyday fair prices with promotions to generate traffic
- Providing special order capabilities
- Having self serve merchandising and fast-in and fast-out service
- Having clean, attractive stores
- Building friendly, trusting relationships
We will be the place where Customers prefer to shop, Team members prefer to work, and Suppliers prefer to do business.
Customer Relations
Company Aims
As a retail service organization, this company’s primary aim is to satisfy its customers by providing good service and a wide variety of products at the lowest possible prices. Just as each employee is expected to respect the needs and desires of each customer, each employee can expect the respect of management and fellow employees.
To provide true customer satisfaction, it is important that all staff members work together as a team. Open communications between all of the team members is encouraged. We welcome suggestions, which will promote greater operating efficiency and increase productivity. With our efforts combined to work as a team, we can provide our customers with the service and satisfaction we guarantee.
CUSTOMERS ARE YOUR JOB
Remember always that in your contact with customers, you, for the moment, represent the company as far as they are concerned. Our reputation with them is at stake. It is in your hands. Your actions and your attitude toward them can bring them back again and again or it can quickly turn them against us, never to return.
Our customers are the most important people in our business
Our customers are not dependent upon us – we are dependent upon them.
Our customers are not an interruption of our work – they are the purpose of it.
Our customers support us when they call – we oblige by serving them.
Our customers are a part of our business – they are not outsiders.
Our customers are not cold statistics – they are flesh and blood human beings with feelings and emotions like our own.
Our customers are not individuals with whom to argue or match wits.
Our customers tell us their needs – it is our job to fill these needs.
Our customers deserve the most courteous and attentive service we can give them.
Our customers are necessary for us to survive – without them none of us would have jobs.
Our customers are the lifeblood of our business.
ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Be helpful and friendly. Answer all customer questions as briefly as possible but give enough details for the customer to have a clear understanding of the solution to his or her problem. If you are unable to answer a question, say so, and refer the customer to someone who can. Do not give “unsure” answers. If your information proves false, the customer may understandably become upset.
If a customer tries to argue after you have answered a question, be courteous. Do not engage in an argument. Refer the customer to the manager if your answer has not been satisfactorily accepted.
When talking to a customer, never criticize another department of our business, and never criticize a competing company. We do not knock our competitors. Under no condition do we discuss the internal affairs of our company.
When a customer asks you for the location of an item, you are to assist them in finding it. Our job is to help the customer make their purchase decision. If you are already busy helping another customer, direct them to the specific location and give them the name of the person who can assist them there. Please do not point to the general area.
CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
Even the best companies have customer complaints. It is important to handle customer complaints properly to avoid damaging our company’s image and to help correct the situation in order to retain the customer’s business.
GREETING
Our customers must always feel they are welcome to shop at our business. We are here to serve their needs. Give each customer a cheerful greeting. If possible, call the customer by name. Recognizing a customer will make the customer feel important and appreciated.
TELEPHONES AND MESSAGES
Telephone facilities are for business purposes and must be limited to such during business hours. As a commercial phone user, our company is charged on a monthly basis for every local and long distance call made.
Telephones should not be used for personal communications except in an emergency, or when absolutely necessary. This applies to both outgoing and incoming personal calls during working hours.
When use of the phone for personal reasons is necessary, conversations should be kept as brief as possible.
At no time is an employee permitted to charge a personal long distance telephone call to the company.
Since our telephone is extremely important to our customer relations image, we want to answer accordingly. We ask that you answer the telephone in a very friendly tone:
“Good morning (afternoon, evening). Thank you for calling Family Farm & Home. My name is ______. How can I help you?”
HOUSEKEEPING
We are proud of our business appearance and we show our pride by keeping it neat and clean. All employees are requested to do their part in keeping the merchandise dust free, the fixtures neat and the floors clean and clear of debris.
All employees share the responsibility for keeping the lounge and rest area and restrooms clean at all times.
ATTITUDE
Your attitude at Family Farm & Home plays an important role in determining the success or failure of both our business and your employment with this company. Your cooperative attitude when working with fellow employees helps unify our team. By displaying a helpful cooperative attitude, it shows that you care about your future as well as the welfare of this company.
OUT OF STOCK ITEMS
Maintaining an accurate perpetual inventory is each store’s responsibility, and is the most important factor in assuring we are in stock for our customers. Any normal Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) item that is noticed by an employee or requested by a customer that is out of stock should be noted to the proper personnel.
COURTESY AND SERVICE
Without being overbearing, employees should use common courtesy to help the customer find the merchandise he/she is looking for. Offer assistance. Don’t wait to be asked. Say “thank you” and mean it. When a customer leaves, encourage him/her to come back again soon. A little extra courtesy will be remembered a long time.
One of the first necessities of a retail business is that we adopt a friendly, courteous and service-like attitude. A business is made of more than brick and mortar, for people give the structure of a building only a passing glance. The lifeblood of any business and the way the customer evaluates that business is by the way and manner employees treat them –by the way we conduct ourselves and the service we render to them. Any time you come in eye contact with a customer, show them a nice, warm and sincere smile. If you are within normal speaking distance, greet them with the time of day, such as “good morning,” “good afternoon,” or “good evening,” and offer your assistance.
SPECIAL ORDERS
Special orders are an opportunity to exceed our customer’s expectations. If a customer asks for an item that is not in our normal inventory, talk to your manager about ordering the item. We believe each store needs to carry or special order the products their customers want.
Company Policies
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENTS
At Family Farm & Home, it is our policy to provide equal opportunity to all team members and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, or veteran status, and to make employment decisions consistent with this principle of equal opportunity. To this end Family Farm & Home will conduct all employment activities, including but not limited to, hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, recruitment, advertising, layoff, discharge, rates of pay, and selection for training without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability (physical or mental), veteran status, genetic information or any other protected status.
If you ever feel we are failing in our duty and promise of equal opportunity to all applicants and team members, please report your concerns to your manager or the Corporate Office. We will take every reasonable measure to rectify any inequities, and promise that you will not be subjected to retaliation for bringing such matters to our attention. We will treat all such concerns with the utmost confidence consistent with an equitable resolution of the problem.
PREVENTING HARASSMENT OF TEAM MEMBERS
Family Farm & Home is committed to offering employment opportunity based on ability and performance, in a productive climate, free of discrimination. Accordingly, harassment of any kind by managers or co-workers will not be tolerated. In addition, Family Farm & Home will endeavor to protect team members, to the extent possible, from reported harassment by non-team members in the workplace.
A.In general, ethnic or racial slurs and other verbal, visual or physical conduct relating to a person’s race, color, religion, national origin or age constitute harassment when they unreasonably interfere with the person’s work performance or create an intimidating work environment.
B.Sexual harassment has been defined by federal and state regulations as a form of sex discrimination. It can consist of unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other physical, visual or verbal conduct of a sexual nature by managers or others in the workplace.
1. Sexual harassment exists when:
a.Managers make submission to conduct either an explicit or implicit term or condition of employment (including hiring, compensation, promotion, or retention.)
b.Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used by managers as a basis for employment-related decisions such as promotion, performance evaluation, pay adjustment, discipline, work assignments, etc.
2. Sexual harassment may also exist when such conduct by any other team member unreasonably interferes with a team member’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
3. An employer may also be held responsible for continuing sexual harassment of team members by non-team members in the workplace if the problem is reported to a manager and no corrective action is taken.
RESOLUTION PROCESS
A.Team members should initially report all instances of harassment to their manager. However, if their manager is the problem, the team member is encouraged to go the next level of supervision.
B.If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction within five (5) working days, or if the harassment continues, please report your complaint to the corporate office.
All complaints will be thoroughly investigated and will be treated with the utmost confidentiality consistent with resolution of the problem. If the allegations are found to be true following the investigation, appropriate corrective action will be taken up to and including discharge of offending team members. Under no circumstances will a manager threaten or retaliate against a team member who alleges harassment.
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Family Farm and Home carefully selects team members. Background checks help to ensure that new team members have the skills for the job and have performed well in the past.
The Company conducts background checks on job candidates whose responsibilities include carrying keys to the store. A background check may also be completed when reassignment or promotion of a team member includes the responsibility of carrying store keys. A third-party administrator may be used to conduct the background checks, and all background checks will be compliant with applicable laws, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The information that may be collected includes, but is not limited to:
-Criminal background
-Employment history
-Education
-Credit
-Professional and personal references
Criminal background checks may not be used as the sole reason for denying employment, unless it is job-related. Regardless, the Company has the right to make the final decision about employing an individual after the background check is complete.
Checking professional and personal references is an important part of the background check process. This provides the Company with information on the potential team member’s work ethic, skills and performance.
Information obtained from the background check process, including information from professional and personal references, will be used by the Company only as part of the employment process and will be kept confidential by Human Resources.
A background check may also be completed during reassignment or promotion of a team member.