No time to conduct a HR Audit?

In today’s litigious climate, businesses operate within the confines of a heavily regulated employee environment. This includes dealing with a myriad complex laws and regulations. The scope of the HR function includes establishing and administering a host of policies and practices. Many of which involve compliance implications that could significantly influence the productivity and profitability of the business. Topical areas to be considered in audits may include but are not limited to:

• Benefits Administration

• Wage & Hour (Exemption Status)

• Disciplinary Review and Decision

• Employee Development

• Employees’ Eligibility to Work

• Interim/Contingent Staffing

• Interviewing and Hiring

• Employee Handbook

• Leave Procedures

• Job Descriptions

• Personnel Files and Employee Records

• Organizational Development

• Performance Management

• Problem or Conflict Resolution

• Unexplained Turnover

• Substance Abuse in the Workplace

• Termination

HRBOOST® views Human Resource Audits as a vital means of avoiding legal and/or regulatory liability that may arise from a company’s HR policies and practices. In addition to identifying areas of risk, an audit can be designed to provide a company with information about the competitiveness of its HR strategies by looking at the “best practices” of other companies in its industry. In essence, an audit involves identifying issues and finding solutions to problems before they become unmanageable. It is an opportunity to assess what an organization is doing right, as well as how things might be done differently, more efficiently or at a reduced cost. HRBOOST® has the expertise to take an intensely objective look at your HR policies, procedures and practices. The results achieved by undergoing an audit with HRBOOST® can help identify gaps in HR practices, and these gaps can then be prioritized for action plans in an effort to improve processes, minimize risk, as well as to achieve and maintain competitiveness in key HR practice areas. An HR audit can be structured to be either comprehensive or specifically focused, within the constraints of time, budgets and staff.

There are several types of audits, and each is designed to accomplish different objectives. Some of the more common types are:

• Compliance: Focuses on how well the company is complying with current federal, state and local laws and regulations.

• Best Practices: Helps the organization maintain or improve a competitive advantage by evaluating its practices with those of practices of companies identified as having exceptional HR practices.

• Strategic: Focuses on strengths and weaknesses of systems and processes to determine whether they align the human resource strategy to the overall strategic plan.

• Function-Specific: Focuses on a specific area where concern may exist in the HR function (e.g. performance management, records retention, termination, etc.).

When resources are skim and the workload is heavy it can be difficult to implement changes timely and effectively. Many HR Departments are understaffed or overworked and often smaller businesses lack the resources for HR expertise in-house. As a result, an employer can become out of compliance without realizing it. It is always best to review your internal processes and procedures before an outside authority deems it necessary. There are plentiful headlines as of late that cite organizations being fined large sums for something as routine as an I-9 Audit. Thus, an audit is not just proactive but necessary. Don’t get caught unprepared, call HRBOOST® today.

HR BOOST, LLC.™ 306 Peterson Road, Libertyville, 60048 | Tel 847.736.5085 | www.hrboost.com HR BOOST, LLC. © 2011