Free to copy
HR templates
Complete HR policies, pulse survey questions, onboarding messages and announcements you can copy and use today. Most of them open in Shuffl already filled in.
Policies
Complete policies for the questions employees ask most, with notes on what to check where you work. Fill in the brackets with your own rules.
A starting point, not legal advice. Leave, pay and expense rules differ by country, state and city. Use the checks on this page to see what to look up where your people work, and have someone qualified review your policy before you publish it.
- Time off policy template
Allowance, accrual, carry-over, requests and what happens when someone leaves.
80% of US private industry workers had access to paid vacation in March 2026
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Remote work policy template
Hours, remote and hybrid work, flexible requests and working from elsewhere.
22.4% of US workers teleworked or worked at home for pay in 2025 (annual average)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Expenses policy template
What is reimbursable, what needs approval, how to claim and when it is paid.
13% of occupational fraud cases in the ACFE’s 2026 study were expense reimbursement schemes
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Parental leave policy template
Leave and pay for every parent, adoption, keeping in touch and coming back.
49% of US private industry workers had access to paid family and medical leave in March 2026
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Sick leave policy template
Paid sick time, who to tell, notes, longer absences and coming back.
81% of US private industry workers had access to paid sick leave in March 2026
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Company holiday calendar template
The dates the company is closed, regional lists and working on a holiday.
81% of US private industry workers had access to paid holidays in March 2026
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Code of conduct template
Expected behaviour, conflicts of interest, gifts, confidentiality and speaking up.
50% lower median fraud loss at organizations with a code of conduct (ACFE, 2026)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Whistleblowing and speak up policy template
How to report a problem, what happens next and protection for people who speak up.
43% of occupational frauds were detected by a tip, more than any other method (ACFE, 2026)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Benefits overview template
What benefits you offer, who is eligible, when they start and how to enrol.
$26,993 average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health cover in the US, 2025
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Performance review policy template
Review cycles, promotions, pay reviews and improving performance.
14% of employees strongly agreed their reviews inspired them to improve (Gallup, 2017)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Equal opportunity and anti-harassment policy template
Equal opportunity, what harassment is, how to report it and protection for those who do.
37,397 harassment charges filed with the US EEOC in fiscal 2025, up from 24,430 in 2022
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Bereavement leave policy template
Time off and support after a death, including pregnancy loss.
89% of US employers in SHRM’s 2025 benefits survey offered paid bereavement leave
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Jury duty and voting policy template
Time off and pay for jury duty, voting and other public duties.
70% of US employers in SHRM’s 2025 survey paid for jury duty beyond what the law requires
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Acceptable use policy template
Safe use of devices, accounts, data and AI tools, monitoring and security incidents.
78% of AI users at work brought their own AI tools, in a 2024 survey across 31 countries
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Resignation and leaving policy template
Resigning, notice, the last day, final pay, references and benefits after leaving.
42% of US employees who quit say their employer could have kept them (Gallup, 2024)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Disciplinary and grievance policy template
Fair handling of conduct and performance, warnings, appeals and raising a grievance.
£28.5bn estimated yearly cost of workplace conflict to UK employers (Acas, 2021)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Employee privacy notice template
What HR data you keep, why, who sees it, how long and people’s rights.
81% of Americans say AI monitoring would make staff feel inappropriately watched (Pew, 2023)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Health and safety policy template
Who is responsible for safety, reporting, first aid, emergencies and wellbeing.
2.5M nonfatal injuries and illnesses reported by US private employers in 2024 (BLS)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Leave of absence policy template
Medical, caring and personal leave beyond sick time, pay, keeping in touch and coming back.
15% of US employees took leave for an FMLA-qualifying reason in the past year (DOL, 2018)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl - Business travel policy template
Approval and booking, class of travel, hotels, daily costs, safety and working abroad.
$1.71T forecast global business travel spending in 2026, a record (GBTA, 2026)
Not legal adviceUse in Shuffl
Pulse question sets
Short question sets for a regular pulse survey, each one idea per question.
- Weekly check-in pulse questions
The starter set: priorities, workload, manager, growth, belonging and tools. 18 pulse survey questions to copy.
20% of employees worldwide were engaged at work in 2025, the lowest level since 2020
Use in Shuffl - Wellbeing pulse questions
Spot burnout early: energy, hours, stress and asking for help. 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
12 billion working days are lost worldwide each year to depression and anxiety (WHO, 2026)
Use in Shuffl - Clarity pulse questions
Do people know what good work looks like and what comes first? 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
49% of US employees strongly agreed they know what’s expected of them at work in 2026
Use in Shuffl - Belonging pulse questions
Do people feel part of the company and valued for who they are? 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
20% of employees worldwide felt lonely a lot of the previous day (Gallup, 2024)
Use in Shuffl - Psychological safety pulse questions
Can people raise problems, admit mistakes and ask for help? 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
61% of US workers with lower psychological safety felt stressed in a typical workday (2024)
Use in Shuffl - Workload pulse questions
Is the work doable, and is time spent on what matters? 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
69% of UK workers with far too much work said work harms their mental health (2025)
Use in Shuffl - Manager check-in pulse questions
How managers help: one-on-ones, feedback and unblocking. 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
70% of the variance in engagement across teams comes from the manager (Gallup estimate)
Use in Shuffl - New hire experience pulse questions
For people in their first months: setup, people and purpose. 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
40% of all turnover can happen in an employee’s first year, per exit interviews (2025)
Use in Shuffl - Remote and hybrid work pulse questions
Remote and hybrid teams: staying connected and informed. 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
52% of US employees in remote-capable jobs worked hybrid in May 2026
Use in Shuffl - Through a change pulse questions
During a reorg, new leader or big change: trust and clarity. 4 pulse survey questions to copy.
89% of US workers said their employer went through some change in the past year (2025)
Use in Shuffl
Onboarding and playbooks
A first-week checklist, the messages a new hire and their buddy receive, and playbooks for new managers, returns from leave, policy roll-outs, intern cohorts and team moves.
- New hire first-week checklist
What to do before day one, on day one and by the end of the first week, so a new hire is set up and knows who to ask.
12% of US employees say their company does a good job of onboarding (Gallup, 2021)
- Onboarding buddy and check-in messages
Three onboarding messages: asking someone to be a buddy, introducing them to the new hire, and checking in after two weeks.
56% of new hires who met a buddy once in 90 days got productive faster (Microsoft, 2019)
Use in Shuffl - Remote onboarding messages
Onboarding messages for someone who starts remotely: an earlier buddy, a video call on day one and a check-in after the first week.
26% of remote-capable US employees work fully remotely, and 52% hybrid (Gallup, May 2026)
Use in Shuffl - New manager playbook
A playbook for someone who becomes a manager: first conversations with their team, a talk with their own manager and a check-in after a month.
70% of the variance in team engagement comes down to the manager (Gallup, 2018)
Use in Shuffl - Intern and early-career onboarding messages
Onboarding messages for interns and early-career hires, with a buddy and an early check-in.
63.1% of 2024-25 US interns were converted into full-time hires (NACE, 2026)
Use in Shuffl - Back from leave playbook
A playbook for someone coming back from parental, medical or other long leave: a welcome, a catch-up with their manager and a check-in after two weeks.
87% of US employees who took leave returned to the same employer and position (DOL, 2018)
Use in Shuffl - Leaving playbook
A playbook for someone leaving: handover and announcement for their manager, knowledge capture, equipment and access for HR, and an anonymous exit check-in.
45% of departing US employees were satisfied with how their exit was handled (Gallup, 2018)
Use in Shuffl - Policy roll-out plan
A plan for a new or changed policy: everyone it applies to reads it and confirms on the same date, with a reminder a week later.
66% of US employers find it hard to get employees to read the handbook (XpertHR, 2020)
Use in Shuffl - Intern cohort plan
A plan for a cohort of interns who start together: setup before day one, a first-week check-in, a mid-point review and a wrap-up with the team.
3.9% more interns US employers expected to hire in 2025-26 than in 2024-25 (NACE, 2026)
Use in Shuffl - Team move playbook
A playbook for someone who moves to another team or department: a welcome, introductions from their new manager and a check-in after three weeks.
75% chance of staying two years for employees who made an internal move, against 56% (LinkedIn)
Use in Shuffl
Launch announcements
Posts that tell your company about a new tool or program before it starts.
- HR assistant launch announcement
A short post that introduces an HR assistant to your company, with example questions people can ask on day one.
25% of US employees say their organization has shared a clear plan for AI (Gallup, May 2026)
- Pulse survey launch announcement
A post that tells employees a pulse survey is starting: how often, how long it takes and who sees the answers.
20% of US employees trust leaders a great deal to use their data responsibly (Gallup, 2026)
- Manager heads-up before a launch
A note to managers before a launch, so they hear about a new tool or program before their team asks them.
47% of US employees say their team lead has the most influence on change (Eagle Hill, 2025)
Praise and celebrations
Examples of praise, birthday and work anniversary messages.
- Praise message examples
Four examples of praise that names what someone did and what it changed, for people who aren’t sure what to write.
45% less likely to have left after two years if well recognized (Gallup and Workhuman, 2024)
- Birthday messages for work
Birthday messages for a channel post, a note to teammates and a private message, for people who choose to share.
10% of employees are asked how they like to be recognized and appreciated (Gallup, 2023)
Use in Shuffl - Work anniversary messages
Work anniversary messages for a channel post, a note to teammates and a private thank you.
4.1 yrs median time US wage and salary workers had been with their employer, January 2026 (BLS)
Use in Shuffl