HR Audit: An essential strategic tool for your business

As an independent HR consultant, our primary goal is to work in your business's best interests and help you to achieve your goals. 

When we start working with you as a Strategic Partner, we need to understand how your business ticks, the risks it faces and the opportunities available to you. 

And the most powerful tool we can use to help us do this is an HR Audit. 

What is an HR Audit?

An HR Audit is a comprehensive review of your company through the lens of an experienced HR expert.  

Once we understand your goals and what you’re trying to achieve, we follow a structured approach to look at what’s happening in your business. 

What are the main benefits of having an HR Audit? 

• Peace of mind
  We’ll help to ensure that your company is legally compliant and mitigate risks against costly employment claims. 
• Data-driven decision making
  HR can often feel intangible. That’s why we’ll create HR Metrics, report on them and create a RAG-rated priority list of actions we need to take to help you to achieve your goals. 
• Customized and cost-efficient support
  Once we know what needs to be worked on, we can provide you with the best possible support and price to make it happen.

If you’d like to review your business’s relationship with its employees to create the best possible action plan, please get in touch with us for a confidential chat today. 

Latest News

The 4-day week reboot

The traditional five-day workweek, long seen as the standard, is increasingly viewed as outdated. Many attribute productivity problems to the rigid focus on hours and days rather than output and effectiveness. 

While some U.S. companies are exploring the idea of a 4-day workweek, it's not yet standard. A 2024 KPMG survey found that nearly 30% of large U.S. companies are considering new schedules, including 4 or 4-and-a-half-day workweeks. U.S. workers are also interested. A recent Gallup poll revealed that 77% believe that a 4-day workweek would improve their wellbeing, with 46% saying it would have an “extremely positive” effect.

A 4-day workweek could improve work-life balance and productivity, but is it a universal solution for all businesses?

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/07/success/four-day-workweek-survey/index.html

The benefits and perks of the job…

The top 5 employee benefits typically include health insurance, paid time off, family leave and life insurance. Offering these benefits helps companies to attract and retain top talent by boosting employee satisfaction, engagement and retention.

Additional perks, like flexible work schedules, work-life balance initiatives and training opportunities, can further enhance the employee experience, increasing morale and productivity. Although these perks are typically not legally required (except for some safety training), they improve job satisfaction.

Employee benefits and perks are a key component of an overall compensation package and can be the deciding factor when candidates consider job offers. Certain benefits, such as workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and Social Security, are legally required. Employers should consult with HR professionals to ensure compliance with applicable laws, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer health insurance to their employees or pay a penalty.

Why should you care about your employees' engagement? 

“Engagement” is an umbrella term we HR consultants use to describe your employees’ enthusiasm, commitment and motivation towards their work and your business.

Their levels of engagement have a direct impact on their performance and your bottom line. 

That’s why working on engagement within your business is really important. 

Now, with all things HR, it can easily seem quite intangible. But there’s a really easy way to measure your team’s engagement.

Engagement metrics not only help us to understand how engaged your team is, but they also help us to create benchmarks and report on improvements in the future. Surveys can also identify patterns about things in the workplace that are or aren't working. 

• Employee satisfaction surveys:
  These surveys provide insight into how employees feel about their work environment, management and overall job satisfaction.
• eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score):
  This metric gauges employees’ loyalty and willingness to recommend their workplace, clearly indicating overall engagement levels.
• Turnover and retention rates:
  Monitoring how often employees leave or stay with the company helps to assess engagement. 

Want to know how engaged your employees are? Get in touch with us for a confidential chat.

Q & A

What’s the difference between banter and bullying? 

Banter is playful and respects boundaries, while bullying is targeted, mean-spirited and ignores them. Bullying keeps going even when the targeted person isn’t okay with it.

Companies must provide ongoing training to prevent bullying and ensure that managers address inappropriate behavior. Failure to act can harm morale, increase turnover and lead to legal risks related to harassment and hostile work environments.

Can I force employees to use personal time off/vacation time for holidays when the business is closed?

Companies aren’t required to pay employees when closed, including holidays, but must follow different rules for exempt and non-exempt employees. Many offer paid holidays that typically include Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Independence Day/July 4th, among others, without requiring PTO. 

Just ensure you’re on the right side of the law, communicate it clearly and you’ll be good to go!

Do I have to offer flexible working?

You don’t have to offer flexible working, but employees can request it. As an employer, you should at least consider these requests. Requests can be declined for valid business reasons, such as performance impact or increased costs. If flexible scheduling is due to medical needs, legal considerations must be reviewed before deciding.

Ensure you handle requests fairly and consistently in order to avoid issues, and develop a process to document these requests and determinations.