How do I find out what happens to the handbooks an HR firm wrote for its clients?

Start with the paperwork. Ask for a sample of client agreements and look for any wording about who owns the documents the firm prepares. Some agreements treat the finished handbook as the client’s, some let the firm reuse its templates and some say nothing. Where they say nothing, ask your lawyer how that affects you.

Next, learn what happens after delivery. Does the firm offer yearly reviews, charge for updates or hand the handbook over and move on? Ask for a list of handbooks delivered and when each was last revised. Old, unrevised handbooks may be an opportunity for new work or a source of client complaints, depending on how the firm left them.

Finally, ask about the templates themselves. If the firm built them from a shared base, ask who wrote it and whether anyone else holds rights to it. Ask whether former staff have copies. If handbooks are a service you plan to keep selling, make sure you will have the right to keep using that base. Ask also whether clients were told about their handbook’s age, because an outdated handbook that you inherit becomes your conversation to have.

Key takeaways

• Read the client agreements for wording on who owns each finished handbook.
• Ask for a list of delivered handbooks with their last revision dates.
• Confirm who wrote the underlying templates and whether anyone else holds rights to them.
• Ask whether clients were ever told that their handbook had become outdated.