Five signs your company needs a HR audit
Despite its importance, HR can often be an afterthought for businesses. You have a hundred other tasks to accomplish, and the days tick by without paying much attention to that side of your company. A HR audit is an ideal way to bring your business back up to speed. Below, we cover how to know when you need to bring in the experts, the HR audit process, and how Danton HR & Training can help.
Ready to book in your HR audit now? Contact us directly at 01527 306760 to speak to our team. We’re here to help you improve.
What is a HR audit?
A HR audit is a comprehensive examination of your business. At its core, the purpose of this audit is to uncover issues, determine what needs to be resolved, and offer the best solution to resolve your key issues.
How in-depth a HR audit goes depends on you. Regardless of how involved your audit is, the end goal is helping you to achieve compliance, align with employment laws and have a stronger oversight of your business. At Danton HR & Training, we offer several levels of audits – tailored to your specific goals and challenges.
Various areas of your business are covered in HR audits. These include:
- Employee contracts
- Basic health and safety policy checks
- Compliance documentation
- Critical legal HR policies, providing clarity to employees and managers
- Recruitment processes
The purpose of getting a comprehensive view of your HR is to identify all problem areas that may affect your business. This allows us to help you understand your internal HR capability and assess where external support may be most efficiently deployed. Once these have been uncovered, it’s an easier task to resolve them effectively.
The five signs your company needs a HR audit
1. Your HR policies haven’t been updated in years
Policies that haven’t been periodically updated can be a risk for your business. Employment law changes frequently, and any outdated or missing policies can be a legal problem waiting to happen. Some of the key HR policies that should be kept up-to-date include absence, disciplinary, and equality policies. If you have fallen behind in maintaining these policies, a HR audit is a good first step to get back on track.
2. Employee Relations issues are increasing
An increase in employee relations issues within your business can suggest that a HR audit is needed to identify any gaps in your management processes. Employee issues, such as grievances, workplace conflicts or disciplinary cases, all carry risk. Conducting regular HR audits can help you to bring consistency to management decisions and reduce issues between employees.
3. Your business is growing quickly
Rapid business growth is a positive thing, but a fast-growing business can quickly outstrip its existing HR processes. Some examples of these issues include unclear reporting structures, inconsistent policies, and a lack of onboarding processes. Management capability is also a key concern for companies undergoing fast expansion. HR audit reports help to align your HR processes as your business grows, preventing the need for expensive overhauls later on.
4. You’re unsure if your HR documentation is compliant
Compliance with employment law is vital for your business, significantly reducing your legal risk. Poor record-keeping is a common problem businesses face, which can lead to missing employment contracts and outdated handbooks. Incorrect disciplinary procedures can also increase the risk to your business. HR auditing helps you to remain in compliance and up-to-date with all necessary documentation.
5. You’ve never conducted a HR audit
Proactivity enables businesses to prevent costly HR issues. Conducting a HR audit is an effective way to reduce risk to your business, moving away from reactive HR. By detecting compliance issues earlier and making use of expert help to resolve them, you can ensure your business meets all necessary standards. Beyond the legal benefits, HR audits are an effective way to understand the workings of your business, making it easy to take positive steps to build a stronger HR foundation.
What does an HR audit typically include?
A HR audit covers all the fundamental areas of HR where your business can be at risk, providing the insight you need to make effective changes. These include:
- HR policies and procedures
- employee contracts
- compliance with employment law
- recruitment and onboarding processes
- absence and performance management
- employee documentation
- training and development practices
- line management assessment
- an assessment of your existing team’s HR capability
How in-depth your HR audit is will depend on you. Anything from five-minute self-assessments to bespoke deep dives are available, helping you get to the root of your HR problems. A HR audit action plan after your assessment provides you with straightforward steps for improving processes and remaining compliant.
The benefits of conducting a HR audit
Regular HR audits are highly beneficial for getting a complete overview of what currently works and what doesn’t for your business. Some of the key benefits of a HR audit process include:
- Improved compliance: Keeping your business in compliance ensures you are meeting your legal obligations as an employer
- Reduced legal risk: Less legal risk reduces the possibility of fines and legal processes, preventing instability in your business
- Clearer HR policies: Simple, clear HR policies make hiring, disciplinaries and day-to-day HR management easier for both you and your employees
- Stronger employee management: Handle conflicts, grievances and onboarding processes effectively with a pre-existing structure to support you
- Increased organisational efficiency: Spend less time catching up on HR and more time focusing on other areas of your business
Do you need a HR audit? Book yours today!
Most businesses will benefit from an annual HR audit to ensure they are in compliance and operating efficiently. For businesses experiencing rapid growth or for companies with major changes, a HR audit provides a valuable outside perspective to reduce your risk and recommend effective action.
Ready for a HR audit? Contact our experts now via email or call us on 01527 306760 for a friendly chat with our experienced, professional team.