Areas to Consider In Your HR Audit

ROLES
• Are employees correctly classified (e.g., exempt/nonexempt, temporary/permanent, full-
time/part-time, employee/contractor)?
• Are classifications clearly defined (e.g., how many hours must an employee work to be full-
time)?
• How many employees are supervisory?
• Are job descriptions up to date?
• Are salary requirements clearly defined?
• Is the organizational flow chart up to date?
• Have job descriptions been reviewed by an attorney?

RECRUITING & INTERVIEWING
• What is the recruitment process?
• What challenges do we face during the recruitment process?
• Are we recruiting with diversity in mind?
• What are our current recruiting strategies, and how can we expand it?
• What are our future staffing needs?
• Do we consider internal employees first before external recruiting? If not, why?
• Do we consider job restructuring or other options first before recruiting?
• How do we screen candidates? Is it compliant?
• Do we train those who interview how to conduct an interview?
• How do we safeguard against accusations of harassment or discrimination in our interview and
hire process?
• How do we conduct our interviews, and is it the best method (e.g., one-on-one, panel, etc)?
• Is the recruitment, screening and selection process documented?
• Who holds final authority to decide who is hired?
• Who determines the final pay rate a candidate will be offered? Is pay fair and consistent, and is
it on par with industry standards?
• How do we check references? Are the notes from those conversations documented?
• Once the decision for hiring is made, who contacts the candidate, and how? How can that
process be improved?
• What is the turnover rate? Are some departments higher than others? Why? Is it in line with
industry standards? If not, why? How can it be improved?
• Who is responsible for giving references for former employees?

NEW HIRE PROCESS


• Who generates new hire paperwork? Are new hire forms and brochures provided in compliance
with federal and state laws?
• How long is the new hire probationary period?
• What is it like to be a new employee here at this company? What could we do to make easing
into the job better?
• Is the contact person for questions clearly defined for new hires?
• Do we have a mentor program in place for new hires?
• What is the orientation process?
• What is the onboarding process? Is it clear and defined?
• Are staff and managers made aware of the onboarding program and their accountability to its
success?
• What kind of training do new hires go through? Who provides it? Who documents it?
• Are we making all proper notifications of new hires (e.g., state departments, payroll, IT, etc)? Is
this process streamlined?
• Have our welcome letter and employment contracts been reviewed by an attorney?

DOCUMENTATION & COMPLIANCE
• Who manages personnel files? Are items stored in compliance with federal and state laws?
• Is the process for documenting time off, vacation, sick time, training, discipline,
accomplishments, performance, etc in compliance with federal and state law? Does our process
for these things work well, or could it be improved?
• How long do we hold interview notes and resumes, and personnel files? Is it in compliance with
federal and state laws?
• How do we document training and professional development?
• How do we document conversations managers have with their employees about performance?
• How do we document acknowledgement and receipt of updated corporate policies and other
types of communications?
• How is workers’ compensation, FMLA and compliance with other such state and federal laws
documented?
• Are mandated posters updated in all locations? What is the process for ensuring updated
posters are available at all times?
• What is the process for updating and communicating corporate policies?
• Is the corporate policy handbook up to date? Is the revision number and date revised provided
in the footer on each page? How are acknowledgments of received updates documented?
• Has an attorney reviewed and approved your policy handbook?
• Is the policy handbook written in a tone that matches your corporate culture?
• Are you compliant with all state and federal laws (ADA, Title VII, FMLA, OSHA, etc)?
• Do you document injuries and illnesses on the job?


• How does your company handle grievances?
• Do you have all of the appropriate insurance (employment practices liability, etc)?

COMPENSATION
• Are we using a payroll service provider? Do we seek competitive bids from other providers
annually?
• Are we using our payroll service provider to the fullest extent in terms of services they offer?
• Does the payroll service provider offer government filings?
• How do we set our wages? And do we analyze wages at least annually?
• Are compensation levels fair and consistent?
• How frequently do we evaluate job descriptions and update them?
• Who is responsible for the compensation program?
• Are merit increases given? How are they integrated with performance evaluations?
• Do we offer bonuses? How are bonuses determined, by whom, and when are they given?
• Does our compensation across all levels seem fair and consistent, and that it would hold up
should it be challenged as part of a discrimination claim?
• How is compensation tied into our company culture, mission, vision and values? If not, then how
can we ensure it is moving forward?
• How is compensation, merit increases and bonuses communicated across the organization?

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
• Do employees believe they get enough training for to do their jobs effectively?
• Do managers and supervisors receive training as part of their promotion into that role?
• What is the average length of time someone works in the organization before being given the
opportunity to move up, or at least to achieve stretch goals?
• Do managers and supervisors receive training on how to ensure learning “sticks” when an
employee attends a training event?
• Are learning objectives of any training programs tied to performance rewards?
• Are formal training and development programs made available to all levels? If so, what are
they?
• Are training and learning opportunities provided equally across all levels?
• How much do we spend annually on training and performance? Can a return on investment
(ROI) be demonstrated for these learning events?
• Are you in compliance with required safety training, even if you’re in an office?

HEALTH, BENEFITS & WELLNESS
• What insurance benefits do we provide?


• Are benefits in line with employee needs? If not, what else can we provide that they can get
excited about?
• Do we contribute towards coverage, and if so, what percentage? Is this in line with industry
standards? Or standards from within our local community?
• What are the eligibility requirements to join our benefits programs? How and when is that
communicated to employees?
• Do exiting employees receive compliant COBRA notices?
• How do we excel in our health benefits and wellness programs? What areas could we improve
upon?
• How can employees become more involved in building our wellness programs?
• Do we offer retirement plans? Do we contribute? What is the process?

TIME OFF
• What paid holidays do we offer? If required, do we offer time and a half on holidays?
• How much time off do we offer? Is it in line with industry best practices?
• How is time off calculated (e.g., PTO or vacation time)? If calculated by hours worked, is the
timeclock accurate?
• What are the eligibility requirements for PTO or vacation time?
• Is there a cap to PTO or vacation? If so, how is it monitored? When the cap is reached, do
employees go negative and can work it off, or are they refused time off until some becomes
available?
• Do we offer the number of sick days required to stay in compliance with federal and state laws?
• How do we handled PTO or vacation time at the end of the year (e.g., roll over or must use)?
How is this process managed?
• Are we reimbursing any remaining time off on final paychecks? How does that process work?
• Can employees contribute their time off to other employees who need it?
• Are nonexempt employees receiving the right breaks and meal times? How do we ensure they
are? What is the process?
• What is the process for requesting time off? Who approves the request? How is it documented?
• Who is responsible for obtaining medical documentation if needed?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
• What is the performance appraisal system in this organization?
• Is the instrument used useful and valid?
• Are managers and supervisors trained on how to use the instrument, and how to have
performance conversations? Are managers and supervisors trained on setting expectations and
coaching performance?


• Is the focus of performance management what is going well, rather than what is not working?
When performance is suffering, do managers and supervisors provide resources and SMART
goals for improvement? How and where is that documented?
• Do managers or supervisors meet with their employees at least once per month to touch base?
• How involved in disciplinary conversations is HR? Should it be more or less?
• How is good performance and accomplishments acknowledged and rewarded? Is this done by
managers, or as a company process unified across all levels?

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
• Do we have a step-disciplinary procedure in place? Does it provide an opportunity to skip steps
and move directly to termination if needed?
• Is discipline applied uniformly and consistently across all levels?
• Who makes the final approval for employee termination?
• Do we perform exit interviews for those who resign? If so, what information have we gathered
that we can use to improve?
• Is the exit paperwork and final paycheck provided to employees compliant with federal and
state laws?
• Who is responsible for the internal “PR” around a difficult termination (e.g., communicating with
unsettled or unhappy employees)?
• Are the circumstances surrounding terminations kept confidential?
• How is retirement accounts or other types of benefits managed after an employee leaves the
organization?

Sample HR Audit Plan

SCOPE: This audit aims to determine compliance and uniformity in compensation, benefits, and
classification.

LOGISTICS:

Focus Logistics/Action Items Resources

Determine if • Conduct job analysis on 100% of • Work schedule for each department,
employees are the organizational members collected from department heads
correctly • Review job descriptions • Permission from each manager to
classified as • Interview employees conduct interviews (approx. 20 mins
exempt or • Observe certain employees doing per employee) / access to work areas
nonexempt their work (e.g., manufacturing • Consistent communication from
floor) managers to employees that the


• Review and update organizational purpose of interview is strictly
flow chart compliance, and that change from
• Obtain approval from attorney exempt to nonexempt or vice versa
upon completion is absolutely not a demotion!
• Budget for attorney’s time
Ensure • Purchase salary survey from Savvy • Budget to order salary survey
compensation is Salary Surveys, Inc. • Budget to make adjustments in
commensurate • Review online resources for our salaries if needed
with industry industry, job descriptions and
best practices geographic location
• Create report to submit to leaders
Ensure benefits • Review salary survey information re • SurveyMonkey.com account to send
are benefits out survey
commensurate • Create and send questionnaire to • Budget to make adjustments in
with industry all levels of the organization benefits if needed
best practices, as • Organize focus groups to discuss
well as questionnaire data and obtain ideas
celebrated by for cost effective benefits
employees • Create report to submit to leaders

TIMELINE:

• Audit to be completed by November 1

• Report of findings and suggestions for improvement to be completed by November 30
• Improvement action plan to be created and approved by leadership by Dec 31

TEAM MEMBERS:

• John Smith, Director of HR

• Jane Doe, HR Manager
• Susie Que, CFO

Job Advertisement Worksheet

Attention grabbing question or statement - Example: WANTED: One amazing person who is strong in
heart and generous in spirit, and hungry to change the world.
_____________________________________________________________________________________



Describe how the position makes an impact for your organization - Example: We need a manager to
take our team of ten home health nurses to new heights! We strive to offer the best services money can
buy when we visit our over 100 clients in their homes. We need you to help us maintain the quality of
service our clients have come to expect, and help us continue to develop our nurses into the road
warriors we know they can be.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Provide information about your organization, company culture and work environment - Example: ABC
Home Health Services has been around for 20 years. We work with a variety of clients who have a variety
of disabilities – but one thing they all have in common is a positive attitude. We like to think we have
something to do with that. We like to have fun but we work hard. Check out a video we made just for you
here: ABCHomeHealth.org/video.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Provide information about the job duties, but don’t make it boring! Example: Job duties include:
managing the budget, coaching new team members into greatness, sometimes running around like a
crazy person while you multi-task, and writing reports… definitely writing reports.
• ___________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________

List the minimum requirements for the position (e.g., college degree, specific skills, etc) - Example:
Please only apply if you: Have five years’ experience managing a team who regularly kicked-butt, can
provide proof from previous gigs to back up your skills, love people and don’t mind goldfish.
• ___________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________

Instructions on how to apply:
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Ideas for Recruiting



• Post open positions internally
• Job bidding
• Employee referrals
• Former employees
• Previous applicants
• Job boards/online databases (e.g., NP Works, Craigslist)
• Professional associations
• Trade magazines
• High schools, community colleges and universities; trade schools
• Job fairs
• Advertising space on websites where “your people” might be hanging out
• Local churches, LGBT community centers, other community organizations
• Post openings in professional publications or journals that focus on women, minorities,
veterans, persons with disabilities, the LGBT community, etc
• Veterans Affairs and local military bases (which often have career centers and resources beyond
the VA to help veterans move into the civilian world)
• Social media
• Employment agencies and outplacement firms
• Diversity specific job sites (e.g., employdiversity.com, diversityfirstjobs.com)