When Philanthropy Ohio reached out to us, they weren’t just looking for a compliance update. They wanted an employee handbook that felt like them. It needed to reflect their culture, be grounded in equity and set a strong foundation for welcoming a new CEO.
We started with a conversation about vision: What should this handbook accomplish? How could it bring Philanthropy Ohio's values to life? What wasn’t working in the old version? They shared their current policies, and we dug in by assessing clarity, consistency and how every policy landed through an equitable lens.
Paid Time Off is one of the trickiest parts of any handbook, and well-intentioned policies can have unintended consequences, especially for women and people of color. Together, we explored options to ensure the PTO structure supported both staff well-being and organizational needs. We also tackled hidden costs for employees, compensation during parental leave, AI usage and gender-affirming policies. We made sure the language was plain, direct and easy to follow.
Our process was collaborative from start to finish:
- Kickoff meeting to align on goals and priorities
- Policy review to see what stayed, what went and what needed an overhaul
- Draft a new handbook that met Ohio and federal legal requirements, reflected Philanthropy Ohio’s culture and practices and was thorough enough to provide guidance through most circumstances they are likely to encounter
- Refine together through questions, clarifications and edits
- Leadership Team approval and staff rollout so everyone understood what was changing and why
- Q&A period to address any additional questions
The final handbook gives Philanthropy Ohio a clear, consistent framework for how the organization and its employees work together. It balances flexibility with fairness, strengthens internal communication and makes equity a living part of daily operations.
What organizations can take away from Philanthropy Ohio’s approach:
- Model what you value. The way you treat your team says as much about your values as the work you do.
- Check for hidden impacts. Even small policies can have big, unintended effects – especially for women, people of color, LGBT staff and others.
- Use plain language. A policy everyone understands is more likely to be consistently followed than one that is complicated.
- Tackle the hard stuff together. PTO, benefits and discipline policies work best when they’re discussed openly and with equity in mind.
- Keep it fresh. Review and update your handbook every few years to keep up with laws, norms and your own culture.
As Emily Anderson, director, executive operations, stated: “In rewriting our employee handbook, we partnered with Big Change Consulting to do more than refresh policies – they helped us reimagine how our handbook could reflect equity, uphold our employees and strengthen our organization. This collaboration with Big Change allowed us to create a resource that embodies our shared values and sets the foundation for a more supportive and thriving workplace."
For Philanthropy Ohio, this wasn’t just about creating a policy document. It was about making sure the way they work every day reflects their values. And that’s something every organization can do.
Jodi Segal
Jodi Segal is the founding principal for Big Change Consulting and a Professional Partner member of Philanthropy Ohio. Jodi can be reached by email at [email protected].
Philanthropy Ohio’s blog is designed for informative discussions of topics, practices and viewpoints in philanthropy. We collaborate with various members, funders, consultants, philanthropy-serving organizations and Professional Partners to bring you quality content. Guest authors are partners in our collective vision for a just and vibrant Ohio through impactful philanthropy. Statements on this blog reflect the author’s personal opinions and do not necessarily fully represent the opinions, policies, practices, values and mission of Philanthropy Ohio. This blog may contain testimonials, opinions and real-life experiences of members. However, the experiences are personal to those particular members and may not necessarily be representative of all members or of Philanthropy Ohio.